Second Best.
Chapter Fourteen – Bait And Switch.
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Sakura was woken that evening, by someone shaking her shoulder excitedly. She opened her eyes blearily and looked to see it was Ryo shaking her. "What's wrong Ryo?" Sakura asked groggily.
"Arashi isn't breathing properly. His eyes are open though." Ryo answered. Sakura shot out of the chair to Arashi's side. She saw him struggling to pull out the tube that was down his throat, and he was finding it hard to breath. He looked terrified.
"It's alright Arashi." Sakura soothed, as she quickly scrubbed her hands and gently stroked his hair. At the same time, she removed the tube as gently as was possible. Once it was removed Arashi's breathing was much easier. Hinata was still sleeping.
"Auntie Sakura, my chest hurts a lot." Arashi croaked out. "So does my throat." He added. Sakura smiled at him softly.
"Your throat hurts because of the tube. But it was there so you could breathe properly. You were asleep for awhile." Sakura stated softly. He smiled weakly.
"The mean lady put a kunai in my chest. It really hurt Auntie Sakura. Mum was screaming, and so was Fuuko and Shinji and Hiroki. I heard the mean lady take Hiroki away, but Mum was still crying. Is she alright?" Arashi croaked out.
"She's sleeping in here sweetie. You're both going to be just fine." Sakura said. She smiled widely with relief.
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Mitsuko smirked at the trussed-up child that glared at her hatefully. "You really are nothing like your father. If you were like him, you'd be able to kill me with that glare." Mitsuko stated. Amusement laced her voice, and Hiroki glared at her more. "It'll be far more amusing when your mother comes looking for you. I know Sasuke too well. He won't find me. But I'll make sure to let your mother find me." Mitsuko said snidely.
"If you hurt my Mum you'll be sorry for it." Hiroki hissed.
"Dear me, you have some backbone." Mitsuko mused. "I might just have to change that." Mitsuko added nastily. Hiroki carried on glaring at her with all the hate he could muster.
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Sakura sat with Hinata, waiting for Arashi to get back from having some preliminary tests, to make sure he was over the worst. Ryo had gone to get some soda and it was the two women by themselves. Hinata looked at Sakura expectantly. "Sakura?" Hinata asked carefully.
"I know Hinata. I promised that I would go. I'll keep my word. Besides, it'll be nice to see Naruto smile at something." Sakura replied. She smiled at Hinata, and Hinata smiled back. "I'll go and get supplies, and then I'll head out. I'll inform Tsunade when I'm going to leave." Sakura stated.
"Thank you, Sakura. I hope you find him quickly." Hinata replied. Sakura nodded and left the room. As she opened the door and walked out, she saw Ryo standing there staring.
"What's wrong Ryo?" Sakura asked.
"You're going to leave to look for Uncle Naruto?" Ryo asked.
"Yes. I made a promise to Auntie Hinata. I have to keep it." Sakura replied.
"My Father will be with him. I know. But..." Ryo trailed off, looking for the right words. Sakura cocked her head to one side, waiting for Ryo to carry on. "They'll be looking for my mother." Ryo finished.
"Don't worry, I'm not looking for your mother. I need to find Uncle Naruto, and I hope I find Hiroki." Sakura stated.
"My mother won't see it that way. She hates you. She probably did this just to get at you and my Father. She doesn't understand the concept of love in a family. She only understands that love is a weakness and knowing your enemy's weakness gives you strength. She believes that education is wasted. The only education you need is the education you possess, unless you're training with weapons. If she gets a chance she'll hurt you, probably kill you, Sakura-San." Ryo said hesitantly. "I'm scared that you'll end up dying. Please be careful Sakura-San." Ryo added. Sakura smiled at the worried child, then pulled him into an embrace. She hugged him tightly and he hugged her back.
"I promise I'll be careful Ryo. I'll come back." Sakura said softly.
"Just don't underestimate what she might do. She doesn't think anything is wrong unless it doesn't suit her." Ryo replied. Sakura nodded and let go of the child. She walked away, and as she did, she felt Ryo's eyes on her back.
