Food for Thought Chapter 8: There's a fly in my ramen!, a naruto fanfic

Author's note on timeline:

Naruto's mission to Wakaga, lasting about 16-24 hours.

Naruto and Sakura get assignment to Sodegaura, and leave in the morning

Team 8 and the partial Team 7 travel to Sodegaura, arriving two days after leaving.

'Baker's Street Irregulars'

The next day, the whole group enters Sodegaura officially.

4-5 are the times this story takes place.

I have a feeling I may've gotten my timing mixed up, either here or in past chapters; if someone sees that, please let me know.

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EYES-ONLY CLASSIFIED

Acquisitions Research Department

Konohagakure, Land of Fire

April 12, --

From: Morino Ibiki

Subject: Akatsuki remains and effects

Priority: Critical

To: Hokage, Council, ANBU

Hokage-sama, Councilors, ANBU personnel:

The purpose of this preliminary report is to share our findings on the Akatsuki members known as Hidan and Kakuzu and in particular their rings. Research is still ongoing, but so far promises very good news for Konoha.

The origins of Hidan remain unclear. Our research and espionage departments have turned up very little beyond the reports of those who fought him. It appears he was a missing-nin from Rain, in addition to being an itinerant priest of the 'Jashin' religion, whose theology is just what it sounds like. He claimed immortality, but he was defeated. To preserve security, Shukaku-sama has asked that we not inquire further into the remains of this 'immortal', and the Hokage has agreed. Outside the Nara clan, she is the only person to know the location of Hidan's remains. However we were given a hand that still bore one of the Akatsuki rings. (see: cadaver research department for details on Hidan's hand)

Kakuzu's background is less shrouded in mystery. A missing-nin from Takigakure, intelligence suggests he was Akatsuki's financier. While Hidan appears to be one of the newer additions, Kakuzu seems to have been with Akatsuki for much longer. His was a more 'public' face to the organization than many of its other members, being known for claiming all sorts of expensive bounties at regular intervals. No known ideology or motive behind his bounty targets is clear. (see: cadaver research department and experimental medicine department for details on Kakuzu's remains)

Now to the rings they carried. At first the rings seemed ornamental, like their bamboo hat and red cloud cloak 'uniform'. But it quickly became clear that they served a more practical purpose. It was discovered that the rings were crafted of an unknown metal. However, this metal does have properties of special chakra-conducting materials. Research has also shown that both rings carry special seals, and that each is slightly different.

They are being kept in secure, isolated storage in case they are trapped, but we are taking all precautions to guard against any risk. Akatsuki knows of our victory, so it is likely that any traps would have been triggered by now.

Each ring varies in size, shape, density, chakra conductivity, and fuinjutsu. Our experts deem them masterpieces of craftsmanship on all counts. To be accurate, they tax our abilities to evaluate on our own. Our finest craftsmen and researchers have made these rings their priority, those with ample security clearance. Jiraiya-sama has devoted considerable time to studying the seals these rings bear. We face a shortage of personnel skilled enough to effectively evaluate them, but steps are being taken to address this deficiency.

I consider it highly likely that these rings are of vital importance to Akatsuki's bijuu extraction ritual. Very little is known of Akatsuki's method, but all our knowledge suggests that capturing a bijuu of any power has a high chance of killing or maiming anyone involved. Research from Sunagakure supports belief. Yet according to our sources, Akatsuki has managed to capture jinchuuriki and transfer their bijuu, or capture free bijuu and imprison them, not once but several times without a casualty, aside from the jinchuuriki themselves who universally died.

Therefore since Akatsuki's most urgent mission is to capture the bijuu – for reasons still unclear – it is highly probable that these rings are necessary or at least very important to this ritual. This probability is supported by reports from Jiraiya-sama's sources which indicate that the Kazekage's extraction ritual took much longer than previous efforts. The only difference we have noticed between this event and previous extractions is Orochimaru's absence, and the absence of his ring.

It is beyond the scope of this preliminary report, but according to the evidence I have reviewed I think it likely that Akatsuki's focus will by necessity shift away from jinchuuriki until such time as they can either recover the two rings we have captured, or craft replacements. We cannot be certain that neither Hidan or Kakuzu were the artisans responsible for their creation, but in any case such masterpieces will take time to recreate.

-->--> Metallurgical reports on Akatsuki rings -->-->

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"So what's the word on elbow room, Sarge?" a young soldier asked of a grizzled veteran. The kid was fresh from the pastures in Itakura's fief. Other guards perked up around the table and listened closely, while still devouring their meal. Guards were always hungry.

"Well as a matter of fact I did hear some interesting news about that, rookie," the Sergeant said with the air of a man about to repeat some really juicy gossip. "I heard it last night over my usual shogi game with Lord Itakura…" he trailed off, and the kid blushed furiously and hunched down at the laughter of his comrades. The Sergeant grinned and cuffed him lightly on the head. "Geeze, kid, I just a guard, y'know. A much better guard than you of course, and definitely your boss," he smiled faintly to take the sting out of it, "but just a guard. The brass don't keep me in the loop."

