Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
It has been a year since I started this. Now I am determined to finish this before it becomes two years.
Onwards with the chapter!
Utatane opened the window to her and Homura's cottage.
They had gotten a message by hawk from Danzo earlier in the morning informing them that his ninja were successful in recruiting Sai last night. The message also said that Danzo had sent Sai this morning to retrieve the Jinchuuriki.
Utatane hardly thought that it would take more than a day to subdue the demon host, so she was expecting another messenger hawk within the hour. After all, Sai had been trained in the ROOT division since he was young, and the demon host's skills—if they could even been called as such—were paltry at best.
She and Homura had observed the Uchiha boy let loose a haggard cry after he had hastened to the Fourth's head without his shirt on earlier during mid-afternoon, so they expected that their plan had been set in motion.
Homura walked into the room and asked, "Has Danzo sent word?"
Utatane shook her head.
"It should not have taken this long," Homura said, "It is already evening."
Utatane agreed with him. They had expected a message before dinner, but their meal had already been consumed; a full four course dinner.
They stood next to each other and gazed out the window. They were growing impatient.
All too well they remembered when they had not needed to lay and wait for messages. Just a few short months ago, if they wanted information, they had only needed to ask and underlings would rush to update them to the very minute.
Their old positions as esteemed elders also gave them the right to send ninja out on personal missions. Had they wanted to, they could send ninja to trail Sai, the Jinchuuriki, and even Danzo. They were not helpless like they were now.
Now they were worse off than if they had been imprisoned. If they in a cell within Konoha, they would have been able to make use from the ninja still loyal to them rather than that Tsunade brat. They would have had access to information.
They would not have had to wait like some commoners.
Homura took his glasses off to clean them. The cottage they were forced to live in was located in the driest position of the mountain. It was in between two large ridges. Hardly any rain made its way over either ridge, yet the wind was near relentless. Dust was often blown into the cottage if the window was open for too long.
He scowled as he placed his glasses on his face again. He had long since been irritated at the practice.
When his glasses were set and his vision restored, Homura once again took sight of the view presented by the too-small window of their meager cottage.
Something moved in his peripheral vision, so he turned slightly as to gain a better prospective.
Upon closer inspection, Homura saw that it was a messenger hawk!
"Look," he said to Utatane.
She glanced at him, and then followed the path his eyes were set on and smiled. "An update, at last," she said.
She stepped away from the window as the hawk drew near. Once she had removed herself, Homura stepped to the side so that he was standing at the center of the window.
He held up arm out and the hawk glided to land on it.
Once the bird was stationary, it beheld its back and the pack tied to its back. Homura procured the message within and transferred the hawk to a nearby branch to stay on standby; it was needed for Homura and Utatane to send a reply to Danzo.
Homura closed the window and stepped towards the table Utatane was waiting by. He placed the scroll atop the surface of the table and stepped to the side.
Utatane moved to stand next to him. Once she had done so, she held her hand up, focused her chakra, and released the jutsu that bound the scroll meant only for them.
There was only one line written, for there was need for only one sentence: It has been done.
Utatane smiled to herself and said, "It would seem that Danzo's underling has attained control of the demon host." She knew that it would happen, of course. The demon host was weak while Danzo ensured that every ninja of the ROOT division of ANBU were the best of the elite.
Still, having confirmation always had a certain satisfaction to it.
Homura nodded and smiled as well, "Now our plan can be enacted."
He rolled the scroll back up while Utatane retrieved a fresh scroll. She placed it atop the table and Homura took hold of his pen.
They needed to send orders to Danzo and tell him what the Jinchuuriki should do while the three of them worked in the shadows of its rampart destruction.
The plan was simple; send the demon host to decimate the current regime the once proud village had fallen to, and Danzo—with Utatane and Homura as his counsel—rebuild Konoha to its former glory.
Utatane said, "We need to inform Danzo as to how to return to the village."
Homura nodded; while Danzo was not exiled, like that Tsunade brat had done to Homura and Utatane, he was still considered unwelcome in the village. As it were, Danzo had taken residence in an ANBU ROOT base just outside Konoha's walls.
Danzo was also wounded from a scuffle with the last Uchiha. Homura and Utatane had long since predicted such an outcome with a member of that clan when they had warned Danzo about implanting so many eyes to himself, but he had not heeded their caution.