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Naruto and Sasuke were searching a village for signs that Mitsuko had been there. They wore cloaks, so their faces wouldn't be recognised. As they looked, they spoke to each other in hushed voices. "Sasuke, do you think that she'd hurt Hiroki?" Naruto asked quietly.
"No. She wouldn't dare. While he's still a bargaining chip to her, she'll make sure to keep him living and unharmed." Sasuke replied. Kabuto was searching around the woods that surrounded the tiny village for tracks.
"How sure can you be of that? Sakura told me about Hiroki's face. Ryo told her about it when they first started living with her." Naruto asked. Sasuke bit his lip.
"I made her pay for doing that Naruto." Sasuke replied. Naruto blinked. "I cut her face, like she cut Hiroki's. He's my son and I love him and Ryo the same way." Sasuke added. Naruto nodded.
"Still, without you there, to scare the hell out of her, will she be able to keep calm?" Naruto asked.
"She may try to break him down mentally, but Hiroki is, unfortunately, rather used to how Mitsuko works. He'll be okay." Sasuke said quietly. Naruto could hear the underlying tone that suggested that Sasuke was trying to convince himself, more than he was trying to convince Naruto.
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Sakura got ready to leave the village. She looked at Sai who was completely nonplussed. "You do realise that you could ask Tsunade-Sama to let you go on the mission with me. You'd find them quicker that way." Sai said. Sakura gaped at Sai for a few moments, open-mouthed, then bopped him on the head.
"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Sakura yelled.
"Because you were set on going, and I didn't want to get bopped on the head hag." Sai said calmly as he rubbed his head gently. Sakura rolled her eyes, glad the children were with Temari and Gaara at the moment. She nodded and went to find Tsunade.
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Tsunade was sat in her office, going over Arashi's notes when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in." Tsunade called. Ryo entered.
"Tsunade-Sama I wanted to talk to you for a moment." Ryo asked politely. Tsunade looked at the serious look on Ryo's face and gestured for him to sit down.
"What's wrong Ryo?" Tsunade asked kindly.
"Sakura-San is intending to go and find Uncle Naruto. I'm scared she'll get killed by my mother." Ryo said sadly.
"She can't leave without my permission." Tsunade said gently.
"She promised Auntie Hinata. She won't stay here and break her promise." Ryo replied. Tsunade nodded.
"Don't worry Ryo. I'll send someone with her. I promise you that if it's in my power, then Sakura is going to come back. Alright?" Tsunade questioned. Ryo nodded and left the room. He looked far more reassured then when he had entered. Not five minutes later, another knock interrupted Tsunade in the middle of her pile of paperwork that she was desperately trying to get done. She knew it was most likely to be Sakura. "Come in." She called out again. Sakura entered with Sai. She grinned at the pair. "Good you two are together. Sai, I want Sakura to go with you on your mission." Tsunade said happily. The two stared at her bug-eyed. "Well if you are going to run off out of the village you might as well go with Sai. At least you won't be so vulnerable then." Tsunade stated.
"How did you know I wanted to go anywhere in the first place?" Sakura asked.
"Ryo was worried for your safety Sakura. He's a good kid. You must have had a good influence on him." Tsunade replied. Sakura shook her head and smiled gently to herself.
"Surprisingly Tsunade-Shishou, Ryo was this way when he got here. He just never had the chance to show it before." Sakura replied. They left after preparations were made, and Tsunade sighed as she stared at the ever-growing pile of paperwork.
"Why did I decide to become Hokage again?" Tsunade asked herself. The empty room, however, was not inclined to answer that question.
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A few days later, Sakura and Sai had picked up Naruto's trail. It had first led to the Valley of The End, where he seemed to have met up with someone. Sakura had a hunch it was Sasuke. Sai however, did not make assumptions, and didn't have hunches. They had been sneakily searching around Oto for the pair for awhile. Finally, they picked up a trail near a smaller village in Rice Country, close to Oto. Sai and Sakura were searching around for more tracks trying to determine the chakra signature, when Sakura saw a flash of pink. It was only for a moment, but she was sure she'd seen it. "Hiroki?" Sakura questioned internally. She sped off after it, without any thought whatsoever. When Sai turned back to ask her something, she was gone.
