Another Chapter
By: Missysillivan
Summary: After winning the battle against Orochimaru, Sasuke and the Konoha Shinobi have gone their separate ways once more. Now, only days later, it has finally been revealed that war is on the horizon and the future of Konoha is looking grim. Strangely enough, Konoha's victory is held in the palm of a traitor and now its up to a hand full of qualified ninja to find the missing ninja and bring him back to help save Konoha, or else, the grand village will fall. (Main SasuSaku; Minor NaruHina, NejTen) (Some OOC; a lot more will appear in later chapters)
3.19.08 Edit! New Summary!
A/N: How has everyone been? I hope everyone had a a fantabulous Christmas (or if you don't celebrate Christmas then a Merry Holiday!) and an AMAZING New Year, because I know I did! Haha. SO! This is the officialfirst chapter of the second arceven though it kinda only serves as a filler. Sorry. It starts moving again next chapter.
IMPORTANT! I have a mission FOR EVERY ONE OF MY READERS! I want every one to leave a review and tell me what you all did for New Years and/or Christmas/any other celebration! I love hearing about what you all did. So, will you accept? Haha.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, sadly, however I have been told that I should.
Chapter 25: It Came to Light
"Yoshi…are you by chance related to Yoshi Harumi?" Tsunade asked hesitantly as she took her seat behind her desk while Shizune stayed beside the man.
"Hai. She is my younger sister." The man replied. "I may look much, much older than you think, but I am only twenty-three. Orochimaru captured me when I was sixteen and on my first mission as a Chunin. My team and I were to deliver a scroll to the Land of Waves but were ambushed. Hiro and Yumi were both killed in the attack but Kenji and myself were taken. As soon as we arrived to the northern base we were experimented on. Kenji didn't make it past the third year. For seven years I was transported between the southern and the northern base. Experimented on endlessly." A tear slid down the fragile man's cheek as he looked up into the hokage's amber eyes.
"You will be admitted into the hospital for further observations, just to make sure you are safe and heal you. I will arrange for you to see your sister as soon as possible." Tsunade informed the man.
"Harumi is here!" Toshiro smiled and more tears fell. "I haven't seen her since she was eight, on her birthday!"
"If you don't mind me asking, how did it happen that Harumi and her mother never lived in Konoha, but you were a shinobi?" Shizune asked bluntly as Tsunade inconspicuously searched her desk for sake.
"It's true that Harumi never lived in Konoha, but I did before she was born. You see, my father was a Jonin but was killed on a mission when I was five. A year later I entered the academy. Two years later my mother moved back to her old village when she found out she was pregnant. She was ill often and the country side had always helped her breath better. I stayed with my uncle, my father's brother. I visited whenever possible, which was almost once every couple of weeks for several days. When Harumi was about seven, she came up with the great idea that she wanted to become a medic. It was brought on by our mother's illnesses. Harumi-chan always felt helpless whenever she would have a relapse." Toshiro shook his head.
"If it helps, Harumi came to Konoha several years ago to become a medic. She excelled quickly and was once of the better medics in the hospital. However, returned to the village about a year and a half after coming to Konoha because your mother became terminal. She died shortly after and Harumi stayed in the village to be the doctor." Tsunade spoke without looking at the man, pointedly ignoring the later facts of Harumi's life. That was the girl's story to tell, not hers.
"It does help. Thank you."
A moment later the door opened and Naruto walked in with Kakashi and Sakura on his heels, the latter being helped occasionally by the former.
"You called for us, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura was first to speak.
"Hai. We have reliable information that Sasuke has made it to the southern base in Sound and released the prisoners there." Tsunade replied as Sakura and Naruto brightened considerably.
"That's great!" Naruto cheered.
"Hai, it is!" Sakura smiled as she discreetly laid a hand across her stomach as her shoulder cramped up. It would be another week or two until her wounds would finally heal and she could start training once more. (A/n: Before I get any questions about the stomach thing, no she is not pregnant. It's just to lesson the stress on her shoulder.)
Kakashi grinned behind his mask as he quickly glanced towards the man sitting in the chair.
"This man was a former Chunin for Konoha before he was captured by Orochimaru and until recently, was an experiment. He came back to us with word that Uchiha Sasuke had set the prisoners free." Tsunade explained briefly as she noticed the look of recognition across Sakura and Kakashi's face at the sight of the man, while Naruto just beamed.