His lost arm was of no consequence to Homura and Utatane, though. The consequence was fitting for someone who ignored the words of the esteemed elders, no matter how praiseworthy he was in their eyes.
Danzo should have listened to them, and he should learn a lesson from his dire mistake. He would do well to heed their counsel in the future when he was Hokage and they in their rightful place as esteemed elders.
His wound did present a small problem though; he could no longer cloak his identity as he once had, which made relocating him inside the village a challenge.
Before Danzo could return, though, the Jinchuuriki would be required to create a disturbance.
The necessity of the demon host was cause to a great annoyance to Utatane and Homura. If they still were heads of the counsel, then all they would need to do was order ninja to escort Danzo to them in secrecy. But instead, they were isolated on the mountain and unable to do much more than wait for their plans to unfold.
"What sort of disturbance should the Jinchuuriki make?" Utatane asked.
Homura was thoughtful. "We could make it tear down the gates of Konoha."
Utatane shook her head delicately, "If we made It attack the village without preamble, then most would assume something was amiss. Those It bewitched would blame Its actions on the Fox Demon and say it was not the host's fault. It could also find a way to deceive the villagers to forgive It."
Homura furrowed his eyebrows behind his glasses. "This is true," he said slowly as he thought aloud, "Too few are aware of the danger It threats to the village. Most believe that the host can subdue the demon It holds."
Utatane shared his expression of irritation and said, "Most would also believe that any lapse in control of the Kyuubi would be an effect caused by an outside force."
Homura scowled. Even when under theirs and Danzo's command the Jinchuuriki was a problematic; just like in Its younger years when It caused ruckuses all over the village. Back then people were very much aware of the danger It and Its demon posed to Konoha, and Its habit of wrecking various parts of the village on a regular basis only proved to reinforce the fact.
His eyes widened as a thought came to him.
"What if we remind the village of what kind of menace the Jinchuuriki truly is?" Homura inquired with a gleam in his eye.
Utatane recognized the expression; she knew that Homura had found a solution. "How?" she asked, ready to add her wisdom to ensure everything would be successful.
Homura said, "We shall make It cause misfortune within the village like It had in the past. Then It will escalate Its actions to a criminal level. It will turn traitor to Konoha while It demonstrates how truly feeble Its restraint is when the demon is hell-bent on destroying the village. People will see how ungrateful the demon host is towards the village that had protected It from danger all Its life."
Utatane nodded in agreement; the Jinchuuriki was downright unappreciative for all their help in ensuring It would survive. It always demanded more from the village to the point where it was disgustingly clear as to how selfish Its true nature was.
Homura grinned in satisfaction as he said, "THEN It will launch an attack on Konoha."
Utatane shared his grin, "It will decimate the current destructive regime until we subdue it. The village will be rid of the demon host's curse and realize what a mistake it was to let the Jinchuuriki roam free instead of being quarantined."
"And they would know that only we and Danzo would be able to save the village," Homura concluded.
The two of them allowed themselves a moment to picture themselves returned to their rightful positions of Counsel Elders.
Then Utatane broke the silence and asked, "When would be the right time for Danzo to return to the village?"
Homura answered, "After the Jinchuuriki is recognized as a criminal and menace. Everyone would be on alert for him and Danzo can slip in unnoticed."
Utatane nodded her understanding and agreement. Then she went to retrieve a new seal for the message Homura had started writing so no one else would know of their orders for Danzo to follow for their plan to restore glory to Konoha with them three leading the way.
Sasuke walked through training ground three in a brisk pace with his Sharingan activated. The area was cold, and dark, but that did not deter Sasuke.
He had acquired a spare shirt and Chuunin vest, despite his technical rank as a Genin-on-probation. His Sharingan had also allowed Sasuke to look through the area without much trouble even without much light; all he had to do was channel more chakra into his eyes.
This was his second time through the familiar training ground while he searched for Naruto. He had already gone to and searched through all of Naruto's favorite places to hide, relax, or simply enjoy. Sasuke was determined to find his boyfriend, so he went anywhere and everywhere the blonde had ever mentioned within the village.
He had been through almost the entire village, but could find no sign of Naruto, so he decided to double check places Naruto had been at frequently.
Sasuke's legs ached and protested each step, but still Sasuke persevered. He had worn himself down to the point when he was continuing to search by sheer willpower and determination.