The chatter continued while the guards devoured their bland but nourishing breakfast of rice, fish, and cup after cup of hot, strong tea. Women and griping about the leadership were the biggest topics, but the conversation was good-natured. No one was really dissatisfied with their lot in Sodegaura, and aside from the guards all being a bit cramped on account of all the new guys, nothing was happening that bothered them. News from the capital was boring (always a good thing), the economy was good, and Fire Country's new Hokage appeared to have resurrected the nation's elite military from the brink of destruction.

Before long the guards finished their breakfast and quickly cleared out of the barracks. The scullery maids moved in, clucking in resignation at the mess the guards left. The eldest was a stern woman who'd been working hard at keeping Sodegaura's guardsmen fed, watered, and bedded cleanly for over thirty years. She directed her younger coworkers in their efforts.

"Hurry up ladies, we're short handed as it is and the night watch will be here in under half an hour," she pointed from her spot in the corner of the room. An elderly woman, she was in fact too old to keep up with the youngsters anymore, so she supervised. For a long time it had been a semi-retirement, but recently her expertise had become more valuable.

"Gosh, I wish the bosses would free up some coin and hire us some more help," one of the scullery maids grumbled while she bussed the table. Other women mumbled in agreement.

"Well girls, it's a hard thing being assigned extra barracks to clean but that's our lot and no mistake. I'm not happy about it either, but we'll just have to make do," the supervisor told them. There was more grumbling at that, but the supervisor had a reputation as a very hard worker, so the chiding was tolerated. She'd worked back during the wars, when things were really tight; she'd worked for years without pay back then, so she was respected now.

Within a matter of minutes the commissary was cleaned up and restocked with all the things a hungry troop of guards would need. The scullery maids whisked back into their own areas of the barracks to gather up their equipment for the day. One, though, held back and easily avoided the watchful eye of the supervisor. A very plain looking woman who had inserted herself into the flow of the chores with the ease of an experienced servant, her presence had not been commented upon in the rush of work.

She had excellent hearing for a servant, and a look of regret passed over her face unseen as her coworkers disappeared through the door to continue their work. The supervisor had been a woman after her own heart, a leader in her way, even though hers was a relatively unimportant position. 'Still, it's not like I can stick around, no matter how short they are.' It was too bad, really. One hour of her work and the scullery maids could take a much-needed day off. With that thought, the newcomer disappeared around a corner and out the door.

A scruffy, filthy, very poor child hurried on into the city fleeing jeers and angry shouts. Street rats were quickly chased out of the respectable districts of Sodegaura.

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"Comin' down!" the filthy man bellowed down the small, short tunnel.

"Comin' down!" a faint voice called back from far down the hole.

The first man, a foreman filthy from the dusty air, pulled a lever and a series of small carts trundled down into the mine. Men rode them crouching low to avoid the very short ceiling. They carried tools, food, and equipment for the other miners and themselves, and they disappeared into the mine's darkness quickly.

"Alright kid, what'd you say your father's name was?" the foreman asked of a small child who had been waiting patiently for a free moment. The supervisor was a kind fellow, but was very busy and needed to get the brat out of his hair.

"Nigawa Fujita, sir. My mom sent me to come find him to give him a note," said the child. He held up a grubby slip of paper earnestly.

"Sorry little guy, I don't have any Fujitas on my crew. You should try some of the other foreman, they'll know where your dad is," he said kindly. The kid looked upset, so the news must be bad. Fortunately the guy didn't work on his crew; the supervisor could not afford a distracted miner, not right now.

"But…where are they? How should I get there?" The kid's lower lip wobbled and he looked frightened. The supervisor took another look around the area, swarming with miners, equipment, and buildings. The mines on Sodegaura's mountainous outskirts were new and hastily assembled; the area was almost a shantytown.

After a moment the foreman decided to take pity on the little kid. Many of the miners were desperately poor, and their families lived with the threat of ruin every single day. Even children as young as this one learned quickly how precarious their situations were. They all had to grow up fast, like this little kid, just a year or so too young to start mining himself. 'Maybe it's good news,' the foreman thought, but not with much hope.

"Alright, listen carefully and I'll tell you where to go. Keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut and you'll be fine. It's not really dangerous topside, but we're all very busy, and I don't want some snot nose running into things and slowing us down. Got it?" he asked sternly. The child nodded at once, keeping quiet.

The supervisor then went on to give him careful instructions on how to find the other supervisors, as well as their names and how many miners worked for them. He suggested that the kid, whose name he didn't particularly care to find out, try the supervisors responsible for the largest crews in hopes of finding his father sooner. The kid nodded with such wide-eyed innocent enthusiasm that the supervisor had to remind himself to get back to work. Miners saw a lot of death, so hard hearts were necessary.

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"I can't say what's going on in Sodegaura, but something is definitely up," Naruto growled. He had returned to the rendezvous point to meet up with Shino a short ways (for a shinobi) outside the city in the surrounding forest, and then to their campsite.

"Could you be more specific, Naruto?" Shino asked. From the way the Aburame leaned forward just a little, it was clear he was very interested in Naruto's report. Along with Akamaru, his insects were patrolling the area; the Konoha nin felt secure enough to talk while they all ate together. Naruto was devouring salted fish and dried fruit as thoroughly as ramen, minus the enthusiasm. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and the sun was now low in the sky.