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Sasuke heard frantic searching as he and Naruto travelled through this new wood with Kabuto. "I can hear someone looking for something." Naruto whispered.
"We'd better check it out. If we don't, it could be a lead we missed." Sasuke replied. Naruto nodded, and Kabuto followed behind the pair. When they came upon the searcher, all eyes widened to see Sai.
"What are you doing here Sai?" Naruto asked.
"Originally, the objective was to find and help you in some way." Sai said.
"So what changed?" Sasuke asked.
"Sakura disappeared on me." Sai said calmly.
"How can you be so calm about that?" Naruto yelled. Sai shrugged.
"We need to find her quickly." Kabuto said. The other three turned to look at him. "Before Mitsuko finds her. It will be less messy for all involved if Mitsuko does not find Sakura before we do." Kabuto replied. The group split up agreeing to meet near the edge of the village by sundown, no matter what.
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Sakura was chasing around blindly through the trees after the flash of pink. She could see it every so often, going faster. After a few minutes, Sakura called out. "Hiroki! Is that you?" Sakura yelled. The pink flash stood still, next to a small waterfall. "I didn't notice that before." Sakura thought to herself, as she finally caught up to see Hiroki standing there waiting for her. She blinked and looked at him carefully. "Hiroki?" Sakura asked. Hiroki nodded smiling.
"Mum. I managed to get away from her. I was so scared. I heard you calling me, so I stopped." Hiroki said speedily. Sakura walked towards him slowly.
"Are you alright Hiroki?" Sakura asked carefully.
"I'm fine Mum. Not a scratch on me." Hiroki said chirpily.
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Sasuke passed by a cave, when he felt a weak chakra signature. He recognised it and ran into the cave as quickly as possible. What he saw shocked him beyond his imagination.
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Sakura knelt down on the ground, and held out her arms to Hiroki. "Come and give me a hug sweetie." Sakura called out to him. Hiroki ran up to Sakura with a big grin on his face.
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Sasuke looked at Hiroki, tied up on the ground. "Hiroki?" Sasuke looked at him carefully. The boy was unconscious and had a fairly large bruise on the back of his head. Sasuke saw a puncture mark on his arm. "He's been drugged? Poisoned? I wish Sakura was here to tell me." Sasuke thought as he untied the unconscious child.
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Kabuto found Sakura, he saw Hiroki running into her arms, he smiled slightly, until he saw the child pull a kunai out from nowhere. There was a wicked leer on his face. It was then Kabuto knew that this child was not Hiroki at all. He saw the knife travelling downwards, straight for the spot between Sakura's shoulder blades.
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Sai and Naruto came across each other near the village. "Did you find any sign of Sakura?" Naruto asked. Sai shook his head. "Let's go and find Sasuke and Kabuto. See if they found something. We've still got a while to go before sundown." Naruto replied.
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Before Kabuto could move, Sakura flung the child away from her, and grabbed the wrist holding the kunai. She pinned the boy to the floor with his arms behind his back. Kabuto landed next to her and saw the angry scowl on her face. "How did you know he was a fake? Even I was fooled for a moment." Kabuto asked.
"That's easy enough to answer." Sakura replied angrily. The child struggling in her grip soon lost Hiroki's form, and became the taller, sleeker and more deadly Mitsuko.
"How could you know the difference? I copied him down to the damned scar on his cheek!" Mitsuko hissed angrily.
"My son would have known I was there. He wouldn't have had me chase him. My son would have asked about Arashi first, the boy you tried to murder, rather than talk about how frightened he was. My son wouldn't grin at me, knowing his friend was injured and that everyone was worried about him. I know my son better than anyone. That includes you or Sasuke." Sakura hissed back.
"That's why you called me closer? You tricked me!" Mitsuko hissed.
"Weren't you trying to trick me? It's called the bait and switch if I remember correctly. Any ninja worth their forehead protector, knows how to avoid such traps. I might have been able to believe that my son was on the run back to the village, but not that he would have no idea I was there." Sakura said chirpily. Kabuto smirked.