He refused to stop, not even for a minute. Finding Naruto was what was most important.
Sasuke would not rest until Naruto was safe in his arms.
When he reached the three posts in the training grounds he stifled his utter disappointment. He could not stop himself, however, from letting loose a frustrated grunt. Sasuke had finished his second round in training ground three yet he was no closer to finding Naruto.
His gaze fixated on the middle stump where Naruto had once been tied to after he had been caught eating during Kakashi's bell test.
Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and closed his eyes. The memory was distracting him; he needed to move on with his search. The sun was going to rise soon and he would be able to make use of the light so he would not need to strain his Sharingan like he had been all night.
He opened his eyes again and turned around. He would look around the Academy next.
When he looked up, Sasuke saw two figures approaching him. Activating his Sharingan again, he saw that the ones who were walking closer were Sakura and Shikamaru.
He deactivated his Sharingan again and began walking towards them as well. The other two were not running, nor were their expressions showing any happiness. Instead, Sakura and Shikamaru were walking in a subdued pace, and their expressions grim.
Their body language told Sasuke that they had failed to find Naruto or that fucking bastard.
Sasuke's own pace was sluggish as well due to his sore legs. He had pumped chakra through his legs one too many times in his frantic search for his Naruto with no break and the effects were catching up with him.
When the three of them reached each other, none of them spoke and silence filled the air.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed minutely. He had no time for this! He should be making his way to the academy to continue searching for Naruto!
Sakura must have noticed his irritation because she broke the silence and said, "You should go home and rest."
At her words, Sasuke's Sharingan activated with his anger.
"I am not going anywhere to rest until I find Naruto," he declared. His tone was rough and his words raspy through a combination of a dry throat and weariness.
Sakura flinched a little at his unrestrained anger, but continued to say, "Sasuke—"
"I will not repeat myself," Sasuke harshly cut her off, enraged that she would even think that he would give up on Naruto and abandon his search for a measly nap.
Shikamaru stepped in front of Sakura, shielding her from Sasuke's glare. He said in a serious tone, "Sakura is right. You need to rest."
Sasuke glared at him with his blazing Sharingan, and said, "No."
Shikamaru seemed undaunted and said, "You look dead on your feet and your movements are so lethargic that a first year academy student could overpower you."
Sasuke did not bother to dignify what Shikamaru had said with a reply. He was sore, yes, but he was still an Uchiha and fully capable of subduing any opponent at any moment.
He glared at them once more before walking past them. He wanted to be at the academy before the sun rose.
"Sasuke," he heard Sakura call out for him, but he ignored her and continued to trudge on.
"Sasuke," she repeated, "Please go home… I'm worried about you."
He whipped his head around and said heatedly, "I'm not the one you should be worrying about! You SHOULD be worrying about Naruto! Or are you still harboring some silly, pathetic crush on me and ignoring him like when we were Genin?"
Sakura gasped, tears welling up in her eyes.
She faced away in an attempt to hide her tears and discreetly wipe them away.
Sasuke glared in her direction once more before turning back around. Maybe what he had said was on the harsh side, but she deserved it! Nothing was more important to Sasuke than finding Naruto, and he would not stop looking until he found him.
There was no doubt in Sasuke's mind that if the situation was reversed, Naruto would be doing the same for Sasuke.
He walked forwards a few steps before he heard Shikamaru call out, "You should listen to her, Sasuke. She is looking out for your well-being."
Sasuke ignored him as well. If they were really looking out for his well-being, then they would not be wasting time talking at him and be out looking for Naruto.
He heard Shikamaru mumble something to himself, but ignored it. He did not have time to bother with them anymore; he did not even have the time that they had already wasted. He would need to run if he wanted to make it to the academy before sunrise.
He felt a small hand touch his right shoulder. He automatically grabbed it with his left hand and spun himself to the right so they were facing each other with him extending the other's arm towards him and his own right hand wrapped around the other's elbow.
Sakura was facing him and seemed a little startled, but overall unafraid of the position she was in. She even looked sympathetic.
Sasuke abhorred it when she gave him that sympathetic look.
He noticed that his Sharingan had automatically activated as well. He would have preferred to ration his chakra for when he performed the rest of the second sweeps of Naruto's favorite areas, but did not deactivate them. He was too livid.