"Sure, sure, Aw'm gettin' to that, Shino," Naruto said through another mouthful. He wiped his mouth after a long drink from his canteen. "For starters there are more guards in Sodegaura than there were under the late Lord Itakura. Conscription's up, shifts are longer, and many of the guard companies have had their time off cut back as well," he reported in a serious, almost grim voice. It was a surprising, even ominous development; such a buildup almost certainly meant the powers that be in Sodegaura expected to need more security, but for what?

"More disturbing than that is the fact that this buildup started months ago, but Konoha didn't know about it," Naruto went on. He glanced at Team 8 to confirm that they hadn't simply neglected to pass that information on from their more thorough briefing; he didn't expect it – they were all professionals – but it paid to double check. Everyone sat up straighter at hearing of this intelligence failure. "But in Konoha's defense, this buildup has been very gradual, and from what I could tell the guard companies aren't actually being used for anything alarming. Still, something to keep an eye on," he concluded.

"No kidding, Naruto. What else ya got?" Kiba inquired brusquely. He didn't want to appear too solicitous, though the truth was he was pretty impressed. Naruto had learned more than they had expected already.

"Something strange. There's a great deal of mining going on just outside Sodegaura, but they're just digging so far. Nothing's come up yet except dirt and rock, at least nothing big; it would be impossible to hide a rich strike of any kind given the location. There's a lot of new blood in town to shore up the mining crews, and they're working day and night," he gestured towards the city and the sprawl on its outskirts. According to their briefing, that was new, too.

Naruto's report went on for a little while longer, but there were no more surprises. As far as the people knew, the favorites at Lord Itakura's court hadn't changed. Furthermore there was no trouble from the border and the economy was good, so everyone was willing to give the new Lord Itakura time to grow into his father's shoes. Given how ordinary everything else seemed, the Konoha envoy felt lucky to have Naruto's report.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun, that's excellent work," Hinata said with a smile. She was very impressed and would like to have been more effusive in her praise, but business came first. Long-term infatuation or not, Hinata was a professional too, and the mission came first. "It would look bad for Konoha to go into this meeting not knowing some of Itakura's secrets." Hidden villages, paranoid and espionage-prone societies all, were expected to know more than they should.

"You're welcome. I could've found out more, but mission parameters wouldn't allow it," he pouted slightly. His report made, Naruto reverted back somewhat to the happy-go-lucky fellow they were familiar with.

'Also, most of the people who have a shot at defeating my transformation are related to you three,' he thought with a glance at Team 8. But he had learned discretion, and didn't say so; Aburame, Hyuuga, and Inuzaka were quite loyal to Konoha, as well all the clans.

"Right, right, Naruto," Sakura gave him a slight shove on the arm. "But the rest of us need to earn our pay on this one too, right?" she asked with a look. Since Naruto's return, she had gotten better and better at giving warnings without corporal punishment.

Naruto winced and grinned, shrugging guilelessly. "It's not like I can heal anyone, or keep the stuffed shirts calm while we investigate, or track someone over rock through a flood," he said with respectful glances at the rest of his comrades. 'Besides, she's got a point. I can only guarantee stealth on a day's notice in low-importance areas. If this Itakura guy is really a traitor, though, he'll have counter-intelligence specialists on the lookout for spies. I can't go in half-cocked against that. There's always someone better.' He never said it, but Jiraiya had pounded that truism into his brain. He consoled himself with the thought that 'better' did not equal 'unbeatable'.

Hinata's smile seemed a bit strained, but she nodded. "Thank you, Naruto-kun." 'Is that all you think I'm good for?' But Hinata was an expert at keeping her hopes up when it came to him; she reasoned that he didn't mean that was all she could do (or Kiba-kun or Shino-kun, for that matter), but it still stung a bit to be trivialized by someone you looked up to. "Unless anyone else has anything to add, could either you or Shino-kun send your report?"

Naruto shrugged and glanced at his stoic comrade. "I can use my companions for messages, but it will deplete my reserves to an extent. It would be better if Naruto could call on the Toad Clan for courier duties," Shino stated with his usual impeccable logic. If Shino used his insects, he would be depleted until they returned; if Naruto used a Toad summon, he would only have lost that particular summon once he recovered the slight chakra needed to call it.

He wasn't the only one with a summoning contract, of course, but slugs just weren't as good for this sort of thing.

"Sure thing, Shino," Naruto replied. Remaining seated, he ran a thumb over a sharp incisor then intoned "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" and a small toad appeared. Standing only a little taller than Naruto's ankle, it cocked its small head up and waved at the summoner.

"Howdy boss! What's up? Need a message run deep through enemy lines? A vital communiqué of military secrets from Otogakure? Hide a treasure map? Huh, huh, what?" a perky, childish male voice inquired eagerly. The orange and blue toad hopped up onto Naruto's knee and thumped his leg with a small but powerful foot.

"Hi Gamakichi!" Sakura waved with a smile. Naruto's friends the Toad Clan were usually fun, though often quite inappropriate.

The small toad puffed up his throat proudly, while Naruto and Akamaru glanced at Sakura strangely. "Ummm, Sakura-chan, that ain't Gamakichi. He's way bigger than this runt now," he said, holding up a hand about head high. Akamaru rumbled his agreement; nin animals and summon animals often knew each other pretty well, being peers of a sort.

