Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Special Thanks: goes out to McKazekage, Guest, TheGirlWithNoIQ, and greetingsfrommaars for all your amazing reviews! Also thanks to everyone who's added this story to their favorites and alert lists - I get so excited when I see a new alert in my e-box! I appreciate you all so much, and thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart.

Author's Note: Oh my gosh, there are so many exciting things happening. This is actually one of my favorite story arcs in Light and Dark, perhaps in the whole Shadows universe to date, actually. On the flip side, however, it was also one of the most difficult to write. That's partially why I took a two-month hiatus, because this storyline was punishing on me as a writer, emotionally and mentally speaking. This is a short chapter, admittedly - just one scene - but so many important things are revealed here. Thank you all so, so very much for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

*~Chapter XXIV~*

~Konoha~

Coming up on the massive gates of Konoha made Temari feel like a girl of twelve again.

It was not a feeling she relished.

Kaen sensed his rider's tension, tossing his head and tugging harshly on the reins. Gaara's stallion was fast and hardy, but temperamental in the extreme. Temari had considered pulling Kazedansu out of retirement, but with Kaen's superior speed, she'd known he was the best mount to get her to Konoha and then back to Suna in the shortest amount of time.

The gates leading into the village yawned open in front of her like a hungry maw. Making a face at her own morbid thoughts, Temari reined Kaen in just oustide the border. Sitting tall and straight in her saddle, scorning to give any indication of how tired she was, she called out to the two shadows she saw lurking in the guard shack on the other side. They materialized into two men who quickly positioned themselves between the three Sunese and the village. The one on the left had spiky hair and a bandage over his nose and cheekbones; the other's overlong bangs dangled over one eye, the visible one gleaming with suspicion.

"State your business!" Spiky-hair demanded.

"I am Sabaku Temari," she replied haughtily. "My brother, Sabaku Gaara, Lord of Suna, sent a message ahead to Lady Tsunade, and this with me to place directly into her hand." She held up the scroll she'd kept tucked in the pouch at her waist, careful to make sure the men saw every little move she made.

One-eye stepped forward, coming close enough to examine the seal on the scroll. "Looks legit," he said over his shoulder to his partner as he backed away again.

"Who's with you?" The other man didn't seem quite so ready to accept the legitimacy of their business. If not for the urgency of the reason for her to be here, she might have admired his natural predisposition for suspicion.

"This is Baki, head of Suna's Guard, and my lady's maid, Matsuri. We are all expected by Lady Tsunade." At least, she assumed Gaara had put something in the scroll about her comrades. If not - well, hopefully Temari wouldn't be in the village too long.

Right?

"Eh, c'mon, Kotetsu," One-eye said. "They check out as the ones Lady Tsunade sent us a notice about earlier. Remember?"

Spiky - or, rather, Kotetsu - rubbed the back of his head, eyes narrowed in thought. He drawled, "Are you sure that's what that was, Izumo? I thought she said something about a delivery of fruit."

Fruit? Temari felt her jaw tighten involuntarily. This was just about the most insolent guard she'd ever seen in her life. That fruit wisecrack... She curled her hand into a fist to keep herself from reaching for one of the bladed fans at her waist.

"Ah, good, you're here."

Kotetsu and Izumo startled slightly and looked over their shoulders. Temari's gaze followed to a figure who'd seemed to have just suddenly appeared behind them. Her eyebrows quirked in irritation at herself as she wondered how long he'd been there and how much he'd overheard.

"Lady Temari, Baki, Matsuri." Performing a flashy bow, the masked man smiled; or, at least, Temari assumed he smiled, since his eyes crinkled nearly shut. "Welcome to Konoha. Lady Tsunade is expecting you. I am Hatake Kakashi, and I'm here to escort you directly to her office."

Stepping aside, Izumo and Kotetsu shot her suspicious looks as she, Baki, and Matsuri rode without further contest into the village. Kakashi walked ahead of their mounts for a few strides, then swung aboard a tall, sleek horse the same color as his silver hair. Reining his mount around, he led the way farther into the village. Temari looked around her with veiled curiosity, noting how it seemed both the same and different from her memories of it from her last visit.

