Ok, announcement to make. Updates are gonna come as they come, as opposed to my desperate attempts to stick to a 2-week update rate. The reason being that I'm taking on a second fic to try and keep things fresh and interesting. I think jumping between one world to another will keep things from stagnating. What's this second fic, you may ask? Well, unless you're a brony you probably won't be interested, so let's leave it at that. If you are, you can find the fic on my profile or on FiMFic, under the same pen name. Getting back to this fic, you know the deal. Enjoy this chapter and share with me your views on it.

Tough choices

There was little talk going on at the dining room table for quite some time. The team sat in silence as Kakashi took in all that he'd been told thus far. Sasuke fleetingly glanced between his sensei, his team mate and the window, not sure how he ought to be feeling. Sakura could hardly take her eyes off of him, remembering what she saw when she found him lying in a pool of his own vomit.

And just out of view, past the window, Naruto listened in on it all.

"Why isn't Uzumaki here?" Sakura asked, looking outside the window for the missing member of their team. Not that she particularly wanted to see him, but a team meeting meant he ought to be with them.

"He's getting some rest." Kakashi half waved the question away, his mind on other matters. "He stood guard all through the night and guarded Tazuna all day long after all." He leant forward on the table and laid his hands out as if displaying a map in front of him. "Let's go over what we've learned and see if we can't come up with any ideas.

"First, we left the village and were attacked by the Demon Brothers a few miles out." He tapped his right hand on the table as if to indicate a rough location. "However during the course of the encounter nearly all of us were knocked unconscious. While we were all out of it, someone killed the Demon Brothers."

"Uzumaki..."

Sakura had begun to mention that it was Naruto who took down the first ninja, but it made her recall the situation they were in. The two of them had fought together, Sakura defending herself and Naruto with his sword. And then he hit that ninja... and killed him. Her expression stiffened then and she finished what she was saying. "Uzumaki killed one of them, and was the only one who wasn't knocked out."

Kakashi nodded. "Though we've already established that since it's not possible that Naruto could have knocked out the four of us like that. It looks to me that it was a foreign element that was responsible for what happened then."

"If it was someone from Konoha, there would be no reason to hide, would there?" Sasuke offered his input.

"It could be. We can't turn down the possibility that for whatever reason, we're being watched by our own. Though at the same time it'd be stupid to not take every precaution. Even on the off chance that foreign element is a fellow Konoha ninja, we should treat him or her as a threat until we can figure out their reasons for hiding from us."

Sakura seemed incredulous. "Is it really likely that it's another Konoha ninja that knocked us all out?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I was... never mind." They were getting off track. "What matters is that someone is interfering with our mission and won't confront us face to face." He tapped his left hand on the table and gestured to Sasuke. "Now we have someone attacking Sasuke with Genjutsu. Someone who refuses to show himself. Sound familiar?"

"So they're connected." Sasuke offered.

"If not the same person altogether." Kakashi confirmed. "Now let's look at the facts. The first interference resulted in no fatalities on our side, and indeed our enemies getting taken out. This can be seen from two perspectives. Either the unknown party acted to protect us without giving away their identity. Or for whatever reason they needed the Demon Brothers dead and couldn't risk getting us involved."

"If it's the latter case, then that would explain why there would be someone like that out there, if they weren't from Konoha." Sakura reasoned.

"And if it's the first case, it's unlikely that the responsible party isn't from the village." Sasuke finished.

Naruto kept silent during this exchange; though he listened to every word his team spoke. They were too quick to ignore the possibility of a coincidental encounter, he thought. With Konoha being so close to where they were, any ninja for any reason that was headed for the village could have come across them at that time. In order to offer their help without causing a complicated situation, they could have interfered in such a way.

"Of course there's also the possibility that it was a ninja from another village who just happened to be going to Konoha, and knocked us out to avoid arousing suspicion." Kakashi observed, bringing Naruto to a smirk.

Drumming her fingers across the surface of the table, Sakura could have burned a hole in the wood with her stare. "Why would someone who was helping us one day attack us the next?" she agreed the connection between the two events was impossible not to see, but there was that vital flaw that begged consideration.

Sasuke darted his attention across Sakura. Ever since that confrontation he'd found himself taking in a lot more details with his eyes than he usually did, even if he wasn't using the Sharingan. "I'm not so sure that's what happened." As the one who was attacked, he felt he had the most insight on the matter. "On the first occasion the unknown party was capable of knocking nearly all of us unconscious before any of us even knew what happened. But in the second case the unknown party not only shows himself, but runs off right before Sakura showed up. The two behaviours are too different."

"In other words, we're definitely dealing with more than one individual." Kakashi surmised thoughtfully. "Good analysis, Sasuke."

"That's not all." For a while now Sasuke had uncomfortably felt as if he'd missed something when he explained what happened out there in the woods. Now however, one small factor was coming back to him. "That guy... I think he was young. He wasn't very tall and... I just got the feeling he was around our age." His face reddened as he realised he was rambling. "Sorry, forget it."

"It's not impossible." Kakashi gave it due consideration. "I wouldn't put that hunter-nin at being much older than you three." He rubbed his chin. "Though I doubt those two are the same person. It's clear the hunter-nin shares Zabuza's motives, and this mysterious person does not."

There was little more anyone else had to contribute to this discussion. That included Naruto, who was beginning to feel the throes of tiredness coming over him. He stayed firm for the time being however. After all, he didn't want to miss anything important.

"Moving along." Kakashi could see there was nothing more to be found from that subject and resolved to consider it more on his own later. "Can you activate your Sharingan right now, Sasuke?"

Everyone but Naruto watched as Sasuke fixed his eyes upon the table and concentrated. His brow furrowed from his effort and he even looked to be in a bit of pain. But after a few seconds the black in his eyes faded into red, leaving only his pupils and the spinning markings of the Sharingan. He needed no confirmation that he had achieved this feat this time. Even raising his eyes to look at Kakashi, he could see the world in a whole other way.

Kakashi smiled at him. "How does it feel?"