She still was giving him that damned sympathetic look as she said, "I understand that you want to keep looking for Naruto—"
'NEED to find Naruto' Sasuke corrected in his mind.
"—but you need to take a break!" She continued saying, "I am worried just as much as you are—"
'Doubt it,' Sasuke thought to himself. If she WAS 'just as worried', then she would not be wasting time like this and BE LOOKING FOR NARUTO!
"—and I have been searching for him with as much intensity as you have. But I recognized that I was exhausting myself so I took a nap and am ready to continue looking for him," she said.
Sakura lifted her left hand as if to touch his arm, but he pushed her away and backed up a few steps. He did not tolerate any physical contact unless absolutely necessary or if the other was his boyfriend.
If she was startled at his actions, Sakura did not show it. Instead, her expression was determined as she said, "You are exhausted, Sasuke. I don't need to be a medic or even know you as well as I do to be able to tell. You need to rest."
"What I need is to find Naruto," Sasuke replied in a tense tone. This girl was seriously getting on his last nerve. Not even the repercussions he was sure to get from Naruto after he was safe and sound in Sasuke's arms would be enough to stop the Uchiha from sending her and Shikamaru to the hospital if they insisted on wasting any more of his time.
Shikamaru spoke up again, "Naruto has most likely been taken by Sai."
As soon as that fucking bastard's name was mentioned, both Sasuke and Sakura turned to glare at Shikamaru, silently promising him a slow and painful punishment if he dared utter that name again.
He continued as if he were not facing two agitated ninja, "I don't like it any more than you two do, but that is the reality. If we find one, then we would more likely than not find the other nearby. Sai won't back down without a fight, and even if he would, a peaceful outcome would be impossible."
Shikamaru then focused on Sasuke, whose hand was twitching to either grab his katana or simply charge a Chidori, and said with an unusually serious tone, "As you are right now, you would be able to do no more than maybe play target practice with him. Without a proper rest, you are more likely to end up as another captive or casualty than rescuing Naruto."
Sasuke was going to rebuke what Shikamaru had said; he was an Uchiha and would be more than capable at killing that fucking bastard even if he had not slept for over seventy two hours. Before he could, though, Sakura spoke up.
"If you rest now, I promise that we, along with everyone else, will continue searching for Naruto for you. I also promise that we will send word immediately if we think we found any hint of Naruto's location and will wait for you unless we absolutely cannot. And even then, we will make sure that you will be the one to free Naruto or punish S-Sai," she spoke quickly but faltered at the last word. It was obvious that she would have avoided using that fucking bastard's name if she could.
Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and paused to think for a moment.
Although he loathed admitting it, he could see the logic in what Shikamaru had said. If it had been Sakura—or another one of Naruto's friends—missing, and Naruto and Sasuke were sent to search for them, Sasuke would be saying the same things to Naruto.
He inwardly sighed, and then said, "I will rest."
Sasuke turned around to go home before either of them could say anything. He was in no mood to see satisfied smiles at his being forced to put finding Naruto on hold while Sasuke slept.
The walk home was too long and yet too short. He needed to get home quickly so he could rest as fast as he could and get back to his search. On the other hand, though, he was not eager to go back inside an empty house.
All too soon, his and Naruto's house came into view.
He unlocked the door and stepped inside. Right away, he noticed that all the doors were still left open from when Sasuke had desperately looked around the entire house yesterday.
It was the first time that Sasuke had returned since finding out that Naruto was missing. He had planned for his return here would be in the company of his Naruto, but obviously the reality was different than the plan.
Everything was too silent. Naruto had always made sure to fill their home with noise, and generally only allowed silence to take place when they were in the same room together so that the lack of noise was comfortable rather than stifling.
Without Naruto, the house reminded Sasuke too much of the Uchiha compound after his family was killed by Itachi on the elders' orders.
He closed the door behind himself and walked throughout the house. He rechecked every room for Naruto, even though he knew that his boyfriend would not be found in their house.
When he got to their bedroom, Sasuke lingered. He was supposed to take a quick powernap, but he could not bring himself to set up the futon they shared together. He would not be able to sleep; only think about the one who was supposed to share the futon with.
Instead, Sasuke went inside and grabbed Naruto's old sleeping cap. It was ridiculous, and childish. But it was also undeniably Naruto's.
