Enjoy!

Dealing with the trio of ne'er-do-wells had shaken some of the jitters out of Sasuke's system. He could see clearly again, and he realized something about himself in the aftermath—he was letting himself get too invested in nothing. All of his rage, all of his jealousy, all of his doubts, they had all been building under his neck like champagne behind a cork, and the cocktail of difficult feelings leftover from the wedding had been threatening to pop his head right off. Distanced from Hinata and given a chance to relieve some of his stress, he realized that he was a mess—but at least he reasoned that he was a mess which could be cleaned up. All along his rooftop-hopping journey to the Aburame residence, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He felt like sand was being tossed out of both ears, gradually draining to fall back to a reasonable level. The previous twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind of change, of split-second decisions, of spontaneity. When he set his feet before a door and gave a knock, he felt like he was finally setting himself back onto solid ground.

The door was the one leading into the Aburame's house—more like a hovel, a low-down and unassuming place that was hardly befitting of one of the families considered to be amongst the most noble in Konoha. The one who answered the knock was hidden thoroughly by a mix of shadow and clothing. "Sasuke, I've been expecting you. That's because I've been told that you had an envelope with my clan's emblem upon it." Shino Aburame was as well-covered as ever, even though he was at home after dark. Sunglasses, a thick green hood, hands in his pockets. Sasuke had known him better at a time before the hood was a mainstay, and the sunglasses had become thick goggles, but Shino was still recognizable by his trademarks.

"Shino." Sasuke answered with a nod. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, very long. Naruto didn't even recognize me when he returned from his training with Jiraiya. I'm surprised that you did after all this time." Shino didn't actually sound surprised; he was talking with a monotone that made him hard to read. Coupled with the hidden eyes and muffled mouth, Shino was harder to decipher than Kakashi was behind his mask.

Sasuke didn't have the heart to mention that he recognized the accessories more than the man wearing them. In fact, he felt lucky that he hadn't called another member of the clan the wrong name by mistake. They could have all been Shino, to him. "Naruto's not the brightest, but we all know he means well," Sasuke said, deciding to steer the subject away from recognition. "Here's the message," he went on, passing one of his final two envelopes to one of the many addressees implied by the symbol printed on the back. "Share it with your clan at your earliest convenience. There's information and further instructions enclosed."

Shino nodded, clutching the envelope. The moment it touched his bare fingers, a few small beetles scurried out from under his sleeve to taste the corners of the paper. After deciding that there was no poison or otherwise dangerous additives mixed in, the insects retreated back to their living hive. "Thank you, Sasuke. I've noticed that you haven't delivered to the Inuzuka Clan, yet. Is that because you're worried about how Kiba might react to you after last night?"

Sasuke's forehead tensed ever-so-slightly. "I'm not worried about Kiba."

"Should he be worried about you?" Shino extended the idea, then his tone finally shifted to something meant to imply softness. It was a very slight change, but one that could be noticed. "Sasuke...Kiba has a temper. He holds grudges. He's going to say rude things. When he does, please don't hurt him."

Sasuke chuckled amicably, sliding his hand through the mop of his own hair and spreading the moist strands out. He shook his head to get some cool air flowing over his scalp—he was still feeling the sweat from his alleyway breakdown. "I'm not going to hurt anybody without a good reason. I don't do that anymore."

"I'm glad to hear that. Now if you'll excuse me, there are things I need to get back to." Shino was the one to cut the conversation short, and Sasuke wasn't terribly bothered by his choice.

"By all means, then. Have a good night." Sasuke bobbed his head once, and then Shino quietly closed the door. Sasuke was glad that at least somebody in the village was more of a recluse than he was, or was at least a contender for the title. That made him feel a little bit better about his being so hesitant to engage with other people. "One more to go..." Sasuke said aloud, sliding the final envelope out of his pack and looking at the symbol emblazoned upon it. It looked like a pair of fangs hanging beneath a small triangle—the shape was probably supposed to look like a nose. To Sasuke, the symbol looked more like a pair of bug mandibles than dog fangs, but he wasn't much of an artist so he just assumed that he was missing some subtle, important detail. Maybe Shino's insects were influencing his perspective, too.