"I told ya I looked like Gamakichi-niisan!" the small toad declared with a ribbit.

"Well of course you do, idiot, he's your brother! And not from another mother like Gamatatsu, either!" Naruto growled at the peppy toad. "Sakura-chan, everyone, this is Gamadaichiko. He got the name, believe it or not, because he was actually a very big tadpole. But the little squirt doesn't think that name is cool enough, so he only answers to Gamasaru," he said with a roll of the eyes.

"That's right boss! And when did I ever let ya down, I ask you?" the small toad demanded rudely.

"You mean aside from right this very second?" Naruto growled. His hand twitched, but he knew better than to bop the toad; he'd just have to summon him again. "Look, just forget it. Yes, we need you for courier work. Usual deal, after you've had time to arrive I'll summon you again to check for a reply. This one's important, so make sure you book it. Now, Hinata-chan'll have your message, so bother her about it, not me. Got it?"

"You got it, boss! Hey, I really am workin' for a princess this time, or at least nobility! Ha, wait'll the guys hear bout this!" he ribbited in pride when he hopped closer to Hinata. The Toad clan, with its long association with Konohagakure, knew quite a lot about Konoha for a family of mystical toads, so Gamasaru knew the Hyuuga Heir when he saw her. Hinata flushed slightly at the compliment; coming from one of Naruto's toads was actually kind of close to coming from Naruto himself, or at least that's what she told herself. Fortunately she didn't realize Gamasaru was very easy to impress. She spoke quietly with him for a few moments.

"Geeze, Naruto, your toad summons are bigger dorks than you are!" Sakura huffed. She looked almost annoyed at the way the little toad fawned on Hinata.

"Neh, Sakura, is that even possible?" Kiba asked with a smirk. She shrugged with a smile then glared at Naruto.

'Wonder what that's about? Probably just annoyed she mistook him for Gamakichi. Heh, what a silly mistake! Come to think of it, I wonder if she's feeling alright? She's been actin' a little squirrelly since we met up with Team 8. I'll ask her about it later,' he decided.

"Now remember boss, if I do this job right, you gotta call me out more, OK?" Gamasaru, demanded after quickly memorizing Hinata's message.

"Yeah, yeah, but the more time you spend gabbin' at me when you should get to hoppin' the less likely that is!" Naruto pointed out with another glare. 'Ugh, why does he have to be so obnoxious? I was never that bad, was I?' Naruto groaned to himself. Fortunately for his pride, he didn't ask that question aloud.

"Oh, right, yeah! I gotta go! Later boss, Akamaru-sempai, Hinata-hime!" the little guy called out with a wave before hopping away at surprising speed. Those hops were deceptively short, and the Toad clan had special ways and hidden paths of travel that really sped things up.

"Hey, what are we, chopped liver?" Sakura demanded, just barely remembering to include Shino and Kiba in her complaint. 'Snotty little toad! He's lucky I don't fry up those stubby legs of his!' Inner-Sakura growled.

Kiba could have pointed out nin-animals and summons had pretty peculiar behavior and not to take the slight personally, but he was having too much fun watching Naruto squirm.

"Eh-heh heh, sorry Sakura-chan. He's just never met you before, and he's pretty excitable. I kinda forgot to remind him to be polite, cause I like to get him outta my hair as quickly as I can. He's kind of a pain," he explained nervously. If there was one thing Sakura-chan disliked almost as much as perversion, it was being ignored.

She settled down at the apology, but muttered something about summoned animals being a lot like their summoners. Even Naruto was socially aware enough not to point out what she summoned. "Unless there's anything else, I think I'll get some sleep," Hinata said after Sakura's mumbling, deflecting a potential explosion. She was not nearly as fearful as she had been in the past, but still preferred to avoid confrontation where possible.

Sakura nodded agreement, and the two women went together to their side of the campsite. "Good night boys!" she said amiably to Shino, Naruto, and Kiba, her annoyance forgotten. They waved back their goodnights, with Naruto farewell of course the loudest.

"Say Shino, how bout a spar? Nothing serious, just taijutsu. I could use the workout," Naruto asked. He all but slapped his hands together and prayed for it.

"Thank you Naruto, no. Unlike you, I've been running all day. It would not do for me to be at less than peak efficiency in the morning," Shino shook his head.

"Damn. How bout you, dog-breath?" Naruto asked with smirk, hoping to goad his comrade into a fight. It was more fun to spar with Kiba, but often more instructive to spar with Shino. Shino never fought or even practiced with anything less than his technical best.

"Weren't you listening to Shino, noodle brain?" Kiba retorted. "Some of us had to work all day yesterday and again tomorrow," he said sourly and a little unfairly. Although he made the trip to Sodegaura with relative ease, using shadow clones as guards while remaining transformed as a pebble, he'd put in a hard day's work of intelligence-gathering when they reached the outskirts of the city a day before their official arrival.

"Oh fine, go to sleep then. I hope you have a nightmare where the bone you buried is missing," Naruto sneered. Despite their jibes, the two slapped each other on the shoulder before Kiba bedded down. Naruto decided to stay up for a little while, and see how Gamakichi was doing while commiserating with the older toad about how foolish Gamasaru was.