He grabbed a blanket and sluggishly walked to the couch. For a moment, all Sasuke could do was stare at it. The couch was the last place Sasuke had seen Naruto.
Naruto had been in a sedated, happy mindset, thanks to the Kyuubi. He had insisted on Sasuke giving him his shirt, and tried to explain why, but Sasuke was more focused on how adorable Naruto was at the moment.
Before Sasuke left, Naruto had slurred that he loved him, and Sasuke had said that he loved Naruto as well. Those were their last words to each other.
Sasuke felt his eyes begin to sting with the sensation of wetting themselves with tears. He immediately wiped them away.
Those would NOT be their last words to each other. Sasuke WOULD find Naruto.
He placed Naruto's sleeping cap on his head, welcoming how it reminded him of his boyfriend, and laid down on the couch.
His muscles felt sore and his head was heavy with exhaustion. Normally, he would be annoyed, but today he relished in his current fatigue. He needed to sleep, and his weary body was all too willing to comply.
Sasuke pulled the cap lower to cover his eyes from the rising sun.
Within a few minutes, he fell into a dreamless sleep.
When he woke up later, he instantly checked the clock for the time.
It was a little after ten in the morning, telling Sasuke that he had acquired approximately four hours of sleep.
He felt more alert, even though his muscles still ached. Sasuke would never admit it aloud, but the nap had certainly helped him.
Sasuke would not stay in the house, though, to rest for any longer. Even though no one had come to him, like Sakura had promised should she or anyone else found a clue to Naruto's location, there was a chance that they had not a chance to in their pursuit of such clues.
Without further ado, Sasuke made his way to Hokage Tower to find out for himself.
His muscles still ached, so Sasuke chose not to jump over rooftops or even run through the village to his destination. Instead, he walked.
For the most part, people left him alone. It was common knowledge that unless Naruto was walking with him, Sasuke would not stop for anyone, and those who ignored his antisocial demeanor were punished with his intimidating glare.
He walked undisturbed through the heart of the village. Many people were talking loudly, giving him a slight headache, but thankfully no one was talking at him.
Two people walking behind him were carrying on a conversation and were annoying Sasuke. He did not let that be known, though, since they had not seemed to notice who they were walking behind and thus not worth the effort; he would be rid of them soon enough as it were anyway.
"Everything was covered in paint?" one person asked.
"I told you yes! Even the windows were covered in paint!" the other replied.
"Maybe some Genin got too carried away with their mission?" the first one tried to reason, "You know that they tend to attempt to overachieve their first few missions."
The second one must have shook their head since they said, "None of my neighbors hired any Genin team. The elderly couple above me had hired some about two months ago and had asked if any of the rest of us would like to chip in and get our outer walls of the apartments painted."
"Then it was probably some menace trying to pull some pranks," said the first one.
"That's what we were thinking," agreed the second person, "Strange enough, though, swirls were painted everywhere as well. You don't think—"
"No," the first person cut off the second, "He hadn't pulled any of his pranks since he became a Genin at last. Besides, he's too busy with his physical therapy. They said that that team of his really did a number on him. It must be some copy-cat trying to get his attention or something."
"I guess," the second person said, though their tone suggested that they did not agree with the first person.
The two of them then let each other know that they had reached the store, and had started debating what would be the best way to remove paint from windows. Their voices faded as they entered the store.
Sasuke frowned a little when he thought about what he had just heard.
It sounded like the person whose apartment complex was covered in paint was accusing Naruto as the most likely suspect. The other person sounded like they believed it was merely a copycat.
Sasuke agreed with the second person; Naruto definitely would not be pulling some immature prank. The only reason he had done so as a child was so that he would be recognized rather than ignored. He had no reason to do that now.
More to the point, though, Naruto was currently missing. Multiple people were out on the look for him. It would have been impossible to pull some ridiculous prank.
Sasuke continued to walk towards the Hokage Tower.
The streets were more crowded than usual, and most were walking in an infuriatingly slow pace. Sasuke found himself walking behind a small group of three.
"Then when I found my laundry scattered along my neighbor's yard, I saw that everything was either covered with mud, or ripped with huge holes!" said the taller woman in the group.
"Is it possible the wind blew your laundry off the clothes line?" asked the smaller woman.
The taller woman shook her head, "There was hardly more than a gentle breeze last night, and neither my yard nor my neighbor's has any trees that could tears such huge holes in the clothes."