"Like..." Sasuke thought about it while looking between his sensei and team mate. Sakura was staring at him hard, taking in this strange new image he had. Sasuke looked right back at her, watching every tiny movement she made, from her blinking to her breaths. "It's like my eyes are working a second ahead of time. I can tell what's just about to happen before it actually happens."

An odd thought came to Sakura's head as she watched Sasuke. Was he... copying her position? She cocked her head to the right. As did he, in perfect harmony. Disgruntled by this, she sharply cocked her head the other way. Which he also mimicked in unison to her. Suddenly Sakura clapped her hands, slapped the table and then palmed her face. And again, flawlessly, Sasuke copied her.

"WOULD YOU QUIT THAT?!" she demanded.

Kakashi gave out a laugh and Sasuke grinned at Sakura, who could only pout in return. "It looks like you're getting a pretty fast handle of it, but I think it would be best if we put it to the test tomorrow." Kakashi tapped his head plate where it obscured his eye. "Though my control isn't as strong as a full blooded Uchiha's, I think I can bring you up to pace in a day."

As Sasuke met his sensei's look his eyes faded back to their normal black. While not too strenuous, he could feel the chakra drain from keeping them active. And after a day like today, chakra was not something he had a huge supply of at the moment. "Sensei... why do you have a Sharingan?" he asked with a troubled expression.

Kakashi levelled himself with Sasuke. "That's a story for another time." It was certainly not something he was comfortable talking about. "Let's keep our eye on the ball." He then looked at Sakura. "I'll be putting all my attention on training Sasuke's Sharingan tomorrow, so there will be nothing for you to do with us."

Sakura had figured as much. "Then I'll-"

"Guard Tazuna-san with Naruto."

Naruto stiffened. His awareness of his female team mate suddenly escalated to a higher degree. Without even looking in the room he could tell where Sakura was roughly by the sound of her voice. It was almost as if he were right beside her. And that made him so terribly uncomfortable.

Though despondent, Sakura gave a nod. "I understand."

Kakashi studied Sakura for a little while. He could see she wasn't happy with his order, but she was far too by-the-book to even consider complaining. "The day after that I'll give you some one on one training as well." He turned his eyes from her to Sasuke, and even looked at the window. "And after that we'll train as a team in strategies for dealing with Zabuza."

The three of them, Naruto included, gave their nods of understanding.

"Well then, with that out of the way, let's all recuperate for the days ahead." Kakashi stood from the table and left the room, seeking out Tazuna to inform him of his guard detail.

For a minute the rest of Team Seven remained silent. They were all in deep thought about what was to come. Sakura was the next one to rise, headed outside to clear her head. Sasuke left not long after, his eyes on the ceiling. It looked like now was as good a time as any to have that talk with Naruto.

The afternoon sky brought with it a calming orange hue that looked not so different from the evenings of Konoha. Naruto regarded this as he lay beneath the sky, upon the futon he had rolled out on the balcony so that he could enjoy such a view. Though he tried to think of it as such, his mind inevitably corrected him. The evening skies of Konoha looked the same as everywhere else. That was the nature of the sky. A consistency unrivalled by what could be found on the surface of the earth.

The sound of the door to the room beside him opening up came just as he had expected it to. He offered no greeting as someone appeared through the open doorway to the balcony. But he did look to his visitor. Sasuke was watching him with an unkempt look on his face. Though Naruto tried to maintain his composure, he found himself unable to continue looking at his team mate. It was abundantly clear why Sasuke was here. Though it was the second most favourable outcome after Sasuke not realising at all, it was still far from a desirable scenario in Naruto's mind.

And yet despite his approach it was rather obvious that Sasuke was as unwilling to go ahead with these proceedings as Naruto was. That he had chosen to come up here like this without having the resolve to follow through was not as much of an irritation to Naruto as it usually was. Alas he knew what had to be done, and was of no mind to put off this encounter for much longer. Having said that, he didn't mind delaying a little.

"Congratulations." He would have risen had his muscles not been so completely stiff from two days and one night without proper rest. Even so he was able to go through the proper decorum to an extent. "I imagine there will be celebrations within the Uchiha Compound upon our return to Konoha."

Sasuke had little to offer in response to such a thing. He himself had been uncertain as to how this news would be received by his family. It wouldn't surprise him to see a look of relief on each of their faces. Though the rest of the ninja world managed to get by just fine without the Sharingan, the Uchiha looked upon that doujutsu as if life without it was no life at all. After receiving a taste of the clarity it gave him, Sasuke had to confess that he understood their feelings somewhat.

"What you have to go through to get it kind of dampens the value of the whole thing." He stepped onto the balcony and leant against the wall, looking out towards the bridge to the further distance. Though his eyes were directed there, his consciousness was on his body. On the memories of the pain and suffering that turned out to be just an illusion. "Attaining the Sharingan is always treated with quiet respect among the Uchiha. I can see why."

Insensitive though it may have looked, Naruto came to smile from that. "I know how you feel." When he felt Sasuke's doubtful eyes fall upon him, he rubbed his upper arm where the Replication Array could be found. "I can take a sword through the stomach and survive, thanks to these seals on my arms." He met those doubtful eyes with his own, rather cold variant. "Though my sensei didn't go that far to test them, I imagine my point has been made."

It certainly had, Sasuke thought, with a touch made to his nerves. Though the end result was rather similar in that neither of them had the wounds to show for their experiences, the recollections were there to stay. Just as Sasuke had no desire to relive the story of how he gained his Sharingan any more than he already had, he knew better than to ask Naruto to relive his tales of woe.

And yet there was one such tale he had to ask about.

"What happened yesterday..." Sasuke's words trailed off. He didn't know how to put it, so he hoped Naruto would know what he was talking about.

"With Zabuza?" Naruto's voice was rather light hearted, given the confrontation he was referring to. "I understand that my actions were not conducive to one who acts as a part of a team, but I felt, and still feel, that things may not have gone so well had I included you and Sakura in my plans."