Kakashi led them along the main thoroughfares of the village, where a lot of people stopped to stare at their small group following masked man riding in front of them, one of whom bestrode an enormous red stallion. Temari kept her head up, her shoulders square, and regally ignored the swelling murmurings. Despite a sensation like the Sabaku crest made a target on her back, she felt relatively safe within the walls. Though Suna and Konoha weren't technically allied - yet - with Gaara's unpublicized engagement to Hyuuga Hinata, something of an unspoken agreement existed between the villages.

In the distance, Temari caught sight of a familiar red-walled building. She knew from her former visit the leader of Konoha kept his (or, in this case, her) office there, simply by the similarity in setup to Suna, despite the difference in surroundings. The closer they came to it, the harder she had to exert her will to hang on to her remaining reserves of dignity, to keep from begging Hatake to tell her if the leader of his village was prepared to leave for Suna. Because if she wasn't-

After far too long a ride, they finally reached Konoha Tower. Dismounting, they each handed over their reins to waiting servants, then proceeded into the building, which felt much cooler and drier than the hot, sticky air outside. The humidity was one of many things Temari had not missed about the Leaf Village.

Inside, Kakashi led them past several guards posted along the halls and at the top and bottom of each staircase. When at last they reached an open, domed area which looked like a waiting area leading to an office, Temari thought Konoha's security detail made Suna's look laughably small in comparison. Or maybe, she thought shrewdly, the heightened security is due to our being here.

"I don't care if you've got a deadline! I'll only be gone a few days, and you're going to take my place here even if I have to tie you to a chair to keep you here!"

Temari startled at the loud, abrasive voice coming from behind the two heavy-looking double doors across the room. She blinked, sharing a confused glance between Matsuri and Baki, before turning to Kakashi for some sort of explanation.

A bead of sweat visibly trickled down their escort's cheek. "Ah - sorry about that," he apologized, nervously raising one hand to rub the back of his neck. "Lady Tsunade has something of a temper. Unfortunately, so does her former teammate; so when they have a disagreement, it tends to get quite - loud."

The doors rattled and visibly strained as something slammed into it from the other side. The strident female voice exclaimed, "Jiraiya, so help me, you're worse than Naruto! I told you, I'll only be gone a few days, and-"

"But my book!" The male voice which interrupted held a distinct whine. "My publisher has me on a very strict deadline, you know. If I don't have the draft to him by the end of this week, he'll have my hide instead!"

"If you don't do this, I'll have your head!"

Temari's emotions wavered between relief and apprehension. On the one hand, it very much seemed as though Lady Tsunade planned to accompany her back to Suna without any of the exreme measures she'd considered employing; on the other - her mind filled with an image of Healer Hatsuharu - Senju Tsunade sounded more like a shrew than someone whose healing abilities were legendary in all the nations.

Kakashi lifted one hand, as if he were getting ready to speak, but the doors flying open interrupted him. A buxom blonde in a voluminous green coat charged into the lobby, kicking a heavy, wheeled chair out of the way. Behind her, a tall, broad-shouldered man with long, bristly white hair stood by the desk dominating the room, arms crossed, a sulky expression on his face.

"You must be Lord Gaara's sister." Steely amber eyes pinned Temari with a glare no less intense than the leader of Suna could produce, her smooth features set in a scowl. A strange, diamond-shaped jewel flashed on her forehead, sending purple sparks flashing across the walls as the sunlight refracted off it. Temari got the strange impression it was the woman, instead of the jewel, sending off sparks, but she shook off the ridiculous thought as the other blonde continued. "I got the message your brother sent. He said there was someone in Suna who required my medical expertise immediately."

Gaara, you didn't tell her who it is?! Temari's mind flashed back to the conversation she and Itachi had had while undercover, about his clan's extermination and the resulting fallout for him. The way he'd talked, Lady Tsunade had been the one to clear his path to repatriate to Suna, but perhaps she'd misunderstood. Had Gaara withheld the information because Tsunade would refuse to treat him otherwise? Her turquoise eyes locked questioningly with the other woman's amber ones, seeking to read the truth of of what she did - or didn't - know in them.

Tsunade's scowl deepened as she stared expectantly at Temari, who somehow got the feeling Konoha's leader was inwardly tapping her foot impatiently. Then, with a flicker of her eyelids, she dropped her chin in an almost imperceptible nod. Temari's breath nearly whooshed out of her in a sigh of relief. She knows. She just doesn't want to say his name out loud in Konoha.