The man in the group said, "It could have been an animal. My wife is always weary of any pets wandering into our yard so she hired a Genin team last year to build a bigger fence to our yard."
The taller woman looked skeptical, "No pets would have been able to pull all the laundry off the clothes line. And even if they could, none of the pins were missing, and none of the clothes had any frayed edges or bite marks."
"Maybe it is just some hooligan child run amuck. Several people are here today to replace damaged or stolen goods," said the smaller woman.
"All these people? Really?" the man sounded surprised as he gestured vaguely towards large groups of people.
The smaller woman nodded her head, "The hoodlum was certainly busy last night."
The man shook his head in slight disbelief, "Konoha does not have any ruffian. We have never had a problem with such large scale vandalism."
The taller woman said, "That's not true. Little Naruto used to pull something like this almost weekly."
The smaller woman looked aghast, "Naruto would never try to hurt the village! He loves his home, and swore to protect us until his last breath!"
The man quickly joined in, "Besides, even when he was a child he never did anything to this degree! His little stunts may have been flashy, but he never permanently damaged anything. They were always easy to wash off or repair within a few hours as his punishment."
The taller woman quickly said, "I never said that I believed Naruto did all this. I was just pointing out that he used to!"
The other two were silent for a moment, and then the smaller woman said, "I guess you are right. But he still would not have done any of this now."
The man nodded, "Quite right. It is probably some menace child trying to either frame Naruto or copy him."
The smaller woman asked, "Why would anyone want to frame Naruto?"
The man shrugged, "It is just a theory."
The three of them continued to toss other theories around until they walked into a clothing store.
Sasuke frowned a little more. This was the second time someone had thought Naruto had pulled some silly pranks. They were all wrong; Naruto would never do that anymore.
If nothing else, with so many people saying Naruto's name and wondering if he had been the source for so much property damage and graffiti soured Sasuke's already low mood because it kept reminding him that Naruto was nowhere to be found.
Sasuke picked up his pace, but he could not escape the many hushed voices debating whether Naruto had returned to his vandalism ways or not.
Accusations spread far and wide, though not many people truly claimed Naruto to be behind everything. Sasuke heard people mention toppled over fences, animals set loose, gaping holes in walls, cracked windows, destroyed gardens, ruined window displays, and graffiti almost everywhere. Victims of the vandalism kept grumbling that the only one in their memories who would do such reckless damage was Naruto, while the majority of people would defend Naruto, though offered no other reasonable suspect.
With every new mention of Naruto—or the possibility of a copycat—Sasuke would walk a little faster. By the time he was out of the market, Sasuke was running to Hokage Tower.
The increased speed was hard for his sore muscles, but he hardly cared. He needed to get away from the people throwing Naruto's name around.
He still continued to run when he reached his destination. Sasuke knew better than to surge any more chakra into his aching legs, so he ran up the steps instead of scaling the side of the building. It took longer, and felt like more work, but Sasuke knew from experience that scaling the building would hurt more in the long run than how his legs ached currently.
When he reached the top floor, Sasuke continued to run. There was no one else in the hallway so he did not need to break stride. Tsunade's door was closed, but that hardly mattered.
"Tsunade," said Sasuke in a sharp tone as he yanked the door open.
Inside he saw the Hokage sitting behind her desk and three startled preteens.
Tsunade had an expression of vague annoyance at Sasuke's entrance, though she did not appear to be surprised. The three preteens, though, looked frightened. Their eyes were wide and they discreetly grouped together as if for safety in numbers.
"Uchiha," Tsunade greeted smoothly, "I would ask that you refrain from barging into my office next time, for as you can see, I am busy."
Sasuke did not verbally reply. Instead, he stepped to the side of the door and crossed his arms as he leaned on the wall, assuming a casual position; though if someone would look very closely, they would barely be able to see that Sasuke was tense.
Tsunade subtly nodded at him, letting him know that he could stay in the room, before returning focus on the preteens whom Sasuke assumed were a team of Genin. He wondered why their Jounin leader was not with them if they really were Genin.
"You were about to say?" asked Tsunade.
They turned their backs to Sasuke, though he could see that they were obviously tensed. The boy in the middle said, "Well, uh, Lady Hokage. We were told by Iruka-Sensei to report what had happened on our mission directly to you."
