Ohayo Folks!

Hey guys, back with another chapter! I am so happy for the reviews I've gotten thus far, thank you so much, really, they make my days. Especially recently when I tried finishing the chapters sooner and instead I was hit with friggen crippling migraines. Apparently aura migraines are a thing…freaky stuff. But all better now!

Just wanted to quickly address something; many of you in both of my stories have said my pacing is a little too slow and I've now seen this a enough times to reflect back and rethink certain things. That's not a bad thing, actually thank you all for pointing that out because I want to write quality stuff for you and hate to hold your enthusiasm back because of something that can be handled with a bit of practice. So I promise to work on that and provide detailed but quicker events. Thank you all for your feedback, keep them coming and please enjoy!

P.S.: The beginning half of this chapter isn't my fav so forgive me if it seems a little wonky and filler-like.

Anyway, please enjoy the story and if you enjoy this, perhaps you'll enjoy my other story Always a Sin. Thanks so much for reading, and please review!

Eggs and Bacon,

CrimsonNi

~*NUNUNUNUNUNUNUNUNUNUNUNUNUNUNUNUNUNU*~

Chapter Thirteen:

Team seven woke up bright and early to waste little time in their travels. They—not really including Sakura—carried an air of silence that carved deep into Naruto's heavy bags under his eyes. Last night after scrubbing his face raw in the shower, he came out to see Sakura and Sasuke sitting comfortably across each other discussing plans. He wasn't sure there was much to discuss but it was nice to hear Sakura confidently give out commands. It reminded him that she was the head of the hospital, something that he still couldn't seem to wrap his head around. Why, he wasn't sure; maybe because the Sakura he came to know in the short year they were Genin was more content in having her voice heard from the back while everyone else worked at the front. But this Sakura was so different—although still forever violent—she was much more hands on, much more in the front than screaming from the back. How she jumped so far ahead of him, he didn't know, but he was proud of her. She accomplished so much and from what he could see now, she was just a hand's reach away from touching Sasuke, her biggest dream.

His eyes zeroed in on Sakura's hand that would occasionally brush against Sasuke's or how she'd lean her head forward to hide a smile that she couldn't resist releasing. It was as if he were imposing on a date. However, Naruto didn't realize he was over-romanticizing the atmosphere. Sure Sakura and Sasuke were physically close but in his bubble of jealousy, he didn't catch Sasuke glancing at Naruto. He didn't catch the Uchiha paying full attention to Naruto's presence. When Sakura nudged him on several occasions, he simply hummed or smirked at her to show he was paying attention. When Sakura finally did leave and Sasuke politely shown her out, he wanted to focus back on Naruto; he didn't want to let that feeling from earlier escape from him. He was tired of feeling confused and angry at his inability to figure out what exactly he wanted but when he turned, Naruto was already tucked in, snoring away. What was he to do but also head to bed, fuming at the ears at the dobe's childish stupidity.

By next morning, both Naruto and Sasuke were bitter, distant, and restless. They hadn't wished each other a good morning or any kind of usual insult which made breakfast unbearably awkward.

"Hey, what's up with you guys?" Sakura asked, devouring a bowl of rice.

At first, neither boy spoke, but eventually, Naruto cracked a smile and popped in a spoonful of rice before answering. "Teme has some nasty flatulence problem. Kept me up all night."

Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke whipped his head in pure shock. He wasn't expecting that. He then gritted his teeth, forcefully banning the blush from his heated cheek, and glared the typical Uchiha glare. "Lies, you just don't want to admit you can't handle a wet dream."

Now it was Naruto's turn to tame his flaming cheeks. Sakura looked back between the two feuding males and she had to sigh in resignation. "Are you two fighting again? Look, I don't care what's going on but put a lid on it while we're traveling the rest of the way, got it?" She pointed a stern finger and kept an icy glare on the two.

Naruto nodded rapidly while Sasuke rolled his eyes and 'hn-ed' at her. It was close enough to an acceptance so Sakura took it. Once the group were finished with breakfast, they grabbed their bags and were ready to leave when Naruto grabbed Sakura's arm and spun her back around.

"Sakura-chan, before we go, can I ask a favor?" He then explained (with little detail as possible) his conversation with Hashi and how he promised to show him Sakura's skills.

"Why didn't you show him any of yours?"

"Aww, c'mon Sakura, you have some badass punches. Please? Just a little bit of destruction is all I'm asking."

Although it sounded a bit silly, Sakura had to admit that she was pleased that her talents were appreciated, even for little gimmicks such as this. She gave a smile and nod and watched as Naruto scurried off to find Hashi; when he found time to make friends with the clerk she had no idea, but it wasn't surprising that Naruto could make friends with anybody. He then returned with the blushing red-head in hand and lead him directly in front of Sakura.