Sasuke's attention slid down from the bridge as it was drawn to another, much closer matter. He spotted Sakura entering his plane of view as she took a walk along the docks. "... You know that's not what I'm talking about." The expression Naruto had worn at that time was still vibrantly clear to him. "You suddenly reacted when you heard the nickname that Sakura's mother had. Why would that mean anything to you?"

Like Sasuke, Naruto refused to look at his male team mate. Unlike him, he did not look to Sakura, despite being very aware of her presence. "I'd rather not lie to you." He stood by his desire to be honest with his team, though recent events had made him question whether he should follow through with that desire or not. "If you have a theory I'll listen to it."

There was a twitch in Sasuke's expression then. He knew that Naruto was being difficult for the sake of protecting himself, and would allow Sasuke to think whatever he thought whether it was the truth, or especially if it wasn't. "She lost her parents to a bandit attack." He decided to cut right to the heart of the matter. "I'm asking you if you were affiliated with that particular bandit group."

And like that, all hopes for hiding his scars faded away. Naruto stared at the thickening clouds overhead and tried to keep his memories away from awareness. But, as per the nature of memories, he found himself haunted by them. Perhaps this was karma demanding that he right the wrongs of his past.

"Yes."

As if that one word carried all the weight of the world, Sasuke slid down the wall at the loss of strength in his legs. Speechlessness came to him and Naruto was in no rush to continue the subject, as necessary as that was for both of them. What resulted was a full minute without a single word uttered between them. But eventually someone had to speak.

"Were you there?"

Solemnly Naruto nodded. "I was."

An exhale slid out of Sasuke's nose, his eyes closed to the world. It was as he suspected, but it made the news no easier to bear. He sat there quietly as Naruto watched him, aware but unresponsive to the attention. He couldn't concentrate on the here and now. Not when Sakura's presence had become like a beacon before him. No matter how he tried, he couldn't tear his focus away from her.

In their first and second year of the academy, Sakura had been a completely unremarkable girl in every respect. As a matter of fact she was sometimes the subject of bullying for that forehead of hers. But she disappeared before the end of the second year. Everyone had thought she had dropped out. Then she returned for the start of the third year, familiar in form, but not in personality. To think that this was the reason why she had gone through such a change... or that someone related to the cause of said change was laying not even a metre away from him.

"What are the odds?" Sasuke barely breathed those words.

"That's what I've been asking myself all night and all day."

A damp wind rolled over the balcony and sent a chill running down both their spines. Naruto pulled the futon further over him, but it didn't rid him of the discomfort he was continuing to go through. Such affairs could prolong themselves for eternity and beyond. But just as Sasuke had to begin with, Naruto had to cut to the heart of the matter.

"Are you going to tell anyone about this?"

As expected, Sasuke didn't provide him with an answer right away. He knew well enough what he would be doing to Naruto if he breathed a word of what he'd learned to anybody else. Yet at the same time it would be a black mark on his conscience if he were to keep such a secret from Sakura. Against his common nature he had gone and gotten himself caught between a rock and a hard place. Though perhaps on this occasion he was not completely out of options.

"It's none of my business in the first place." He eventually decided. Though it did nothing to clean that mark away, he had to distance himself from this whole ordeal as much as he could. Unfortunately he couldn't get too far. Though his common nature would try, his better nature would not. "I think you should at least tell Kakashi-sensei about it. But... I really think you should tell Sakura. She deserves to know the truth."

The wind picked up further and the orange of the afternoon sky was fading away. There was little doubt about where the course of the night was going. Reluctantly Naruto had to acknowledge that he'd be sleeping indoors tonight.

A thought came to Naruto that had him look into the room next to him. This was the guest room where Team Seven were staying during their time as Tazuna's guard. If he was going to sleep inside, that would mean sleeping in the same room as Sakura. How was he going to manage that, when he had thus far been unable to even stand in the same room as her?

With that Naruto understood how it was that things had to be. How the coming days would treat him. And how he was going to have to act in order to preserve some semblance of stability during this delicate time. "I'll give it some thought." He spoke the truth, even if he didn't like said truth. "But I won't say anything until this mission is over with. Now isn't the time to be dropping such bombs on anyone, Kakashi or Sakura."

The cold was getting to be a bit too much for Sasuke to sit through. After a second of thought he lifted himself to his feet and went to the door. "You're right." He stopped said door and looked down at Naruto. Though what he had learned was hard to think about, he was grateful that Naruto had been honest with him. "But... you should know..."

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a cocked brow. "Know what?"

Sasuke had an embarrassed look about him then. "I'll back you up if you decide to tell her." He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, I'll still back you up even if you don't, but... you know?"

Naruto searched Sasuke's face in the reflection of the glass, surprised beyond a fragment of composure. "... Why?"

"What do you mean why?!" Sasuke half snapped, already irritated that he had to go and say such an awkward thing. "It's what team mates do alright?"

And with that, without waiting for any further word, Sasuke left Naruto to his own devices. Even in his absence Naruto was still shocked from what had been said to him. He slid back onto his back and stared up at the now overcast sky, rather bewildered from the conversation as a whole.

It wasn't until the first drops of rain started to fall, that Naruto was finally able to crack something of a smile.

Naruto was so terribly exhausted after his past few days of effort, he fell into a slumber deep enough not to be stirred by his team mates as they each crept in to rest for the night.

"Happy birthday!"

The sound of footsteps creaking on floorboards woke Sakura up from a deep sleep. Her eyes fluttered open and found the ceiling, lit up by the early morning sun. A tickling sensation on her face urged her to scratch at it. She touched the spot and found something wet to be there. She woke up a little more as she realised that she'd been crying in her sleep again.

Making herself sit up, she hastily wiped her eyes away to get rid of any tears that were still there. How long had she been like this? Did it show on her face? Worried that someone might see her like this, she looked around for her team mates. Luckily for her it looked like Kakashi and Sasuke had already left to begin their day of training. And Naruto was still fast asleep.