A short while later he lay down to sleep for a few hours, knowing that Shino would be sure to wake him for his watch, the last. But before he did, Naruto created one last shadow clone whose job was only to concentrate while Naruto slipped off to sleep and try to remain corporeal. It had never worked before, in dozens of experiments; in fact it had never even come close to working, had jarred Naruto up to full wakefulness the instant the clone dispelled, but still, a little pain and discomfort never stopped him before. Who knows? Maybe someday he'd become a truly twenty-four seven ninja.

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"Lady Hyuuga Hinata of the Hyuuga clan, Clan Heir, chuunin of Konohagakure, and citizen of Hi no Kuni," one of the court's protocol officials announced. Clad in formal kimono, Hinata stepped beside and slightly in front of her teammates. It might have surprised some, but she bore the scores of eyes on her without flinch or blush. Diplomacy and its trappings were another fear she had overcome, though it had been difficult.

"Inuzuka Kiba-san of the Inuzuka clan, chuunin of Konohagakure, and citizen of Hi no Kuni," the same official announced, though with less fanfare. Kiba strode confidently further into the audience hall, uncaring of any eyes upon him unless they belonged to an attractive woman. Those he smiled at pointedly, but otherwise did not put a foot out of place. Like Shino, he was dressed normally though wearing a clean uniform. Arriving casually garbed was a carefully calculated diplomatic gesture, a veiled expression of disapproval sure to be recognized by everyone present without being an overt insult.

"Aburame Shino-san of the Aburame clan, jounin of Konohagakure, and citizen of Hi no Kuni," the man said finally. His announcement did not disgrace Sodegaura by any inflection or stammer, but there was a bit of awkward murmuring amongst the courtiers. No pretty women that anyone noticed winked Shino's way, but the quality of Lord Itakura's more powerful nobles remained to be seen; in any event Shino did not seem in the least concerned, even though he was the heir to the Aburame clan.

When Team 8 minus Akamaru (even Kiba had to bend to diplomatic protocols in some things, though his partner was not housed in the kennels) reached the lord's seat, they found a small, dainty looking young man clad more formally than Hinata, almost opulently in fact. He smiled politely, but their shinobi training quickly saw through the pretense of a man annoyed at having to hold this meeting. He hid it well, for a civilian; not well at all for an aristocrat who could expect to have dealings with shinobi.

"On behalf of Sodegaura and my family, please allow me to bid you welcome, shinobi of Konoha," the young Lord Itakura stood up to his full elegant height. "We are doubly fortunate, to be so honored and blessed by your presence." He returned Team 8's bows with the respect due an honored servant instead of a visiting dignitary.

"On behalf of Konohagakure and our families, I am honored to accept your welcome, Itakura-sama," Hinata replied with the courteous sweetness appropriate to her political position. She didn't reply, verbally or otherwise, to Lord Itakura's jockeying for position. It was true that he was their superior of a sort, but no shinobi of Konoha was his servant, much less the Clan Heir of Hyuuga. Kiba and Shino did not speak, and some of their host's administrators seemed displeased at that.

"Well now that that's out of the way, please, accompany my ministers and I into private session that we may discuss issues of importance discreetly. I am sure you bear messages for some of my cabinet, and we are eager to hear more from our friends in Konoha," Lord Itakura said. His smile slipped a little, almost to the level a civilian would see through it.

'We have big problems,' Hinata thought to herself grimly as Team 8 stepped out of the audience chamber into the offices of the Lord of Sodegaura.

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"How d'you think it's goin' Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked for the fourth time in less than half an hour. The group from Konoha had (officially) arrived early that morning in Sodegaura. They were greeted warmly without seeing any signs increased security, though from Naruto's report they must be somewhere. Team 8 was given an hour to cleanse themselves after their long journey in large luxurious suites for visiting dignitaries. Team 7 was politely shuffled off to adjoining chambers, much smaller and appropriate to bodyguards instead of VIPs.

Sakura had been expecting that, but that didn't mean she liked it. Her mood had not improved by spending hours cooped up with a very bored Naruto. She loved him like a brother (or not like a brother, depending on which Sakura you asked), but few things were more annoying than a bored Naruto in a confined space.

"Well Naruto, I'll bet it's going lots better now than when you asked me less than ten minutes ago. Again. In fact, I'll just bet Team 8 already completed our mission, and we'll be able to go fight some monsters or something!" No medical texts to study, no patients to treat, no boulders to turn to gravel, it's not like she was thrilled either!

Naruto winced. "Sorry Sakura-chan, I don't mean to bitch so much. It's just that there's only so many minutes I can sit in this dressed up waiting room before I get bored, y'know?" To be fair to Naruto, there was no ramen, no one to spar with, he couldn't study fuinjutsu here, nothing to do but pretend to be just an ordinary annoying and bored chuunin for any potential observers.

Sakura knew how he felt. It had already been hours since Team 8 had parted ways with them, but in spite (or maybe because of) their extensive experience in waiting, the two shinobi were on the way to stir-crazy. The pair had decided outside the city that when this happened, they would ham it up a bit to appear less competent. Giving off an impatient teenager vibe might get observers to underestimate them, in spite of their relatively fearsome reputation.