Tsunade nodded and silently gestured for them to continue.
The boy spoke up again, "We, uh, we were assigned to reset the preliminary traps around Konoha to help sensors know when someone is getting close to the village."
The other male on their team then said, "But when we went back to check on them, we saw that they were gone!"
"Gone?" repeated Tsunade as if to make sure she had heard correctly.
The second boy nodded, "Yes, Lady Hokage, they were gone! It was like they were ripped off the branches!"
The girl in their group said quietly, "And some of the branches with the traps were torn off the trees."
Tsunade had a thoughtful look on her face, and asked, "Was there anything else?"
The Genin nodded and the first boy said, "We went off to look for whatever was stealing the traps, even though Hamiko-Sensei said not to and…" he took a breath and continued, "and we found one of the traps shredded to pieces…"
The second boy took over the explanation and said, "We sent her," he nodded to the female in the group, "to get Hamiko-Sensei while we investigated what had happened. Soon after we, we heard noises so we followed it to see if whatever was making the noises had destroyed the traps."
"What kind of noises?" Tsunade asked.
The two boys looked at each other before the first one answered, "Mostly leaves rustling."
"Not like wind through the leaves kind of rustling, but like something moving through them," the second boy supplied, "And we also heard something moving from branch to branch."
Tsunade nodded, then gestured for the Genin to continue explaining what had happened on their mission.
The second boy said, "The noises sounded like whatever it was had been circling around us, and we got kinda scared and—"
"I was not scared!" the first boy interjected quickly, glaring at the second.
"Were too!" the second boy retorted, "You looked like you were going to spoil your pants!"
The first boy flushed red and said back, "YOU were the one sticking to me like some scared little girl!"
"That was YOU!" the second fought back.
The two boys continued to squabble, and the girl was trying to shout over them, telling them that they needed to behave in front of the Hokage.
Tsunade herself sighed and rubbed one finger to her temple, her telltale sign that she was getting a headache. She was so easy to read that it was no wonder that she was branded the worst poker player in all of Konoha.
She sent Sasuke a small glance with a clear message: make the two boys shut up.
Sasuke nodded, almost—almost—smirking to himself. These two boys and their squabble was no more than a passing glare in comparison to how he and Naruto had fought. If she had been Hokage while they had been Genin in Team Seven, then she would have gladly listened to these boys bicker at each other for hours and relish in the peaceful quiet in comparison.
Still, as amusing as they were, they were still extremely annoying and wasting Sasuke's time.
Sasuke cleared his throat and set his expression to an annoyed glare.
The effect was instantaneous: all three Genin jumped and their postures went rigid. They did not dare look behind them, but it was obvious that they had gotten the message.
The first boy cleared his own throat, though his was more of a nervous gesture, and said, "The noise from whatever it was had been getting closer to us, so I uh, well, I threw a kunai at it."
The second boy then said, "Then the noises stopped completely, but in that ominous way, you know?"
The girl chimed in, "That was when Kamiko-Sensei and I arrived. Then the kunai was thrown back, and Hamiko-Sensei deflected it with her own kunai."
"She told us to run, but then a big branch fell behind us," the first boy explained.
"Then Hamiko-Sensei told us to stay put as she jumped into the trees after whatever broke the branch," said the second boy.
"We could hear Hamiko-Sensei gasp and say something before we could hear her fight whatever it was," said the girl."
The first boy said, "But then, like a minute later, she fell from the trees and she was really hurt!"
Tsunade nodded and asked, "Was that it?"
The Genin shook their heads. The first boy whispered in a frightened manner, "We heard a voice tell us that we should not have bothered it." The other two nodded along with what he had said.
"Then we carried Hamiko-Sensei to the gates, where the two guards took her to the hospital," the girl concluded.
Tsunade's expression was serious as she considered what she had been told. Sasuke just wished that they would hurry up; he needed an update about the search for Naruto before he went out to look again.
"Do you remember what Hamiko said before she started to fight against whatever was in the trees?" Tsunade asked the Genin.
The first boy answered, "We heard her say 'Naru' before she started to fight the thing in the trees."
Sasuke's eyes briefly flashed while unknowingly activating his Sharingan. He closed his eyes and had to concentrate to deactivate them. Other than that, he made sure he did not openly react.