He jumped. Stark reality was still framing Sasuke's vision as he looked up into the night with strong eyes. He could see through the darkness above, and he leaned his head back to allow wind to cross his face and whip his hair when he took another heavy leap. His last destination, The Inuzuka Clan, was a smaller bunch, but still vital to the integrity of the village. In the past, Sasuke had always thought of the individual village clans as separate, disjointed entities competing with one another for prominence and superiority, but after coming to his senses at the hard end of Naruto's fists and words, he was starting to see the necessity of large-scale teamwork. A village consisted of its people; people who refused to collaborate were not part of a village at all.

The latest door, the last door, was knocked upon. The sound of growling, barking dogs was predictable enough so as to not surprise Sasuke when it all thundered behind the closed plank. The knob turned, and Kiba Inuzuka answered—because of course it would be him. Sasuke had been hoping to see one of the other, less familiar parts of the clan, but he looked at the coincidence as being given a slim chance to pave over the rocky meeting from the wedding the night before.

"Kiba Inuzuka," Sasuke began, immediately putting forth a polite nod of his head. "Good evening; I'm glad to find that I didn't wake you." A customary greeting, something with tints of an apology. He knew it was getting late, but at least the young male who answered the door was still dressed in day clothes.

"Sasuke..." Kiba started, scowling and baring his fangs. "Not the guy I want to see right now." He started to close the door, but a foot planted firmly near the frame was enough to keep it from latching shut. Kiba looked down and twitched his eyebrow. "Hey, what's the big idea here?"

Sasuke took a deep breath. He tried to think peaceful thoughts, and he finally found a few things that didn't drive him wild in the wrong ways. The violet was there, swaying, but it only reminded him of his confusion over Hinata. She had thrown him into something of a whirlwind, and he was thrashing his limbs in every direction to escape its pull. Seeing her again had calmed the storm somewhat; it had made her more human in his eyes, less of a specter. Prior to that, she was almost a force of nature, some unreal spirit that had been toying with his thoughts. No, he had found that she was just a girl, a girl he had met at a vulnerable time. Nothing special. Nothing to lose his head over. It was only natural for a heart-hurting man to put a pedestal beneath the very next pretty girl to cross his path, but Sasuke had never been hurt in such a way—he had lost family, friends, and dreams, yet he had never lost the type of love he had felt for Sakura, before. It was different; he was still new to such a transition.

Instead of the confounding girl with the dark blue hair, he thought of the two-week promise he had made. He looked at it like an hourglass that was already tipped over—once it was empty, and once those two weeks were up, he could thank Sakura for her concern and then say farewell to the village forever. The others whom he had visited had all been polite, but by contrast Sasuke could appreciate the blatant honesty of Kiba's reaction. So maybe I do deserve to have a door slammed in my face, Sasuke reasoned with himself. I still need to get this task finished. He then gave a voice to his thoughts, keeping his tone as disarming as could be. "I'm here on business from the Hokage, Kiba. Rest assured, I won't stay long...just take this message so I can be on my way." He was one step away from a home invasion. His instinct had kicked in and prevented him from allowing the door to be shut in his face, but it made him look pushy. Even at his most humble, Sasuke was subconsciously demanding of respect. He offered forth the final envelope, finally being rid of the burden of his bag when Kiba begrudgingly took it from him with a frown.

The Inuzuka's nose was twitching like he had caught onto a scent, but he kept his intrigue quiet. His eyes narrowed and his hand went back to the doorknob. Sasuke could still hear the growling and barking of several dogs—he assumed that one of them was Akamaru, but the door was just barely ajar and Sasuke could only see a third of Kiba's own frame filling the gap. The fanged fellow opened his mouth, and he didn't censor the disdain that followed: "If it wasn't from the Hokage, I'd feed this to the dogs, Sasuke. I don't care what Naruto says, or how the others feel...to me, you're still a traitor."