Sakura stared at Naruto for a little while, knowing that she would have to spend the day in his company. The thought might have made disgruntled her, if she wasn't feeling so fragile. Right now she'd take even Naruto's presence if it meant getting her emotions under control. The threat of being noticed giving in to such feelings was much too embarrassing for her to bear.

Taking a calming breath that did little to its name, Sakura absently reached out for her headband beside her. There was a flicker of surprise when her fingers found paper on top of metal. She grabbed the odd paper and looked at it. It was folded note that had been left on her headband. Natural curiosity brought her to open it and read what was inside.

"Don't make Naruto an enemy because it makes things easier. He's one of us now."

The words did more to steady Sakura's mind than that so called calming breath had, though not in the way she'd wanted. It didn't take a genius to know that it was Sasuke who'd written this note. He was the only one who would say such a thing to her.

Little though she wanted to, she made herself look at the sleeping Naruto again. Sasuke believed that Sakura was making Naruto an enemy for the purpose of venting her frustrations upon. If not for the fact that she had already confessed committing such an act upon Sasuke, to Sasuke, she might have been offended by this.

Normally she'd blow off such a comment, but since it was Sasuke who'd said it she felt the need to give it some thought. She'd acknowledged to herself that the way she'd treated Sasuke was not the right way to act, even if Sasuke had reciprocated such actions in kind. It wasn't about moral high grounds. It was just about doing what was right. And when dealing with someone like Naruto, the right way to act was very important in Sakura's mind.

Pocketing the note, she took her headband and tied it in its place. Then, like her sensei and team mate had, she silently got up, put the futon away and left Naruto to his slumber. She'd have the whole day to spend with him. A short time to be alone wasn't such a bad thing to want, was it?

She stepped out into the hall, peering around the dull corridor and listening for signs of life. Faintly she could hear the sound of water running from the kitchen downstairs, so she headed down there to greet whoever was awake.

In the kitchen she found Tazuna's daughter Tsunami to be in the middle of cleaning some vegetables. The sight of the big cooking pot and other meagre ingredients filled Sakura with more of the same guilt she'd felt the previous times she'd eaten their food. But Tsunami had been so insistent.

"You can't guard my dad on an empty stomach now, can you?"

Somehow Tsunami became aware of Sakura's presence and looked over her shoulder to see who it was that was watching her. "Oh, good morning!" she had a pretty smile, if one that looked a little forced. She had so much to deal with it was no wonder simple pleasantries demanded effort from her. Even so, she took one look at Sakura and changed her tone entirely. "Are you feeling alright?"

Sakura felt herself flush profusely. Was it really that noticeable? "Huh? Oh, um..." she rubbed her eyes in false nonchalance, as if to show she was still tired. "Yeah, my eyes just water a lot when I yawn."

As she took a seat at the table Tsunami gave her a quick, sceptical look before resuming her work cleaning the cabbage. Sakura slumped down on the table to try and hide her face from further scrutiny, though she didn't think it was a pretence she could hold up for long. The mere thought of anyone else seeing her like this perpetuated the heat she felt on her cheeks.

She jumped in surprise when she heard the chair in front of her drag out. Tsunami sat down in front of her, pushing forward a mug of tea to go with her own. Sakura opened her mouth to thank her, but the sight of Tsunami's expression halted that motion. It looked too kind. Too understanding. Too familiar. Tsunami was a mother, after all.

"Thank you." She mumbled, staring deep into the mug.

Tsunami smiled again at her, softly this time. "I know the look of a girl that's got a lot on her mind but no one to share it with." She was tempted to reach out and touch Sakura's hand, but she kept it to herself to avoid the risk of invading the young girl's personal space. "It's that blond boy on your team, isn't it?"

"How did you..."

"I overheard you all when you were arguing the other day." Tsunami seemed apologetic. "Sorry, but you were being pretty loud."

Something that was close to a laugh, but more like a breath, came out of Sakura from that. If anyone had been loud, it had been her. Not a great foot forward in her ninja career, she had to admit. "Then you know about what Uzumaki is?" she studied her own expression in her tea, noting the way her brow creased by reflex at the mention of that name. "How can you feel comfortable having him in your home?"

Tsunami gave it some thought, though her expression hardly changed. "Well, I know that ninja villages hold their security in high regard." She was mostly speculating, but she didn't think that she was wrong. "I think Konoha is wiser than I am about things like that. If your village can trust him, then he can't be such a bad guy, can he?"

Sakura's grip on the mug tightened. Tsunami was saying the same thing that everyone else was. And yet still she was unconvinced. "But who knows what sort of things he's done?" she asked out of a sense of desperation, hoping that someone would see reason.

This time Tsunami didn't stop herself. She did reach out and touch Sakura's hand. The young kunoichi looked up at her in surprise, and was given the same motherly look that made her feel uncomfortable inside. "That's exactly it, isn't it? If you can't say for certain the things he's done, then can you honestly say he's done anything at all?"

To that, Sakura could not think of anything to say. Though reason dictated to her that one who consorted with criminals must themselves be criminal, she had no guarantee that Naruto was the person her mind led her to believe he was. "Except..." she thought, as a little recollection brought back something that had almost completely been overshadowed. "He has a bounty on his head."

Naruto had claimed innocence on that account, just before coming clean on his past associations. With him choosing to be honest on such an ugly aspect of his history, Sakura had no idea what to believe in terms of whether or not he was really guilty of the crime of murder. Her sense of logistics told her that just because Naruto was honest on one matter didn't mean he was honest on all matters. He could very well have killed that heir.

But... she remembered it too well.

That moment, during the fight between them and the Demon Brothers, when Naruto threw the punch that ended one of the criminal ninja's lives. The look in his face; in his eyes. Such dread and horror the likes that only belonged on someone who had just realised the terrible thing they'd done. Could someone like that really be guilty of first degree murder?

No. Even if he hadn't earned the bounty on his head, that didn't mean he'd done nothing. As a bandit the very of his life would have been living in an amoral fashion without any regard for law or humanity. Yet what Tsunami said was also true. Assuming he was guilty of some crime or other with no evidence to support such a thing was nothing more than ignorant prejudice.