The girl asked meekly, "Uh, Lady Hokage? You don't think…well, that Hamiko-Sensei was talking to, uh, well, talking to Naruto Uzumaki, do you? I mean…he's the village hero, and he protects us…"
The first boy frantically shook his head, "There's no WAY it could have been Naruto! I met him!" The kid looked extremely proud of himself and said, "When the village was being rebuilt two years ago, I was helping my dad carry supplies to the carpenters. My stuff got too heavy, so they fell to the ground, but Naruto was walking by and helped me pick everything up! He even carried everything to where they needed to go, and had offered to help the carpenters rebuild the village because he swore he would do his best to protect us!"
The second boy rolled his eyes, "You tell that story all the time!"
Before they could bicker anymore, Tsunade answered the girl's question, "I do not know what Hamiko was trying to say, we will just have to wait until she wakes up. Thank you for telling me what had happened, you are dismissed."
The three Genin bowed to Tsunade, and walked out of the office.
When they neared Sasuke, they subtly bundled together again and walked stiffly and with a faster pace. After they closed the door behind them, they continued to squabble.
Tsunade sighed, "And how can I help you, Uchiha?"
Sasuke had refrained from reacting all during those Genin's description about what had happened during their mission, but they were gone now.
He strode purposefully towards Tsunade's desk and said heatedly, "You can't honestly believe that Naruto would be stealing traps and attacking Jounin to a Genin team!"
Tsunade did not reply immediately, and instead asked, "Is that what you came here to say?"
"On my way here, I overheard many people complaining about vandalism, and accusing Naruto for it since he used to pull small pranks as a child. You need to stop them from squandering his name!" Sasuke demanded. He knew better than anyone how Naruto's past haunted the blonde, and how desperate he was to avoid reminders of how lonely he was when he was being treated as an outcast. Sasuke would not stand for anyone bringing up such memories; especially when Naruto was not around to defend himself.
Tsunade closed her eyes and said, "I know."
"You know?" Sasuke repeated with incredulity, "You know and you are allowing it?!"
"You watch your tongue, boy! I will not have you forget that I am your Hokage and you are still on probation!" Tsunade retorted, the volume of her voice rising.
She glared at him while he glared right back at her. He did not know how much plainer he could make it: he did not care about her or anyone else's—who was not Naruto—feelings. The only person he cared about was Naruto, and he would do anything and everything in his power to ensure Naruto's wellbeing and happiness.
Tsunade attempted to keep her glare, but she greatly underestimated her opponent, who intensified his own glare into a full blown Uchiha Glare.
She looked away; she could not last longer than for a few moments.
Still looking away, she said, "I am not doing 'nothing'. I have sent Sakura, Shikamaru, and the rest of your friends except for the tracking team being led by Kakashi, to investigate these vandalisms. Once we bring solid proof that it was not Naruto without revealing that he is still missing, then I will personally clear Naruto's name."
Sasuke did not stop glaring, though he lowered it from an Uchiha Glare to a simple annoyed one at the current circumstances.
Her eyes met his again and she said, "Mark my words, Uchiha. I will get to the bottom of this, and will make sure those behind it will pay."
And that was the chapter.
I moved back to campus, and I love my new dorm room! It is exactly one floor below my old room, and that makes all the difference! There is no air conditioning in this dorm, as it is the oldest building on campus, and because of science, heat rises and stayed in the smallest dorm room up there with three people living in it. But now we are on the second floor and only TWO people live in it, and I am one of them! We have so much room! We only need two fans some of the times! And I don't have to deal with that drama-creating bitch who slept with my then-boyfriend! Ah, yes, life is good. Though, I have a sneaking suspicion that my roommate's parents might think we are secretly gay for each other considering how excited we were to live with each other again. Plus, it might not help that while she was on the phone with them, they heard me come into the room calling out "Honey, I'm home!" She tried to tell me she was on the phone, but I had interrupted her by saying "Two classes in a row really took it out on me, so can I have my welcome home cuddle?" When I learned who was on the phone, I tried to explain that I like to tease her by asking for cuddles often since she had mistakenly said once that she did not mind how cuddly I am, but I fear it was a lost cause. Oh well, luckily they love me.
Thank you to all those who favorite/alerted this story! It makes my day to see people discovering this little story of mine. And an extra special thanks to those who reviewed! If you couldn't tell, I added in an extra chapter thing in there for you :D