Sasuke gave a nod of understanding. "It's your right to think so." He wasn't yet invested in proving himself to anybody. If he was branded a traitor, then so be it. He didn't intend to stick around. As far as he was concerned, one day was down, and only thirteen were left. He took his foot away from the door, relieving its jam but extending a chance at a peaceful, amicable departure. Something out of the ordinary for him: "Is there anything I can do to make up for how I've wronged you, Kiba?" He was still trying to experiment with ways to deal with those whom he had mistreated in the past. Avoiding them all wasn't going to work forever.

Kiba was put on the spot by the question. He snarled. "No, don't you turn this around on me. Don't put it on my shoulders to lay the terms! If I had my way, I would've beaten you senseless and brought you back to the village with Naruto over six years ago...but you were so determined to leave that nothing was going to stop you, huh?" Kiba had a fist clenched, his sharp nails pressing into his palms as he struggled to keep himself from swinging for Sasuke's dull, flat mouth. "Let's see...for starters, you can apologize to me, personally. I almost died on that failure of a mission, you know...Neji and Choji, too."

Sasuke blinked in earnest surprise. He hadn't been aware of all that. He had known that there was a mission to retrieve him, in as far as the fact that Naruto had been the only part of said mission to reach him...but he hadn't known how far it had gone for the others. "Almost died...? I'm sorry about that, Kiba. I really am..." He started off like he was humble, but then his pride and solitude took over, and he couldn't leave well enough alone. "But I never asked for you to come after me...you did it on your own."

Kiba didn't look appeased, even before the stinger at the end of the apology reached him. It probably didn't make a difference, either way, which words Sasuke had said or not said. Kiba had already decided that he wasn't in a forgiving mood. "Whatever, Sasuke..." He stepped away from the door, deftly letting a massive dog's head squeeze through and bellow out a bark that was clearly meant to intimidate Sasuke. It didn't work. The stoic Uchiha merely stood still with his calm face an inch from the canine's vicious, drooling, gnashing fangs. He didn't even blink. The door was holding fast thanks to a chain latch that hadn't been undone. Frankly, even if it hadn't held, Sasuke was well beyond the point of being frightened by dogs.

"I'll be seeing you, Kiba," Sasuke said under the cacophonous sound of Akamaru's perpetual barking. He took a step back, turning to go. Sasuke was smirking as he heard the wild-eyed dog trainer grumbling and tugging his defeated pup back into the house; Kiba must have expected to see Sasuke squirm a bit after the show of beastly intimidation, because the disappointment was palpable. The door slammed harder than any of the others, which Sasuke took to mean that Kiba would be the most difficult one to win over—if such a thing were even possible.

As he departed, Sasuke ran a mental inventory of each visited clan in his head, taking note of his 'first-impressions' standing with them—Ino, from the start, was never against him exactly. Konohamaru, either. Shikamaru seemed agreeable, despite some distrustful undercurrents. The Akimichi waiters and the restaurant host were as friendly as anyone could have been expected to be; Sasuke told himself that he would have to remember to see Choji at some point in the coming days, as he would be the future clan head. Kiba was obviously a rough patch, but he was well known for his attitude; Shino was unreadable but not completely dismissive. Overall, the visits had gone better than Sasuke expected them to go.

And then there was the Hyuuga girl. Hinata, above the rest, seemed all-too-ready to forgive him, looking a bit more giddy than Sasuke had expected of her when he said his farewell after dinner—he reminded himself that he would have to remember to say hello to her soon. In his frazzled state of mind, he had accidentally made something of a promise to meet up again within the next two days. How had he gotten himself wrapped up so tightly with her, and so quickly? Twenty-four hours, all a blur of emotion and automatic decisions. He was trying to sort through the details as he walked aimlessly.

Sasuke had instantly become infatuated with her, though he still didn't get it. He plainly felt the signs, but he blamed them all on the residual throes of heartbroken loneliness. He was already making plans for which direction to head when he left the village for the next—and possibly last—time. Patting the empty satchel at his side, he confirmed that no envelopes had been left behind. Only one day of his promise was finished, yet he felt like his endurance had already been exhausted. The weight of the village was too much—though he had tried not to let it bother him, he had begun to notice that various people were recognizing him and giving him terse looks when he passed. He continuously felt unwelcome in the village that was supposed to be his home. Without Naruto or Sakura around, the only one who seemed to legitimately want him there for a good enough reason was Kakashi. Sasuke admitted that there were certainly worse people to have in his corner than the Hokage himself. Still, the Hokage was one man—and the rest of the village didn't always share his sentiments.