It was one of the easier cons Team 7 pulled.

"Say Sakura-chan, umm..." Naruto trailed off awkwardly.

"Yes?" she said curiously; she could tell he wasn't just being a pest. Naruto wasn't often reluctant to talk to her.

"Listen, tell me if I'm wrong here, but these past few days it seems like you've been acting kinda strange, y'know?" He was reluctant to speak, but he managed to get it out.

"I have, huh?" Her expression was both anxious and pained. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she paused uncertainly.

"It's not cause I didn't tell you about what I was studying, was it? I would've told you sooner, it's just…y'know, orders." He smiled tightly; it was the only thing he could think of, since she had begun behaving oddly the morning they left Konoha.

"Naruto, don't smile at me like that. I hate it," Sakura scowled, annoyance thick in her voice. At his stricken expression her face softened. "You know what I mean! I mean that fake smile. You're really good at it, but I've seen it too many times to be fooled, OK?" 'And ashamed it fooled me for so long.'

"So…you're not mad?" Naruto asked uncertainly. Stripped of his pain-hiding grin, his expression was very young and open, vulnerable.

"No!" She couldn't stand her teammate looking at her that way. "If anything I'm mad you told me at all, breaking security like that. Why did you tell me then, anyway?"

"Well…I hate keeping secrets," he rubbed his stomach with a grimace. "It was one thing not telling you about studying fuinjutsu before, because you never asked. Why would you?" He didn't notice the squeamish expression on her face at that. "But…well, to actively lie to you about it, I just couldn't do it. I felt awful just thinking about it. Secrets like that…" 'If you'd told Sasuke about Kyuubi, if he knew about it all along, maybe he wouldn't felt weak and run to Orochimaru-teme, right Naruto, you loser? Your fault he left and your fault for not stopping him!' It took an act of will to stamp those thoughts out; they never changed anything, even though they were true, and it never stopped feeling so horrible.

"Keeping secrets like that from your precious people, it never ends well," he said after a long moment.

Sakura's hand twitched in hesitation. Her face twisted with confusion and sadness before becoming resolute. She placed her scarred palm down on Naruto's hand. 'Not so much as a scratch on him,' she thought with wonder as she frequently did of her teammate's unblemished body. In the shinobi world, not only was scarring commonplace, many shinobi made their scars a fundamental piece of their image, such as Kakashi and Ibiki.

"I don't blame you for keeping your secrets, Naruto. In fact I'm grateful you shared them with me at all," she said quietly. Kyuubi was noteworthy by his absence in her words. "And you're right, I have been acting strange. I'm sorry about that, I promise it's not because you did anything wrong," she said quickly.

"Then why? What's bothering you?" The reluctance was gone, replaced with immediate concern. Few have ever worried more about their friends than Uzumaki Naruto.

"It's…embarrassing. No, shameful," Sakura admitted slowly. "But so many times in the past when you've done something surprising – and it's happened a lot – I've felt shocked. Shocked. I shouldn't feel that way, because it means there's some part of me that still thinks you're just a stupid kid, and you're not. You're not," she said fiercely to his uncertain look. "It reminds me of all the times I used to treat you like shit just because I didn't know any better and couldn't be bothered to learn. I'd say I'm sorry, and I am, I really am, but it's just not enough. I remember when it started happening to me, when he…" she didn't say his name, "…would look at me like I was nothing, like I was a waste, and it hurt. A lot. But you weren't ever like that to me, even though I was to you, and I can't ask you to forgive me for acting like it," Sakura concluded. She wasn't crying and neither was he, but their faces were sad and their expressions tightly controlled. Neither moved or spoke.

"Sakura-chan, I can't accept your apology," Naruto said quietly a after a long pause. Before she could really absorb that he went on. "You can't apologize because I've already forgiven you," he pointed out with a wide, happy smile; a real one this time. "We were all just kids back then; we didn't know any better, none of us. We all made mistakes. If we'd all known to look underneath the underneath sooner, maybe things would've been different, but we didn't. But we do better now, don't we Sakura-chan? We're not making the same mistakes. We learn and we get better. You've got nothing to apologize for. I understand what you're saying, it's just regret is all. Well, if there's one thing I ever learned, it's that regret is never satisfying; it never goes away if you think about it. The only cure is change. And we've changed. So stop thinking you're treating me bad, because you've got nothing to feel ashamed of. Anyone who says otherwise can play hide and go fuck themselves for all I care!" he thumped his chest for emphasis.

Inner-Sakura got such a kick out of that that abrupt profane expression that, for once, she wouldn't be restrained. Sneaking in under cover of Sakura's gratitude and relief, the medic cracked a smile and then stilled her face with an effort, all the muscles in her face taut. A snort escaped her lips and her face scrunched up again. A mischievous grin stole over Naruto's face and he darted behind a cabinet. He peeked out, an exaggeration of a perverted leer on his face, looked around carefully, and then disappeared behind the cabinet and then started grunting and moaning loudly in a ridiculous impression of someone having sex.