Discomfort crawled through Sakura's insides and she became aware of the note sitting in her pocket. Sasuke's words came back to her and filled her with unease. Was she making Naruto a scapegoat for her own frustrations, just as she had done to Sasuke throughout most of her time at the academy? Was there really something wrong with her suspicions about him?

But... but...

"Bandits were the ones who took my parents." She barely noticed the words leaving her mouth. But she did notice the wet feeling in her eyes again, and the slight twitch of Tsunami's hand on hers.

Creak.

The two ladies turned their heads to the sound of the floorboards just outside the kitchen announcing the presence of another. Who they saw was a small boy of around eight years of age, sporting a fisherman's hat and a child's uncertainty. Sakura quickly hid her face and wiped away her wet eyes.

"Inari, go wake your grandfather, ok?" Tsunami looked at her song expectantly. When he didn't respond, she pressed her request. "Inari!"

As if just now noticing his mother calling out to him, Inari looked away from Sakura and left rather swiftly. In his absence Tsunami turned back to Sakura, watching her as she took a deep, calming breath to settle her feelings. "Can we pretend this didn't happen?" Sakura asked, looking only fleetingly in Tsunami's eyes. "I didn't mean to bring that up."

Tsunami considered it carefully. The motherly side of her wanted to help this wounded young girl, but the rest of her knew it was none of her business. As such, she respectfully consented to that request. "Ok." She drew her hands back to her mug and took a tentative sip, looking as Sakura did the same. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah." Sakura wanted to get out of here, at least so she could go to the bathroom and wash her face. But she still had a full mug of tea in front of her and the thought of wasting what little this family had was just too much. "You're right. I have to think things over."

It was as gentle a hint as Sakura could manage to put out there. Thankfully Tsunami caught it and gave Sakura a pat on the hand, before taking her drink and returning to the counter to resume her work. Meanwhile Sakura continued to drink the tea, unable to savour any of the flavour. There was far too bitter a taste in her mouth for anything else to come in.

Kakashi had said that Naruto was recognised for being associated with bandits, and despite that was trusted by the village enough to be made a Shinobi. Sasuke was concerned that Sakura was trying to use Naruto's past as justification for... she couldn't really say what Sasuke felt she was doing. Even Tsunami, someone who had just as much reason to hate thugs as she did, felt that Naruto deserved the benefit of the doubt. Everyone else was willing to give Naruto a chance.

Could she do the same?

The act of getting dressed could be a soothing start to the day, depending on how one chose to look at it. To Naruto it was just this. Buckling one's belt, buttoning one's shirt and tying one's tie and laces, each with their own patterns he repeated every time he conducted this ritual. By the time he was adorned in his unusually formal attire, he was able to face the sun with an expression of serenity.

The past few days had carried quite the emotional weight on Naruto, extremely so. However by now he was sufficiently drained of his capacities for such intense feelings. With Sasuke's assurance that he would not do anything to harm Naruto's state of being, he could at least take some recovery from the stresses inflicted upon him in recent times.

He regarded the room about him with a cool interest. The rest of his team were already gone; Sakura presumably downstairs, while the other two out training. That left him with an opportunity the likes he had no intention of wasting. What better time or place to work out some kinks in his form could present itself during this period of needed diligence?

With all futons put aside, there was a fairly decent space for Naruto to do some brief exercises. Standing in the centre of the room, he faced the glass doors and slid into the basic stance of all boxers. His fists guarded his face without obstructing his vision. His footing was perfect and his balance without flaw. Confident in his posture he began with a few light jabs at the air, coupled with sways to avoid an imaginary opponent.

He followed along the course of this warm up for a few minutes, increasing the demand he made of his body little by little as it became more limber. Soon he was ducking, sidestepping, swiping, upper cutting, guarding and many more of the techniques he had learned following that stiflingly generic method his old sensei had taught him. The method that seemed to be what the full fledged students learned during their tenure at the academy.

Well, he could hardly speak against those that focused on such a method. After all, he had been beaten by that very method not long after entering the academy.

Naruto halted his workout after a clean straight punch, his fist stood still in the air while he stared further. His boxing had been beaten by the standard taijutsu of the academy. This said nothing towards which martial art was superior, but plenty of the flaws in Naruto's skills. That was a year ago, but without anyone to instruct him further in the ways of boxing, he was worried about where his skills lay.

"There's still the Beast Form, though I'm not confident that's at a suitable level yet." He recalled the words of Kiba's mother when she observed the style Naruto had attempted to craft from his numerous spars with her son. She had said that the Beast Form was, at that time, just an unnecessarily messy kind of boxing. But if fully realised, it could have its uses. "Excluding the obvious last resort of the Kyuubi... what I'm left with is..."

Naruto relaxed his stance and drew his eyes down to his hands. Kakashi had been quite correct in his assessment the previous day. Of the powers Naruto had, the abilities that belonged only to him, there was one that he no longer had any reason to keep secret. Far from it in fact, as their encounter with Zabuza had proven. There was no choice left but to embrace it.

Concentrating on himself, Naruto put his hands together in the ram seal, carefully converting his stamina into chakra. Normally this was not needed, but when caution was an option, doing otherwise was stupid. Once satisfied with the chakra circulating through his body, he parted his hands and initiated a jutsu. One that to him was as familiar as any of the techniques that had been beaten into him along the course of his rough training. Yet to the knowledgeable observer, what he was doing was quite peculiar.

He formed the Crab hand seal. Yet he did so with his hands a distance from one another.

Fingers curved and thumbs arced, with the seal that existed only for Uzumaki techniques, Naruto commanded his chakra to obey his will. That chakra increased its velocity throughout his body and found its way out across his hands. It took on a form around his knuckles, resembling ghostly chains.

Naruto willed it further and the ghostly chains spread out from the ones around his knuckles, snaking along his wrists and up his arms. The wrapped themselves around his sleeves, reaching for his shoulders. There the tips met and bound together. Then and only then did Naruto tighten his hold of his chakra. That was when the chains became no longer ghostly. They were now quite solid.