Hinata had been full of bubbly, hopeful thoughts until the moment she reached the dojo to behold her sweat-ridden father practicing his graceful techniques. With tough thrusts of strong hands, the head of the Hyuuga clan demonstrated his might—the air of the simple rectangular room fluctuated voraciously, whipping wind from one corner to the next as the current followed the sweeping, choreographed movements of Hiashi Hyuuga. He was a one-man hurricane, the pure strength and focus of his limbs transferring precisely into all the directions around him.

Hinata had seen him practicing before, but it had been a while since—just like everybody else seemed to be, her father was getting stronger by the day, while she had long ago begun to stagnate after Neji's death. She had gently nudged the sliding door open just enough to peek inside with one eye, observing the routine with her mouth hanging open, mesmerized. Hiashi twirled a few more times, his bared feet swirling along the padded mat on the floor and his white robe flowing easily with his every move. After a few minutes of continuous dancing, he came to an abrupt stop and clapped his hands together, shutting his eyes and finding his personal center before sitting down with his legs crossed. The vortex within the room that had been puffing across Hinata's hair was then calmed, and the rushing sound eased to silence.

"Come in," Hiashi stated after a long beat of quietude, firm and direct. His face was hard, his jaw square and his hair cut much more rigidly than either of his daughters'. He had a very militaristic look to him, combat tested and prepared to march into any conflict to defend his principles.

Hinata nodded from beyond the wall, then tucked herself through the smallest space she could create in the doorway. She nudged it closed at her back and approached the mat, falling to her knees respectfully and bowing her head forward. "Father," she said quietly. All of the excitement had been squeezed from her like juice from a ripe orange. "We've received a message from the Hokage," she explained, using both hands to extend the envelope, presenting it like a sword resting on each of her palms. Hiashi had become slightly more tolerant of what he saw to be Hinata's weaknesses, and yet he still had the judgemental glare of a disappointed parent. Hinata avoided eye contact with him; while she was in his sight, she felt like she was walking across a bridge of ice that was hanging over a pit of searing lava—slippery and shrinking. One false step could have sent her plummeting down.

Hiashi accepted the offering from his daughter without a word, sliding a chakra-laden finger across the seal upon the envelope to split it open and unfurl the contents inside. He began to read, and Hinata remained on her knees with her shoulders and head low for the entirety of his silent observance. He spoke with authority, every word heavy like an ox. "Three of us will represent the clan. One for each branch of the tournament."

Hinata gave a nod, staying low and speaking cautiously. "Y-yes father. I had already decided to enter."

Hiashi's face didn't change; it was already craggy and tight. "Good...then you will be our representative in the Beginner Tier. Hanabi shall enter the General Tier, and I will compete in the Exceptional Tier." He nodded, as if that were to be the end of the discussion. He had decreed, and so it should have been followed.

Hinata felt her foot slip on the proverbial ice when she peeked up at her father in surprise. "Beginner...? I'm strong enough for the General Tier, father." She tried to insist, but her voice was light and frail. In truth, she was only repeating what Sasuke had said to her. There was none of her own confidence behind the statement.

"You aren't," Hiashi said plainly. "You are still merely a chunin. Hanabi surpassed you long ago."

Hinata furrowed her brow and tucked her bottom lip beneath the corner of her teeth. "But...isn't Hanabi still a genin?"

Hiashi answered coldly. "In name, yes. Due to her extensive training, she has not had the time to participate in the exams. Rest assured, her proficiency is that of a true prodigy; she will be our sole representative for the General Tier. That is my final decision..." He didn't physically wave her off, but it felt to Hinata like he had aggressively started to push her out the door with both strong hands at once. "You may go," he said assertively.