"Ah - yes, milady." Though not the type of person to be intimidated easily, something about this woman made Temari feel somehow small, and not as strong as she'd always thought herself to be. "Our Healers have done all they can, but the only way he'll survive is with your medical expertise. Please, milady." She bowed and proffered the scroll she'd brought with her, resisting the urge to clench her teeth together. She hated bowing to anyone except Gaara, but if it got Itachi the help he needed, she'd do it - and more. "My brother and I personally would be - very grateful."

But Lady Tsunade waved the scroll away. "I have already arranged for my assistant, Shizune, to take over my duties at the hospital temporarily. And Jiraiya, my former teammate, just graciously agreed to guide the village until I return." She shot a look over her shoulder, which the man still standing by the desk patently ignored. "Heaven knows what condition Konoha will be in when I return, but for now, the arrangements will suffice. Are you prepared to leave immediately?"

Temari hesitated, torn in several different directions at once. Part of her wanted to grab the woman's arm and hustle her along, not letting go until they stood at Itachi's bedside. Another part of her wanted so badly to ask about Haruna, to demand to see the woman so she could find out every last detail about her relationship with Itachi.

But suddenly, as she actually stood in Konoha, the whole matter of whatever relationship Itachi had had with Haruna seemed insignificant. The loyal, responsible part of her squelched her previous jealousy. Shaking her head, albeit reluctantly, she instead asked about a different person. "There is one small matter," she said. "My brother asked me to check on the wellbeing of his fiancée while I was here. I don't have to speak with her, but he would like me to see her with my own eyes and report back to him."

The thunderous expression lingering on Tsunade's face cleared slightly. In fact, it almost looked like she was smothering a smile as she came forward, Kakashi falling into step slightly behind her, obviously serving in a bodyguard capicity. "Of course. Naruto - my honorary grandson - is meeting her and a group of mutual friends for their weekly lunch in the village. I can take you to their usual restaurant immediately. Then if that's all, we can leave straight from there."

Relieved, Temari nodded, glad they weren't going to have to go to the Hyuuga compound, since she had particularly nasty memories of that place. Besides, seeing Hinata in a setting outside her home would probably prove to be the best. She remembered the girl's family as rigid, controlling, and above all, icy cold. With her friends, the girl was sure to be more like herself.

With their attendant bodyguards trailing discreetly behind, Temari and Tsunade descended the stairs side-by-side, traversing the halls in reverse. As they emerged into the sunlight, Temari's eyes were immediately drawn to the horse which had joined the others in the courtyard. Its dark flanks looking even more dramatic against its light mane and tail, compact and sturdy, the mare didn't seem the least bit bothered by the heavily-laden saddlebags draped both fore and aft of the saddle. Bobbing her head, she nickered a greeting to her rider before flashing a surreptitious glance at Kaen, who seemed to be eyeing the little mare with equal interest.

"Don't even think about it, lover boy," Temari muttered, shoving the red stallion's head aside to break his gaze. That's just what she needed on this trip - a lovesick pair of horses.

The five mounted, and with a final few instructions to the man with a senbon sticking out of his mouth like a giant toothpick who stood guard at the Konoha Tower's gate, they were off on their little detour.

As they rode through the village - taking a different route from that when they arrived - Temari found herself recognizing more and more places. Though her one self-led tour through the village had ended sooner - and more disastrously - than planned, she'd still managed to get a good chunk of it explored before its abrupt, wet end. She recognized flower shops and bookstores, fancy restaurants next to open-air stalls, and boutiques unlike anything they had in Suna. Everything mixed together in an ambience she might have liked to explore again, if her personal mission hadn't been so important.

Abruptly, Tsunade pulled her mare to a halt. Temari rode ahead a couple of paces before realizing and reining in as well. "Milady?"

Resting her hands calmly on the pommel of her saddle, Tsunade nodded toward a building with Tomiko's stenciled on the long row of windows lining the front. "The group should be in there," she said. "You remember what Hinata looks like?"