"Hashi-chan, this is my friend and teammate, Sakura-chan, the one who can bust up boulders and stuff."

"H-Hello, Sakura-san, thank you for this, but you don't have to if you don't want to…," the poor kid nervously mumbled.

"It's alright, I don't mind at all. Naruto tells me you haven't seen much ninja tricks around here."

Hashi shook his head. "I've met a lot of shinobi working here in the Inn but no one really flaunts any of their specialties, even with weapons, so I'm not sure what many of you can do."

"Yosh, then you'll love this. See that boulder there? I'm gonna break it using chakra control which means I use my own chakra and control how little or much I put into one punch. Just like Naruto's clones, not everyone can do this correctly since it takes a lot of practice and precision. Ready?"

Hashi nodded excitedly and watched as Sakura quickly made her way towards the boulder. It was a rather big rock that awkwardly stood to the side of the entryway of the forest. He still couldn't see how it was possible for a young woman to completely destroy a big boulder such as that, but within minutes—after Sakura had to put on her glove—he saw her crank her arm backwards and then surge it forward with a quiet shout. Sure enough, her fist rammed itself through the hard exterior and crumbled the boulder down into minor little rocks.

"Yeah! See Hashi, how cool was that?!" Naruto asked.

"Yes, very!" Hashi replied with laughter lacing his tone. It was indeed very cool.

"Can we go now?" Said a grumpy, cold voice. All parties turned to Sasuke who had been standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and a deep frown. Hashi had to look away to avoid feeling scorned by that look. Was Naruto-san really friends with that guy? It didn't seem possible with the differing personalities.

"Be nice, Sasuke," sakura warned. "Well, see you, Hashi-san, hope you enjoyed!"

"I-I did, thank you! Hope to see you again as well."

Naruto provided a heated glare right back at Sasuke, silently warning him to back off. The Uchiha didn't move at first, instead keeping his icy glare on Hashi, but eventually, he followed behind Sakura, that frown still etched on his face. "I'm sorry about him, he's a dumbass."

"It's ok, I understand. I thank you for everything you have shown me," he said with a blush. "Also, if you happen to have time, please take these." Hashi handed him two little slips of paper—tickets to a game. The bold print told Naruto a date and time of the game. "The seats are pretty close so if you want to stop by and see how the game looks…or just to say hi…"

"This is awesome, Hashi, thanks! I can't make any promises but I'll send a letter regardless. I really appreciate this."

"It's no problem. Good luck on your mission and on that project of yours."

The two parties waved good bye and Naruto hurried to catch up to Sakura and Sasuke, neither who bothered to wait for him. They kept the pace consistent, not even bothering to keep casual conversation as they had done in the beginning of the mission. Surprisingly, it wasn't all too difficult for the members of Team 7 lose themselves in their own minds and walk mindlessly throughout the day; the village hidden in the Mist was about the same distance as the Sand (since the Fire nation was such a large nation) minus an hour or so. In fact, Naruto could swear he already could feel cool air tickling his cheeks, a clear sign that they were about to reach the greyest land on earth. When night reached again, the three members prepared a small camp and readied their meals for dinner, quietly discussing who'd take first watch and last. The Teme volunteered to keep watch first and then wake Sakura up when his shift was done. No one disputed even though it irked Naruto that Sasuke was avoiding him, only making him feel his worst fears were confirmed. When that thought crossed his mind, he softened his angered features and considered the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was wiser to give Sasuke space, to let him figure out how weird this all must be. With that little sliver of positivity in mind, he closed his eyes in hopes of sleep.

Naruto was awoken hours later by a soft hand roughly shaking him back and forth. Thankfully, he wasn't heavily sleeping, so he opened his eyes within snap and looked up to see Sakura's tired face hovering over his. For some reason, he worried that even muttering a 'good morning' or 'hello' would irritate her even more—Sakura is not a morning person—but despite that, she cracked a smile and whispered that it was his turn for watch. Naruto nodded and moved out of his makeshift bed to let Sakura hop right in. She mewled in delight bathing in Naruto's warmth, which incited a quiet chuckle from Naruto; he was glad he could be of some use, even if it were just for warmth. Kurama spoiled him some more by upping his temperature just a bit to withstand against the brisk air that came during the night.

Within the blink of an eye, the last watch was over and it was time to pack up the majority of the camp. Naruto could already hear Sakura and Sasuke bustling about so he figured he could at least make some breakfast.

"We should make it by early evening at this rate," Sakura said during breakfast.

"Hn," Sasuke agreed.

"Then I guess we shouldn't waste any more time in case Jimmen gets any worse," Naruto threw in.