Hinata winced slightly. She wanted to argue, to put up a fight, but she couldn't find the resolve. She heard Sasuke's voice again: Enter the General Tier, Hinata; do that, and I know you'll perform well. That voice was soothing and assuring, still echoing freshly from merely an hour or two ago, but Hinata recalled quickly that Sasuke had never actually seen her fight. The words felt like empty encouragement when compared to the stern assessment of her flesh and blood. Sasuke's seemingly-spontaneous pep talk had been completely shut out by the patriarch who, admittedly, knew her potential much more thoroughly. "Y-yes, father," she relented, finally raising her head and giving him an uncertain smile. She bowed again once she had risen to two feet, then she exited the dojo with her hands folded in front of her waist and her head dipped in defeat.

She kept her attention focused downward while she took the shortest path through the passages and sitting rooms that would lead her into her own room; she was looking for shelter from the embarrassment of being pulled back down toward the dirt of the real world. As she fell, writhing and whimpering, she realized that Sasuke had placed her upon a comforting cloud. While his words rang repeatedly through her head, they became less and less convincing each time she heard them. I never thought I was so gullible, Hinata said to herself as a way of checking her expectations. Her father was right—she wasn't good enough to compete with certain chunin-level fighters, let alone many of the jonin who would still enter the General Tier despite the allure of facing Naruto or Sasuke in the layout above it.

On the way through the house and to her room, Hinata passed Ko, who was wearing a dark green robe and seated on his knees with a book laying open on a short table behind him. He was looking straight ahead, and every few minutes he would reach a hand behind his back to turn the tome to its next page. Byakugan training—does he even need to do something so simple anymore? Hinata wondered, having assumed that her trusted bodyguard had reached the near-full potential of his milky eyes. "Ko, is everything alright?" Hinata asked as she came to a stop in her purposeful journey.

The man blinked once, turning off his Byakugan and reaching a hand up to wipe the rims of each eye, clearing away the wateriness that had built up. He groaned quietly, covering his sight with both palms after a moment and putting pressure against his skull. "Yes, Lady Hinata," he said through a dry throat. "I've been working on the endurance of my sight," he explained, turning his head to look directly at the book upon the table. "It's all I've been able to do today, since you left without saying anything to me..."

Hinata pursed her lips and gave an apologetic bow of her upper half. "I apologize. Hanabi came to my room shortly after you left, and...then I got further sidetracked, before coming home afterward. It's good to see you." She moved to stand in front of Ko and laid a soft hand on his shoulder, which made her bodyguard smile warmly as he looked up to her sweet—but saddened—smile.

"Are you feeling any better?" He inquired. From the looks of it, he had been sitting there for hours, absorbed into a brand new book still lying next to its receipt from the shop. Hundreds of pages had been turned.

Hinata nodded. "Yes...I'm actually feeling much better than this morning, thank you." She turned her attention to the book. It was hard to determine what it was about, based on the page he had left it on. There was copious flowery detail that hardly expanded upon the plot at all, if there was even a plot to be seen. She wondered what secrets could have been locked away inside those pages, but resisted the urge to begin reading it more closely.

Ko noticed her attention, then cleared his throat and turned to slide a bookmark into place before closing the papery block with its back facing upward. He seemed embarrassed by the contents, so much so that he didn't want the cover to be seen. "That's good," he said through a mutter. "How long have you been home?"

"Not long," Hinata clarified. Her conversation with Hanabi and the short clash with her father had only lasted for a few minutes each; the moon was still low to the horizon. "I've already checked in with father," she added. The meeting had sent a bloody spike through her enthusiasm, and she was having trouble finding her joy again. She knew it was there, a pleasant rope of light slithering around within her dour thoughts, but whenever she tried to grab it, it slipped away. Her grip was never sure enough to get a tight hold on it again. "Actually, Ko, I'm glad I ran into you. There's something I want to ask of you."

Ko straightened his back and laid his hands purposefully against his bent knees. "Anything, Lady Hinata." Ever the faithful servant, he was.