Seemingly metal bindings covered his hands and arms, providing both an increased offence and defence to his overall statistics. Once this was achieved he settled his concentration and surveyed his work. There was no need to continue to focus in order to keep the chain wrappings intact. On their own they would diminish and erode over time, though he could repair that erosion quite easily once it began.

It really was a useful technique, he had to admit. It appeared crude, yet was in actually very elegant and purposeful. The chains were at their thickest where the Replication Arrays had been imprinted upon his flesh, providing the most protection to those vital seals. Though they looked to be quite tightly wrapped, Naruto had no trouble moving his arms as he liked.

A sardonic smile slithered onto Naruto's lips as he rotated his arms to make sure this was true. As little as he liked this power of his, this kekkei genkai as his sensei had put it, it had saved him and his team not once, but twice in the past few days. Without it they might have died at the hands of the demon brothers. Without it they might have been at the mercy of the demon of the hidden mist.

"So many demons looming from the shadows... have we wandered into the circles of hell?"

For some peculiar reason the notion did not disturb or concern Naruto in the least. Rather, he found it quite comforting. Though his connection to his team had become more than a touch chaotic recently, he could at least count on the motivations of his enemies to remain the same. They still wanted the bridge builder dead, and it was still Naruto's duty to deny them their goal. How kind of them to stay so consistent.

Naruto reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his fob watch, flicking it open to take a look at the time. It looked to be around the time that Tazuna would be readying himself to leave. In that case it was just about time for Naruto to head downstairs.

No sooner had he reached this conclusion than the door opened up and Sakura looked in. "Uzumaki-" she called out, but abruptly stopped. At her sudden entrance Naruto had flinched, but that was not all that happen. The chains on his arms sporadically grew a series of vicious looking spikes across the outer edge, from his shoulders all the way down to his knuckles.

A sharp silence cut into the room then, with Sakura staring in a mix of unease and wonder at Naruto's visceral appearance. Several long seconds passed before she realised her mouth was hanging open. She promptly closed it and averted her gaze.

"We're almost ready to go. If you're going to eat anything you should hurry up."

She departed after that, leaving Naruto with the silence she had triggered. For the brief time she was there Naruto had not once looked her way. It wasn't until her footsteps died that he finally moved again. When he did, he looked at the spikes on the chains. Like Sakura his mouth hung open, but there was a detail she and him did not share.

She had looked at him with green eyes. He looked at himself with red.

"...What the hell...?"

A Noh mask... why was a Noh mask leering down at him?

Zabuza's vision was somewhat lacking. The medication Haku had given him appeared to impair his senses. This was of little hindrance to one with such experience. There could only be one answer to his question. A ninja had found his way into his den.

Beneath the gauze mask Zabuza curled his lip in disgust. The one time he was truly vulnerable, when he was counting on Haku to keep a firm watch over the den, and here he was with an intruder not three feet away from him.

Disgruntled, Zabuza offered no direct greeting to the intruder. "Is the kid dead?"

The intruder slowly shook his head, gesturing to the sofa at the far end of the room. Zabuza restrained his groans as he sat himself up to look there. He saw his student and subordinate lying down on the cushions, unconscious it seemed. There were no signs of injury Zabuza could see, and the kid was clearly still breathing. It was a small consolation overshadowed by his irritation at the kid's inability to hold the fort.

Still, satisfied that his protégé hadn't yet been murdered, Zabuza lay back down and turned his attention to the Noh mask looking down at him. Whoever this intruder was, he didn't look like a Kiri hunter nin. His dark cloak was featureless and covered everything bar that mask. Yet despite being impossible to identify, Zabuza had already learned something very important. This intruder wasn't here to kill. Haku wouldn't still be breathing if that were the case.

"What do you want?"

The Noh mask considered Zabuza while he lowered himself into the chair that Haku had often occupied over the past few days. Already Zabuza could feel a deep dislike for this stranger stirring in his gut. The purposeful silence, the curious stare, the lowering down to Zabuza's level. These were all perceived actions; airs that this stranger exuded, yet did not make blatant. A sense of pretence providing little clarity. Was this intruder being cautious of Zabuza, or was he observing him, like a dog to a bug?

Just a few seconds before the silence would have driven Zabuza to verbalise his disdain, the Noh mask made a quick and fluid movement, drawing his hands from within his cloak and tossing something to the weakened Shinobi. Zabuza caught the small square of paper just as sharply as the Noh mask had tossed it. He kept himself well, but the slightest of winces broke through his resolve. The Noh mask seemed to stir at this, and Zabuza cursed soundlessly. The intruder knew for certain what Zabuza's level of incapacitation was now.

Trying not to give away anything further to this person, Zabuza looked at the paper he'd been given. It was a composite sketch of someone whose face was very familiar to the mercenary by now. The messy hair, the wild eyes, the distinctive facial markings. No doubt about it. It was the brat with the barrier jutsu.

Zabuza snorted and tossed the sketch aside. The Noh mask paid no heed to the paper as it was discarded, refusing to look away from the former Kiri ninja's face. "You're a bounty hunter I take it?" the Noh mask gave no answer to this question. This was fine, if aggravating. The answer appeared obvious anyway. "Don't tell me you're looking for my help getting past Sharingan Kakashi?"

It was as fair an assumption as the flaws were obvious. Unless Zabuza's bingo book was more out of date than he thought, the price on that boy's head was something that would only make small time bounty hunters lick their lips. But small time bounty hunters couldn't hope to knock out Haku like this one had. Zabuza had to question the motives of this mysterious individual.

"No."

Zabuza glanced at the Noh mask, feeling like he'd achieved some small victory. "So you do have a tongue." He remarked, sneering. "Then what?"