"Seems that you have become far more mature since the last time I spoke to you Sakura-San." Kabuto stated seriously. Sakura didn't acknowledge what Kabuto had said. Right now, she had more important things on her mind.
"Where is my son, you miserable bitch?" Sakura hissed at the female, still pinned to the ground.
"Even if you find him it'll be too late for him. I injected him with a deadly poison early last night. He won't wake up. You and my fool of a husband can watch as he dies. The venom of a purple nightshade snake causes a slow and painful death." Mitsuko hissed. Sakura's teeth started to clench in anger.
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Naruto and Sai, saw Sasuke, carrying Hiroki, who looked rather pale. He was shaking violently, and tears ran down his cheeks, even though his eyes weren't open. "What's wrong with him?" Naruto asked.
"I don't know." Sasuke replied. Sai looked at the child carefully.
"He looks ill. We need to get him back to the village as fast as humanly possible." Sai stated.
"Thanks a lot, Captain Obvious." Naruto replied. That was when the trio came across Sakura and Kabuto. Naruto's fists clenched at the sight of a woman, pinned beneath Sakura. Sasuke blinked in confusion. "That's Mitsuko isn't it?" Naruto hissed. Sasuke nodded, and they all landed next to Sakura, from the trees. Sakura looked at Hiroki. She allowed Sai to take hold of Mitsuko, and tie her up properly, with chakra binding chains.
"They won't allow her to use any chakra, and only I know the symbol to release them." Sai stated when he saw the look on Naruto's face. Sakura grabbed hold of Hiroki, from Sasuke. She cradled her son in her arms, as he shook violently. Sakura felt a few tears drip down her cheeks, but she knew now was not the time to panic. She turned to look at Naruto.
"Naruto, you know how to summon toads right?" Sakura asked. Naruto nodded. "Summon one and get back to Konoha as fast as you can." Sakura replied. "You'll need to get Hiroki to Tsunade-Shishou. She's a poison's specialist. Tell her she needs a cure for purple nightshade snake venom, as quickly as possible." Sakura added. Naruto nodded. "Naruto?" Sakura asked. He looked at her carefully. "I came to tell you that Arashi is going to be fine. He came around a few days ago. Hinata made me promise to find you and tell you." Sakura stated. Naruto sighed, it looked as if a weight of thousands of pounds had been lifted from his shoulders. He nodded and smiled at Sakura gratefully. He summoned Gamakichi and waited.
"Yoh Naruto! Long time no see! What's up!" Gamakichi said happily. Sakura stared at the, now, large toad.
"That's the little frog you summoned when we went on that mission, after Sasuke first left?" Sakura asked.
"Yeap. He sure grew. Right Gamakichi?" Naruto said seriously. The toad nodded. Sakura bit her lip, as she handed Hiroki over to Naruto. Naruto cradled the child to him carefully. Hiroki hadn't stopped shivering.
"Naruto?" Naruto looked at Sasuke when he spoke. "Just... take care of him." Sasuke said softly. Naruto nodded his understanding. He jumped up onto Gamakichi's back.
"Take us back to Konoha as quickly as you can Gamakichi. Hiroki really needs Tsunade Baa-Chan." Naruto said seriously.
"Right you are Naruto!" Gamakichi exclaimed, before taking off. The rest of the group were surprised to see the toad going so speedily.
"He was poisoned?" Sasuke asked. Sakura nodded.
"Your wife told me so herself." Sakura replied. A sliver of bitterness was hidden in her voice. Sasuke glared at Mitsuko.
"I'd kill you right here and now if I hadn't promised Naruto to bring you to justice. Let's see how Konoha reacts to you Mitsuko?" Sasuke hissed.
"I still get the joy of knowing I killed your bastard." Mitsuko hissed back. Sakura punched the female with a great deal of strength. She went flying backwards into a tree, which broke behind her.
"Hiroki will survive. Our Hokage is a poison specialist. You won't be so lucky if she leaves your punishment for me to design." Sakura hissed out, as she cracked her knuckles. The males looked rather stunned as Sakura went and started dragging Mitsuko by her hair. Mitsuko was kicking and screaming as she was dragged across the forest floor by her long black hair and none of the males said a word as they followed Sakura off towards Konoha.