The three of them finished cleaning up their site and continued on their way to Mist. The silence dragged on for the remainder of the day except for the occasional question here and there mainly from Sakura. She did seem to notice the tense air between her male counterparts but it wasn't as if this was the first time she's witnessed their immature behavior. However, she equally participated in the silence along with them, feeling too preoccupied with thoughts of Jimmen; they were approaching the village soon and she wondered what his condition would be like at this point. The air began to feel much colder, a bit more windy, and not so surprisingly, misty. Sure enough, by the time they saw the large gates with the Mist symbol the day had struck into the later hours and it had begun raining. Naruto picked up his pace a bit, unable to keep his anxiety in check while Sasuke and Sakura quickly followed. Through the mist and rain, they could see two figures standing by the entrance; Naruto didn't sense any malice from them and decided it was safe to continue approaching.

When they finally reached the figures, they saw it was a tall man and a short woman. From what could be see through the rainy mist, the man was dark-skinned wearing only black clothing and a top hat while the woman was several shades lighter than the male with what appeared to be a black tutu designed with white patterns. Her hair was a glossy black pulled tightly into a bun, decorated by a large rose—unlike her partner, she held an umbrella steadily over her head.

"Uh, hello, we're from the Leaf—"

"Uzumaki?" The woman questioned. Her voice was a bit high, but still smooth-sounding.

Naruto was almost afraid to answer. He had only been to the Mist once while travelling with Ero-Senin and he never recalled bumping into these two. Thankfully Sasuke stepped up and answered instead. "You first, who're you?"

"This is Marlo," the woman replied, gesturing to the man. "And I am Meelo. We must be careful with who enters our village. Very unfortunate things are occurring in these times of peace."

"That's why we're here. Our Hokage sent us to see a…patient of yours. I'm Uzumaki and this is—"

"Uchiha and Haruno. Then follow behind me and I'll lead you to our Mizukage." She said nothing more as she turned and walked through the thick fog surrounding the gates of the village. Afraid that they'd lose her, Naruto scrambled to catch her with Sakura and Sasuke in tow, except they happened to notice Marlo remaining still.

"Uh, is your friend not coming?" Naruto asked.

"Marlo will follow behind you to keep a close eye."

That didn't necessarily make anyone feel any better. Instead, they could feel Marlo silently follow behind them like a floating ghost. What Naruto also noticed was the guy's lack of umbrella—he was drenched to his bones. "Dude, do you not have an umbrella?"

The scary and tall man went from staring straight ahead to looking down at Naruto. Naruto noticed two things at once; for one, this man was ridiculously tall, almost like a full foot (if not impossibly taller) than him and Sasuke, and two, his eyes were bluer than anything he had ever seen in his entire life. People always complimented how rare his eyes were, not that he was an expert on rarities, but he'd take those praises as truth and assumed that there weren't that many people with sapphire colored hues. Obviously he was mistaken. Marlo had blues that put his to shame and that somehow both intrigued and terrified him.

"I have no need for an umbrella, Sir." The voice was a deep baritone but it had some sort of twang to it that gave it a more melodic sound. That was a voice made for story-telling, which was a weird thought for Naruto, but that was the best way to compare it.

It hadn't taken long to reach the Mizukage's office; it was a similar building to their own kage with the office located at the top floor. Meelo have the main door three knocks before a voice commanded them to come in.

"Ah, if it isn't the hero of the war!" The Mizukage, Mei Terumi, exclaimed. She was a young beauty with chocolate locks framing her face, long fringes covering one half of her face and revealing one emerald eye. Her skin was milky pale but not a bruise or mark could be found—not that she revealed much skin. She was sitting straight behind her desk with her chin sitting heavily on her folded fingers. There was a smile but it hadn't reached her one visible eye.

Despite that, her welcoming brought about a blush to Naruto's cheeks. "It was actually a joint effort," he tried admitting but this woman was as stubborn as Tsunade.

"I know marriage takes a joint effort!"

Bewildered at her reply, Naruto took an instant step back, accidentally bumping into Marlo. "What?!"

"He was speaking about the war, My Lady. He won it by joint effort," Meelo interjected. She was bowed, seeming unfazed by the weird behavior.

"Oh, alright then, back to usual business. I see you've brought some protection with you as well."

"Uh," Naruto was still confused over the whole ordeal. "Y-Yes, but Baa—I mean our Hokage also sent Sakura-chan; she's here to do a medical evaluation on Jimmen."

"Very well, you should see him as soon as possible," she said with a heavy sigh. "I warn you that he had to be moved into an isolated room since his condition is so critical. I honestly don't think he'll make it."

"I'll do my best to prevent that, Lady Mizukage," Sakura said after bowing.

Again, Mei gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm sure, but I just want you to know that the odds are pretty big. We're still heavily searching for what or who may have done this…"

"Don't worry, me and Teme here will help with the investigating. We'll catch this guy, I promise."