The Noh mask considered Zabuza's question in great depth, or so Zabuza presumed. This intruder weighed every scenario carefully, but he did it far too slow for the demon of the hidden mist's liking. Such a lack of urgency tempted him to grab the Executioner's Blade and show that even in a weakened state Momochi Zabuza was not someone to be looked down upon.

"I sometimes have a tongue." The Noh mask finally stated. "I reserve it for when dealing with important business. That and for giving directions."

Ignoring his wounds Zabuza grabbed the Executioner's Blade and swung it with all his might at the Noh mask. The blade sang through the air, but cried out in vain as it collided with nothingness. Zabuza glared as his mighty sword hit a wall that became visible only under the pressure of his weapon. The Noh mask had not moved a muscle.

"Did you come here to threaten me?!" Zabuza growled, the pain in his stomach screaming from the inside. He did his best to silence it, but his grip on his blade became shaky. For the first time in years the sword felt heavy. Unable to hold it up and longer, he let it fall to his side while he panted from the duress he'd inflicted upon himself. "I don't take kindly to blackmail."

The Noh mask remained silent, perhaps waiting for Zabuza to collect himself again. While he attempted to do this, he surreptitiously searched for what he knew had to be here. It wasn't hard to find. Several kunai were embedded in the floor, each inscribed with Fuinjutsu upon them. The Noh mask was protected behind that shell, and there was nothing Zabuza could do about it.

It didn't take too long for Zabuza to get his breathing back in check. Yet even then the Noh mask remained silent, waiting for more than just that. Down to Zabuza's heartbeat slowing to a regular pace, to his body temperature normalising. The Noh mask patiently waited until as many of the physiological strains brought on by that outburst had calmed. Then and only then did he speak again.

"I'm going to assume that was because you are feeling feverish. My associate assured me you are smarter than this."

That last sentence sufficed in cooling Zabuza properly. The notion that someone was freely spreading his name around to people he didn't know was of course an issue not to be taken lightly. But it was plain to see that no direct means of inquiry into who this blabbermouth was would bear fruit. At least none that were available to Zabuza at this moment in time.

"If you have business with me then hurry and get to it. Otherwise you're wasting both our time."

The Noh mask gave a nod of inclination. "Very well." He once more reached within his cloak and again procured another thing. A small, thin, and discernibly black book. "Then, let us begin with a small gift of good will."

Zabuza leered at the book. "By good will you mean a taste of what you have to offer." A small, greedy part of him was intrigued by the contents of that book, but the logic and reason this intruder had done so well into restoring in him silenced that piece of his being. "I don't believe in "no strings attached"."

The Noh masked gave slight pause, and then chuckled dryly. "I can see you getting along well with the sort of people I am involved with." Once again he pushed the book towards Zabuza, who cautiously accepted it. "We are aware that you dabble in bounty hunting yourself. We are also aware of the people you take your bounties to. Our people are better."

Rightfully suspicious, Zabuza opened the book and looked over the names. Though he had expected to gain no real insight from what he'd thought would be a simple list of names and locations, he was surprised to see instead a comprehensive data book on many individuals who specialised in certain illicit fields. It was like a bingo book for scoundrels. Probably not the same scoundrels the Noh mask and his associates used, but it was detailed enough to be convincing. That didn't mean it was trustworthy though.

"Use the information in that book and acquire greater funds for your efforts. However, is it not likely that we could use those assets to spy on you?" Zabuza shot a sideward look at the Noh mask as this was said to him. "Forgive me. I can see your thoughts because I am paranoid. And because I am paranoid, I am meticulous.

For the first time since the intruder showed up Zabuza felt like he was talking to a real person. "If the information in this book is real, you obviously have every reason to be." He snapped the book shut and set it down on his bedside table for later, more thorough viewing. "Now enough dancing around the issue. What you want me to do with the Ametsuchi killer?"

Like before, the Noh mask appeared mysteriously amused by Zabuza's words. "It's not technically accurate to refer to the boy you met as the Ametsuchi killer. Not that it's relevant." He reached on the table and took back the picture he'd shown to Zabuza. The ex-mist nin noticed curiously that the Noh mask both averted his gaze from Zabuza and moved outside the bounds of his own barrier. "I don't want you to capture the boy. I want you to leave him alone. Should you confront him again, you are not to kill him. Even if he stands in the way of the bridge builder."

It was Zabuza's turn to give a dry chuckle. "You're asking to complicate my current job for the sake of yours?" he understood how these sorts of things went, and was just getting back into the swing of how to deal with people like the one before him. "I wouldn't be doing myself any favours if word got around about such conduct. I'd need a pretty good reason to take such a chance."

"There are plenty of good reasons for you to do as we ask." The Noh mask replied in a heartbeat, his cutting voice implying much. It was followed by a more composed manner of speaking once he saw that Zabuza had sourly caught his drift. "If it's money you want, we can come to a suitable arrangement. However I prefer not to deal in something as mundane as that."

Zabuza was fairly certain that he was about to hear some ideological load or guarantee that was supposed to convince him to do the work for basically nothing. All the same, he wasn't about to make a decision without first having as many cards laid out before him as was possible. "What do you prefer to deal in then?"

Having made no effort to hide his snide perspective on the matter, the Noh mask gave another pause before continuing on. "In a word?" again he reached within his cloak to procure something. Zabuza almost had a sense of déjà vu as he found yet another book being pushed towards him. However, this book was much larger. Thicker too. "Power."

Zabuza's eyes narrowed as he accepted the book only a little more readily than he had the first one. Feeling like he was holding his payment for the job he was yet to agree to, he was careful as he opened it up and took a look at the contents. The Noh mask waited patiently as Zabuza's brow slowly began to furrow, as pages began to turn. It wasn't long before the ex-mist Shinobi was turning again to face him.

"What is this?" On a superficial level it was easy to see what it was that lay within this book. But even the cursory glance Zabuza gave told him that there was a deeper meaning to the contents before him.

The Noh mask took another cautionary glance to Haku, who was still yet to stir. He then leant in so he could speak in a lower voice. "I assume a ninja of your stature would know the name "Akasuna no Sasori"." His assumption was proven by the slight widening of Zabuza's eyes. "What you hold in your hand is an almanac of just some of the poisons belonging to his extensive library of secret blends."