"I need to begin training again. We have just received word from the Hokage that the Five Great Nations are going to be holding a tournament in Konoha. Father has consented to my entering into the contest, but I know that he and Hanabi will be busy training together...so I'd like your help to get started with my practice."

Ko bowed his head and gave a cheerful grin. His groomed hair flopped when he brought his gaze back up to look upon his cherished duty. There was love and appreciation in the way he looked at her; it was the look Hinata had wished her father would have given her more often. Ko did so want to feel useful again; devoted bodyguards like himself had very little to do in times of stable peace. "It would be my honor, Lady Hinata." He took his eyes down and brought his forehead to the floor in front of him, holding the submissive position for a moment before creaking back up to his previous sitting stance. "We can start as early as tomorrow. Please let me know when you have need of me!"

Hinata had taken a step back from him when he bowed, and she held an arm vertically across her stomach and chest, scratching the side of her cheek. The tingling was still bugging her, but after realizing the source of the lingering feeling, it was less of an annoyance and more a recognized source of longing. "Thank you very much, Ko!" Hinata said graciously, genuinely glad for his agreement. She was privately hoping that their second attempt at training together would go more smoothly than the first—if he hadn't gotten stronger since then, she feared that she would simply be going through the motions by sparring with him. Still, he was her only real option. "For now, I'm exhausted. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave a nod of her head. "Goodnight."

Ko answered with his own nod as Hinata turned to leave him to his practice. "Goodnight," he echoed, watching her leave and making sure she was headed to her room before he carefully turned his hand backward to pluck open his book again. With a somewhat-guilty smirk, he began to read the latest page with his reactivated Byakugan. When he turned to the next page, it appeared to be part of a fairly adult sort of reading material. He had lucked out when Hinata arrived—the section he had left off on was tame, and actually nonsensical enough to obscure the general subject matter. He told himself that she must never know of his habit—he quietly blamed the Sixth Hokage for having introduced him to the old series, anyhow.

It was dark in the Land of Waves, but the small island nation was blanketed by the starlight of a clear spring night that granted a wide degree of visibility. The pleasant breeze wafting in from the ocean was teasing the very top balcony of the towering hotel which Naruto and Sakura had arrived to a short while earlier in the night. Coupled with the sentimental value of the location, the newlyweds had picked the Land of Waves due to the promise of free hotel lodging in exchange for all of the help and inspiration they once brought to the land. The pair was still unpacking for their two-week stay, but had taken a break along the way to admire their suite's view of the sparkling, moon-painted sea.

Sakura was leaning over the steel railing, her elbows propped on the edge and her arms dangling limply over the side. Naruto was behind her, hands on her hips and lips on her shoulder as he whispered. "It's nice here, eh?"

Sakura nodded, reaching a hand up to clump into his shortened blonde hair behind her head, holding him close and smirking. "This place really became prosperous, just like Tazuna said it would..." she said with confidence. She could see the shape of the Great Naruto Bridge from their top-level balcony, a yellowish line that was lit by the occasional lamp along the edges. "Thanks to you."

Naruto gave his wife's neck a nibble, breathing a husky whisper as the playful teeth wandered to her earlobe next. "We all did our part to make it happen. Me, you, Kakashi-sensei, even Sasuke...this was the first place where we really accomplished something together, y'know?" As he kissed, nibbled, and pinched, Sakura was tilting her head to give him space to play along her skin, her hand still keeping him nearby and urging him not to stop.

"Mm, it's really nice here," she said, adding emphasis. "And there won't be any interruptions..." she continued, pushing herself back against the sturdy frame of her lover, melting into his heat and feeling a shiver roll along her skin to become goosebumps. Every little touch he gave to her was intuitive, like he knew exactly which parts of her were the most sensitive at which times—but of course he did. He had been pursuing her since they were both impressionable children; he had paid attention. Naruto Uzumaki's greatest strength was his empathy, and it came into play in many more ways than just making friends.