"Bwa-hahahahaha!" Sakura cried out after unsuccessfully stopping the laughter by slapping a hand over her mouth. "I…you…hide and…oh, geeze, hide and go...hahahahaha!" she hiccupped in between giggles, eyes watering with mirth. Standing up after a very brief time behind the cabinet, Naruto stretched and grinned with great satisfaction, then yawned heavily and mimed going to sleep. For almost another full minute his teammate laughed and laughed while Naruto grinned happily, eyes shut in contentment.

"Oh, geeze, Naruto," Sakura said breathlessly in the way of people just getting over a giggle-fit, "That was...heh…I'll let you get away with that this time," she plastered a scowl on her face, brandishing a fist, "But no more of those perverted jokes and mime shows, got it?" she demanded.

He quailed comically under the threat and nodded. "Of course Sakura-chan! It was a one-time thing, honest!" he swore with wide-eyed sincerity that fooled neither of them. Jokes, pranks, and maneuvers to get more training and ramen were areas where Naruto was as reliably duplicitous as Kakashi was about tardiness.

"And Naruto? Thanks," she said gratefully

"Anytime Sakura-chan. Remember what I said. Don't feel bad about the past. You're the doctor, but I'm the future Hokage, remember! I know what I'm talking about!" he crowed proudly. Sakura smiled fondly and the moment lengthened, growing awkward once more.

Fortunately for their delicate adolescent pride, further touchy-feely moments were put off by the return of Team 8. Kiba barged in like he owned the place with Hinata and Shino following close behind. Gamakichi, ad hoc door sentry, scowled at the Inuzuka (Naruto's rivals were Gamakichi's rivals, after all) but let them all pass without comment. Akamaru, who had been drowsing lazily in the next room, cleverly opened the door and ambled into the smaller suites for Team 7.

"About to get your ass kicked again, eh, gasbag?" Kiba guessed shrewdly. Awkward silences between those two were often portents of a beat down. A grin took the sting out of the remark.

"Not this time, mutt," Sakura replied with a smirk, catching both him and Naruto by surprise. She didn't often take Naruto's side in strictly social scuffles. "So how'd the meeting go, guys?" she asked to change the subject.

"It was a most pleasant meeting, Sakura," Shino stated blandly. While they were spoke, Akamaru strolled by the walls sniffing deeply. Hinata's eyes bulged in a quick Byakugan and studied the room carefully. Shino's insects, unseen but definitely busy, scouted the room.

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that. Hopefully our stay in Sodegaura won't be long. I'd like to get back home, after all," Sakura replied wearily. It was a relief to shift back to 'bored teenager' from 'confused teenager' while their comrades checked the room.

Hinata gestured towards the door leading to Team 8's rooms, and Shino pointed to the wall behind Sakura's futon. Hinata approached the door, Sakura her futon, and each murmured quietly to themselves as their hands and bodies shaped chakra in delicate genjutsu.

"This room is as secure as we can make it," Hinata said a few moments later, sitting down around the table with her team. Akamaru snuffed the genjutsu for a moment and shook his head, sneezed, and shoved his head insistently beneath Sakura's hand for stroking. She obliged.

"Anything unusual?" Naruto asked with a touch of nerves.

"Not that we could detect. It would be very difficult, but not impossible, for someone to run surveillance on these rooms that would elude all three of us," Shino said with unusual but pardonable pride. Not much escaped the senses of Team 8.

"What's our cover?" Kiba asked.

"We're talking about the food they gave us, and the sights we've seen already in the city," Hinata replied. She went into a bit of detail for a few moments, making sure everyone knew what they were supposed to have talked about just in case it came up later.

"Heh, well breakfast was one of the best examples of good food ruined in the name of 'classy' cooking I've ever seen. Not bad at all," Naruto said. Unlike espionage, everyone present had training in thwarting surveillance. "So how'd the introductions go?"

"The new Lord Itakura does not live up to his father's reputation," Shino replied. From anyone else it would have been a politely harsh criticism; coming from Aburame Shino, a man known for choosing his words with great care, it was an almost damning indictment.

"That bad, huh?" Sakura asked, a frown creasing her face.

"Yes. Outwardly of course he was appropriately courteous. Neji-niisan is far better at it, but I'm very good at reading people. His disdain for us was plain to my eyes; whether or not it was for us specifically or for Konoha shinobi, I could not say. His advisors, though, were worse. Almost to a man they're new appointees, and their questioning was almost contentious. We are not welcome here. I can't say I saw treachery in Itakura-sama's face, but he does not have sufficient respect for Konohagakure. I would not put it past him, or more accurately one of his advisors, to take action against us." Hinata smoothed a wrinkle in her kimono, as though she hadn't a care in the world.

"What she said. There's something rotten in Sodegaura," Kiba stated bluntly.

"How soon before we can expect your courier to reach Konoha, Naruto?" Shino asked.

"Gamasaru's a helluva hopper. He'll go day and night, since he'll get a break after he poofs. It's been nearly half a day already. One and a half days more and he'll arrive, I think. We should see about sending some correspondence in the usual ways. We'll make it just a bit suspicious, but nothing major. Maybe say that we don't like Itakura-sama's advisors, but nothing about him specifically. They'll be expecting that, and when they intercept our letters, they'll believe it cause it's what they suspected already," Naruto said after a moment's consideration.