Temari nodded, her mouth suddenly dry. Why was she so nervous? It wasn't like she had to go in and engage in girl talk with Hinata. She just had to get a quick peek at her, gauge whether or not the girl looked healthy, then leave. It couldn't have been simpler - unless, of course, she didn't have to do it at all. But, since that wasn't an option...

She dismounted and handed Kaen's reins to Matsuri, who offered her mistress an encouraging smile. Before she could change her mind, Temari turned and strode across the street, slowing her steps as she reached the wooden walkway on the other side. Maintaining a casual stroll, she affected a lazy posture and turned her head toward the windows as she walked past.

She easily spotted the group in the mostly-empty eatery. They sat at a long table toward the back, a group of twelve people. Temari scanned their faces, as well as the backs of those who sat facing away from her, searching for an older version of the lively girl who had brought out a side of her brother she'd not seen before - or since.

There!

Hinata sat next to a wildly gesticulating blond, whiskered boy around her own age. The cute little girl Temari remembered had grown into an attractive young woman, with a porcelain complexion, long midnight hair, and those startling lavender-tinted pale eyes. A shy smile graced her face as her eyes drifted from the blond to-

Temari halted midstep, her entire focus zeroing in on a young man who bore a remarkable resemblence to Itachi. Sasuke! Feeling as though she'd been punched in the gut, she knew without a doubt she stared at Itachi's younger brother. However, the smiling, adoring boy in the picture she'd seen in Itachi's room was nowhere to be found in the cold, unsmiling features of the ninja sitting on the other side of the blond kid. Though now she saw him in person, it made sense that Sasuke would have gone through a change after what happened to his clan. Almost against her will, she studied the chill, emotionless expression on his face, recognizing it as similar to the one Gaara used to wear, until he'd made the conscious decision to change.

It was the mask of a man who had nothing to lose...

...The face of someone who could quite easily turn into a coldblooded killer.

Shaken, Temari turned her gaze away from Sasuke, the fine hairs on her arms and the back of her neck prickling from shock. Still feeling unsettled she shifted her attention back to Hinata, determined to get one last glimpse of the girl before she went back across the street to rejoin the others. However, the decision to take that last look was one she soon regretted.

Laughing at what appeared to have been his own joke, the blond boy tossed his arm over Hinata's shoulders. The dark-haired girl turned bright red, and for a moment Temari thought she was going to faint. But then Hinata regained control of herself. Her striking eyes shifted to the blond's face, and the softest, most adoringly infatuated expression Temari had ever seen overtook her expression.

Temari felt her hands curl into fists at her side as her jaw went rigid. While her brother sat at home in Suna, a tattered lavender ribbon tied around his wrist, literally pining after this girl, Hinata - his fiancée, an engaged woman - sat in Konoha carrying on a love affair with another man!

The hair on the back of her neck prickled again, this time in warning. With a jerk Temari realized Sasuke had noticed her in the window, and was now regarding her with unblinking black eyes. Startled and unnerved, she turned away, forcing her stride to remain deliberately ambling as she headed back toward the horses.

Inwardly, she cursed herself over and over again. Disgust - at herself for being caught spying, at Hinata for shamelessly flirting, at Gaara for being so blindly attracted to the little cheater - flooded through her, bringing a flush to her face. If only she'd never come to Konoha. If only she'd let Gaara send his message and trusted Lady Tsunade would understand the urgency and come of her own accord.

While she'd succeeded on her quest to bring Lady Tsunade to help save Itachi, that success had come at a bitter price. Thinking of what she'd just witnessed of Itachi's brother and Gaara's fiancée, she felt sick to her stomach. When the inevitable questions came from either man-

-What on earth am I going to say?

*~To Be Continued~*

Author's Ending Notes: So many exciting things happening, and to come! This is story arc one of my favorites in Light and Dark, and perhaps even in the whole Shadows universe (at least thus far). On the flip side, however, this story arc, and bits of the one to follow, were some of the most difficult to write. That's partially why I took a two-month hiatus, because the rest of the story drained me as a writer, emotionally and mentally speaking. But that's also one of the things I enjoy most about writing, getting that emotional connection to the characters, so I wouldn't trade this for anything. For that reason, Light and Dark - and Shadows - are two of my favorite stories I've ever written. I really do hope you all are enjoying the journey as well. I'm so excited to be sharing it with you! Thank you all so, so very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you again for the next one!