They were still toying with one another, teasing and hinting, rubbing and squeezing. The anticipation was slowly building through the night as it had built along the journey. Dirt and rain had colored their travel, but neither of them had been deterred by the discomfort of their road. Sakura's only discomfort came from elsewhere, and she clutched Naruto's hand with a sort of worry. She turned her head to his, wetting his lips with hers between every few words. Her affection for him was at its peak, though her mind had been nagging her. "Do you think Sasuke is alright?"

Naruto didn't stop, either. His hands roamed across her shoulders and down her sides, strong fingers digging into her tight muscles to relax them completely. He could feel her slackening against him, falling forward onto the railing, and he followed her there to contour their bodies together. "He's gonna be fine, Sakura," he said with complete faith. Naruto was known to be an honest person, and everything he ever said had a peculiar habit of turning out true, even if it was initially a fantasy. "Two weeks is plenty of time...he'll find something in the village he won't be able to live without."

Sakura nodded, huffing slightly and feeling her face grow hotter as the joy of physical teasing ran through her. "Maybe...but if he doesn't want to find something, do you think he really will?" It was getting harder for her to concentrate on the discussion as her body moved on its own, but neither of them were willing to fully abandon the talk yet. Sakura and Naruto had both known that Sasuke would be in a bad place after their wedding, but they also had faith in his resolve. "I mean...nothing's really stopping him from leaving tonight."

Naruto shook his head, rubbing his cheek against his wife as he leaned over her. "He made a promise. He's not gonna break it, y'know? And besides all that, Kakashi-sensei told me he'd do whatever he could to get Sasuke back into the village for good."

Sakura nodded, eyes shut tight and lips curled together. "Mmhm," she answered. Words were starting to fail her; it was time for her final coherent thoughts of the night. "Kakashi-sensei will hold things together while we're gone...so let's not worry..." She abruptly turned around, pushing Naruto back slightly with a hip bump to make room, then she hopped backward to lay her rear on the railing and look up at the world-famous hero with a deep breath. "Let's just have a good time together," she resolved, scooping her arm around Naruto's neck and forcefully drawing him into her embrace. As their kiss became something even more intimate, she allowed her troubled thoughts to fade away. She had briefly felt guilty when she was looking Sasuke in the eye that morning, but no more—he was strong, and she was strong. As Naruto said, things would work out...and besides, even if she had wanted to keep worrying, her thoughts had quickly become too filled with love for her new spouse. There was no room left at all for anything negative to take root.

The sparkling night turned out to be a truly perfect one in the Land of Waves.

The perfection didn't transfer into Konoha. The night was pleasant, surely, but there were countless flaws even so. Though Sasuke had stopped a single group of thugs, there were many more that went unpunished. Kakashi, the Sixth Hokage, was the one who had been trying to deal with the rising crime rates all along. He understood all too well the causes behind the increase, and he was trying to find a rapid resolution. He was writing away on pages of proposals at his desk with a quick hand, making notes and writing suggestions to himself in the margins of said notes; notes with notes on top, thousands of words per page and not nearly enough to satisfy his mind. He had intended to be alone in his office for the night, but his ever-faithful aide, Shizune, had not allowed it.

She was in a chair beside him, peeking over his shoulder and making the occasional question or remark about his work. She wasn't much of a politician—she knew how to handle the gears and knobs of the process of politicking, but she wasn't one who liked to make decisions. Still, she did what she could to add perspective. "What if it's just a phase? Don't you think it could even out on its own?" The dark-haired assistant suggested by candlelight. Kakashi had insisted on turning the proper lights off overhead, leaving the two close together in soft, soothing orange tones.

Kakashi shook his head, one hand busily sketching while the other rubbed along his forehead. "Yes, it is a phase, but it won't even out on its own. This village has been sustained by its mission income for decades; when the income slowed due to fewer international missions from the Fire Daimyo, it created a noticeable deficiency of funds." He looked over to Shizune, who held up a fresh cup of coffee for her superior. He nodded in thanks, tugging his mask down to take a long sip of the dark liquid. It wasn't too hot, nor too cool; she knew exactly how he liked it. He kept his mask down, since his official office hours had long since closed. The door was locked and the windows shuttered. He continued his explanation as he had done half a dozen times before. "The village economy used to depend entirely on ninjas making money from missions. Those shinobi would then spend their money in town to feed into the civilian population. Without the mission income, however, less money is reaching the common folk. That means fewer jobs and harder times all around."