"That's very clever, Naruto!" Sakura said, sounding pleased; absent from her praise was surprise, for which Naruto was visibly grateful.

"Bah, that's kid stuff, Sakura-chan. I think I'm out of my depth here. Everything Ero-sennin taught me is shouting that things are worse here than we suspected. Hinata-chan's right. Don't eat or drink anything unless you're with Shino. Your bugs can sniff out anything, right?" Naruto said to the jounin anxiously.

"Yes, Naruto. For testing food and water samples we are nearly as good as the Akimichi," he replied. The method for Shino's testing was straightforward and grim: his insects ingested some of the food and water, and the Aburame studied the effects. Nin-insects were often sacrificed to discover poison in this way. The Akimichi were more like artists when it came to detecting toxins. They didn't have to kill anything, even a tiny bug, to know when something was wrong with the food, since they knew it so well.

The two teams spoke for awhile longer on what had transpired at the meeting. Sakura and Naruto kept their conversation to themselves, of course, though they were noticeably more comfortable around each other; nothing else had happened, so they had nothing to report. All of the advisors were carefully considered, from the most polite and friendly (mostly relative terms in this case) to the most rude and antagonistic. All of the Konoha shinobi carefully memorized every detail of their personality and behavior, to compose detailed written reports for Konoha's dossiers later. They were just wrapping up when there was a thump on the floor.

"Hey boss!" Gamakichi called through the door. It had been his mighty foot thumping on the floor, a toad's knock. "One of these guys says lunch is being prepared for you with some of the bigwigs, so get ready already!"

x-a-x-a--a-x-a-x--x-a-x-a--a-x-a-x-- x-a-x-a--a-x-a-x-- x-a-x-a--a-x-a-x-- x-a-x-a--a-x-a-x-- x-a-x-a--a-x-a-x--x-a-x-a--a-x-a-x-- x-a-x-

Story Statistics:

Released: 3-25-08

Word Count: Approx. 7500

Reviews: 63, up from 46 before. Another big jump! Thanks for reviewing, guys, I'm quite grateful and many of your comments have been helpful.

Hits: 7023, 411 on last chapter. Wow, I'm not sure why, but my story has been getting a lot more traffic lately. Thanks for spreading the word

Favs: 32

C2s: 14

Alerts: 38

Author's Notes:

Whew! Another one in the can. Fortunately I remembered to spell check this one a final time before submitting! Heh.

There's not really any action in this one, which I regret. Unfortunately Sakaki Maaya has not shown up again, which I also regret and didn't quite expect. I am working on a way to seamlessly get her back into the story; I like the dynamic she adds to the mix, and in general I think a well-written (and I hope she is) OC can add a lot of spice.

The intrigue, politically speaking, has really ratcheted up this chapter. Some of you may recall hints I made of distant troubles for Konoha, and if you recall those foreshadowings alongside with where I have sited the large city of Sodegaura, you can probably guess where things are heading. We'll be seeing more of Lord Itakura, but he's a real punk. How much of a punk and how much of a pawn remains to be seen

Team 8's role will also have more of a role in the next chapter. In terms of advancing the political and action plot, they've already played a major role in Sodegaura. In terms of personal plots, members of Team 8-Hinata specifically-will play a bigger role as well in upcoming chapters.

I still have not decided which pairing (though there almost certainly will be one) this story will feature. Some of you may remember I was originally openly NaruSaku, but things have changed. The Angst-zilla monster struck late in this chapter, but I felt it was necessary. One of the things I'm trying to highlight in this story is how I think the main characters would have grown; in canon, it seems sometimes that they have hardly changed at all, which is frustrating.

So the conversation, it had to take place. It's also more natural that companionship would come more easily between those two than between Naruto and Hinata. Sakura and Naruto spend more time together, have more in common, and have a longer history. That whole scene was also a rebuttal to one of the most annoying, most frustrating, most often downright stupid things I've seen in Naruto fanfics aside from hideous spelling and grammar and horribly forced out of character behavior without some sort of buildup: character bashing. Boy, do some people LOVE to bash Team 7-minus Naruto, of course. Blegh. How tiresome. One of the fanfics I've enjoyed most that broke the 4th wall was one in which a basher comes in and starts slandering everyone on Team 7 except Naruto, in front of Naruto. He beat the shit out of the guy Done comically with an intent to be humor, it can be fun. Treated seriously like it's deserved? Stupid. It's ruined many a promising story.

Anyway! That's my pet rant. None of that means Hinata is out, it just means I have to work her in. I couldn't slip it in this chapter, unfortunately. But as has hopefully become clear, she's no longer the shy wallflower, so she will definitely be making a move towards deepening her relationship soon.

Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru I hope were enjoyable, as well as the new toad. He's sort of my version of Jr. from Looney Tunes, if I remember the name right, the aggressive eager little chicken hawk who always got involved with Foghorn Leghorn. I had fun with him, I hope y'all liked him!

As usual, it's quite important to me that if you guys see something about this story you comment on in your head, go a step further and use the review box! Anything and everything, comments are invited. Especially if they're specific, and extra-especially if they're something you think was badly handled and could've been done better. Lay into me! Kick me even if I'm down! Review, dangit!