Though not one to take any matter involving a mysterious ninja lightly, Zabuza was beginning to lose all sight of everything that wasn't the book in his hand or the Noh mask beside him. Like the frog that had realised he was grasping nearing the edge of the well, he wondered just what lay on the other side for him.

"I find it hard to believe that you have access to the works of the most infamous puppeteer and poison maker in the history of the world."

Something on the Noh mask's visage seemed to glint. "How do you know I'm not Sasori?"

The simple and sharp point cut through Zabuza's argument and left the mercenary rather silent. Having no clue as to what Akasuna no Sasori would look like, there was virtually no way of confirming or denouncing that the person next to him was Sasori. And even if he wasn't, there was no way of disproving that the book...

Then again...

"Answer this question and I'll believe your claims." Even with a mask between them, Zabuza could see the stranger's intrigue by his body language. "Is the name of the one who told you about me "Hoshigaki Kisame"?"

The Noh mask stiffened ever so slightly. That was sufficient for Zabuza. "How did you...?"

A proper victory won over the one who had been dominant in this meeting, Zabuza felt. It was simply a gamble, but it paid off. A short, final meeting from one swordsman to another, years ago. The last time Zabuza had ever spoken to his fellow swordsman of the hidden mist, Kisame had spoken of a group that had approached him. Of the very few people who would speak well of him, only one was an S-rank criminal. A title that was also shared by the one named "Akasuna no Sasori".

Zabuza had no intention of saying anything that could cause problems for his old friend. "I wonder..."

The Noh mask recovered, but from thereon he treated Zabuza with more deserved care than he had so far. "You are correct. Then I feel it's only fair that I warn you." Earned caution wasn't always in one's better interests. "We cannot allow information in regards to who we are or what we do to spread around. You understand what this means."

Now things were all coming together. Despite his weaker position, Zabuza could sit more comfortably knowing this. "It looks like we're in business."

The Noh mask stood, a wave of his hand tightening the near invisible razor wires connected to the kunai embedded in the floor. Each of the kunai flew up and into his sleeve. Along with one that had been obscured by being under the bed Zabuza lay in. One with an explosive tag hanging off the end. The mercenary sneered as the Noh mask headed for the open window, setting his hand upon it as if to leave. However, he paused.

"Is there more?" Zabuza was eager to see this person gone.

Across the foliage the Noh mask cast his vision, clearly contemplating while his fingers tapped the wood. "Officially I am only here to ensure that Uzumaki Naruto does not die." He turned his head toward Zabuza. "However there is a secondary objective of little urgency set out to me. I am to keep an eye open for potential allies to the group I represent. Allies that would be well rewarded for their work."

The book of poisons lay on Zabuza's lap, serving as a beacon of the rewards which this individual was referring to. If what he held was real, it would be folly to ignore what the Noh mask was offering. Momochi Zabuza was no mere sell sword. He was a man with an ambition; with an enemy much more powerful than him. Perhaps folly was an understatement.

"Go on."

"It would seem that Hoshigaki Kisame would vouch for you if I were to bring you forward as a potential asset. All you need then is my recommendation." His tone grew graver with each passing sentence. "There is one secondary objective you could take on to improve your chances of being further associated with us. But this must stay off the table. This is between you and I alone."

"And what would that be?"

The Noh mask looked dead ahead again. "The other boy on the team. Uchiha Sasuke. There are members in my group who have plans for him. They would like him to survive as well. However his life is of little value in the grand scheme of things." An imperative pause, as the Noh mask took one last chance to reconsider his words. "If you were to ensure his death, I would be personally grateful."

Without awaiting any response from Zabuza, the Noh mask tipped over the edge of the window and vanished from sight, his cloak fluttering behind. Quietly Zabuza observed the window for a few minutes, deep in thought about what had unfolded before him. He gathered the two books given to him by that enigmatic individual and continued to peruse them. Yet, while his eyes were on those, his thoughts were on one matter that confused him more than anything else.

"Not technically accurate to call the brat the Ametsuchi killer..." he heard Haku begin to stir, but he gave his subordinate not even a cursory look. "What is that supposed to mean?"

The sound of wet foliage being trodden on gave the Noh mask cause to halt his departure. He had made great enough of a distance from Zabuza's hideout that the den was no longer in his range of sight. The Noh mask barely turned to look at the one who was approaching him. He had been expecting this person to show up at some point or another.

"Can I continue observing him now?"

The Noh mask looked further on back to the den. He imagined Zabuza would be busy berating his subordinate or something like that. "No, there's no further need for you here. I'll be observing Momochi Zabuza from here on out."

The young one gave nothing away with his expression. "I'm supposed to-"

"You were supposed to track down Zabuza and survey his movements so that I would not have to go looking for him when I arrived." The Noh mask sounded impatient, but that became less clear as he turned to face the young one. "You've done well not to be detected by the demon of the hidden mist or his protégé for as long as you have. I will inform your master as such. Now return to your team and resuscitate them. You've made sure to destroy their identification papers?"

The young one gave the Noh mask a flat, bored look. "Yeah, they'll think the papers were stolen and the village is going to be infiltrated. I've done this before."

The Noh mask might have clipped the young one for his impertinence, had he not been worthy of the praise he'd been given. Instead he settled for waving the young one away; the nearest thing to a farewell they shared before he found himself to be alone again. Alone with his thoughts and suspicions.

That boy was only supposed to watch Zabuza. That he had approached Uchiha Sasuke at all indicated his master had instructed him to do so. The question wasn't why. The Noh mask knew why. It came down to the same reason that he wanted Uchiha Sasuke dead. Two means to the same end. Differing opinions to the same conclusion.

As a light rain began to fall the Noh mask decided to put those thoughts aside for the time being. He turned away from Zabuza's den and walked on toward his own hideaway. For now there was nothing more for him to do but wait and see what became of Team Seven in the near future.