"I thought the biggest problem was boredom. Isn't the upcoming tournament meant to divert the unrest?" Shizune asked, taking in Kakashi's face with a timid sideways glance. Even though she had seen him unmasked dozens of times after dark, she was rather entranced by the vision. Without his hat, headband, or mask, his hair hung down and he had a positively wild look that sometimes made her neck feel a bit warm around the collar.

Kakashi paid Shizune a sideways glance as well, feeling her eyes upon him and not discouraging her in the slightest. "Boredom is part of it, but we can't ignore the money. Many of the people who used to survive off of mission income have become construction workers, messengers, or security guards for businesses after dark...but still more have been unable to adjust to the new economy. We're going through a rough transition, in many cases—robberies and street fights are becoming more common."

"What about the Military Police Force? Aren't they able to keep the peace?" Shizune asked him. She knew very well what his answer was going to be, but she liked to provide a step-by-step process to help the Hokage to work through problems. Sometimes it took a total retracing of steps to stumble on the right path.

"To an extent," Kakashi answered as expected, then he took another sip of steaming coffee from a plain white mug. "But stopping crimes one at a time doesn't deal with the issue. The violence is only a symptom; we need to address the cause. Unfortunately, our current plans won't start making sense until our research and development teams have had a few more breakthroughs. Our technological branches should give us profitable exports soon, but we won't see the gains for quite some time." Kakashi paused, taking a momentary breather and leaning back in his sturdy chair. He folded his arms behind his head. "And even if stopping the crimes one at a time were to be enough, it's not like the police force is as powerful as it used to be. It's practically a skeleton crew, and has been ever since the fall of the Uchiha Clan. The ANBU have tried picking up the slack, but nobody has been fully committed to the cause. There has traditionally been a stigma attached to enforcing the laws on the street. Domestic problems get messy; it's a lot easier for a shinobi to sleep at night knowing that the person who they punished on a mission was from somebody else's village. When the people of your own home begin to fear and resent you, things get...complicated."

Shizune gave a nod, leaning a little closer while she listened to the Hokage's measured voice. He had a way of speaking that just drew her in, an inch at a time, until she often found herself uncomfortably close to him. Usually she snapped herself out of it, but that night there was a sudden knock at the door. She got skittish, yelped, and covered her mouth with both hands like she had been caught. "I-I'll get it," she stammered, blushing. She had been taken off guard in the same way as when Sasuke had silently entered earlier that day. At least she had a moment to breathe this time, settling herself and moving to the door.

Kakashi pulled up his mask while Shizune unlocked the door and opened it. She gave a pleasant greeting and a reminder that the office was closed for official business, but then she blinked when she understood through whispering exactly who—and what—had come to visit. "Lord Hokage," she started over her shoulder. She seemed apprehensive. "You may want to hear about this."

"What is it?" Kakashi asked pertinently, quite busy again already. He noted her tone and looked carefully toward her.

"Well...it's about Sasuke," Shizune replied. "It seems like he's been getting himself into trouble..."

Kakashi blinked. "What? Already?" He groaned quietly, setting his pen down and standing up. "Alright...let's hear it, then..."

So, that more or less wraps up the first 24 hours of the story. The 'two weeks' of the promise will start to go by a bit more quickly after this—and the tournament isn't some far-off goal that's never going to happen, either. In fact, the story isn't even going to be over by the time the tournament is resolved. I just felt that the first full-day period of Sasuke's return should be given a lot of attention, for all of its occasional wackiness and awkward admissions. Groundwork has been laid. This is going to be a terribly long one, so strap in, haha.

As some of you have noticed, I'm still on a two-day schedule. Like I said before, I might slow down, but I haven't yet. The constant reviews, favorites, follows, and even just visitors are keeping me heavily motivated, and it's summer, so I've got plenty of free time right now. Again, I can't possibly thank you all enough for your interest. I hope you liked this one!

See you next time.