"What do you want us to do, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked tentatively.
"I am going to send out scouts to the southern base with the coordinates that Toshiro-san has given us. We will gather information on Sasuke's activities before we make a final decision. Until then, be prepared to be sent out as part of the scouting teams." Tsunade informed them.
"If it helps, Tsunade-sama," The three teammates shared a look of surprise at the sound of the man's voice. "I overheard some men saying that Sasuke had gone to the southern base in search of the lady who is in charge of it."
"Do you know who the lady is?" Sakura asked before Tsunade could reply.
"I don't remember her name, just that she's a bit-…not a nice lady." Toshiro chuckled at his close slip of words before continuing. "She has an unusual feature; she is able to track chakra over long distances."
"Sasuke must want her to track down Itachi's chakra." Kakashi said aloud while deep in thought.
"So, he's really going after that bastard?" Naruto sighed.
"Have you ever known Sasuke to give up on anything?" Sakura smiled as she set a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"No, but I was kind a hoping he was just going to appear or something." Naruto replied timidly.
"In any case, at least we know who Sasuke has already gathered." Tsunade sighed and ran a hand over her face. "Kakashi, Naruto. Please help Toshiro-san to the hospital. Shizune will be waiting for you with a room. Sakura, if you can stay, I need to speak with you for a moment."
"Hai."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
"'Kay, baa-chan."
"Hai, Shishou."
Kakashi and Naruto gently helped Toshiro up while Shizune went ahead of them to get the room ready. Once every one cleared out, Tsunade signaled Sakura to take a seat in the chair before her desk. The pink haired medic complied and sat down silently, waiting for her teacher to explain what she needed to say.
"Sakura, your recent tests came back and the poison has completely left your system." Tsunade started.
"That's good. The last two days I've been feeling like I have a lot more strength and I can move with only a small amount of discomfort." Sakura smiled.
"That's good, you're healing well then. Another week and you should be able to start the easy training, no sparing or anything of that nature." Tsunade let out the billionth sigh that day. "I've decided that you are stable enough to be released, however you must come in every other day to get checked up on. If you feel any discomfort that is not normal or if you start to feel sick, come straight into the hospital or find me."
Sakura immediately brightened further. "Thank you Tsunade-sama. I'm sure Naruto and the others will be thrilled that I am leaving." But then a random thought hit her. "What about Harumi?"
The young teen had been staying in the room beside Sakura since she had woken up and they were hanging out every day. Sakura was her only release from the stuffy hospital. Naruto and Sakura had taken her out into the town two days ago but they were only able to go about freely for about two hours before an angry Tsunade tracked them down and dragged Sakura back to the hospital by the ear. Literally.
"At this point of time, I don't know. She's proven to be safe and loyal to Konoha, but I don't know what to do with her." Tsunade replied with a twirl of her wrist.
"Why don't you have her stay with me? I have the room." Sakura questioned.
"Are you sure?" Tsunade looked doubtful as Sakura nodded her head.
"Yeah. The guest room should still be set up from the last time Naruto stayed over and the apartment is too big for just me any way."
"…alright. I need to speak with her first. Why don't you go back to the hospital and get all of your things together. I'll have Tenten meet up with you."
Sakura stood up slowly and nodded once more. "Okay."
Ten minutes later found Sakura packing up her things in a small bag. She wore a simple red tank top that was slightly baggy on her, because of the chest bindings, and gray sweat pants with the standard blue sandals. She had pulled her shoulder length pink hair up into a pony tail with her forehead protector stashed safely in her sweat's pocket.
A soft knock pulled Sakura's attention to the door where Tenten walked in with a smile on her face.
"Are you ready to go home?" She laughed as Sakura zipped up the bag.
"Yes." She replied without hesitation.
"Good. I've been waiting for the day that I get to go over to your house and crash on your couch like old times." Tenten joked around as she walked over to Sakura.
Sakura laughed along with her friend and went to grab the bag with her left arm. The moment the bag left the bed, Sakura gasped and dropped it onto the floor before grasping the area above her heart in pain.
"You okay?" Tenten placed a hand on Sakura's back and had the girl sit down on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah. I just forget that the wound isn't completely healed." Sakura replied as Tenten shouldered the bag and helped her up once more.
"Come on. We'll take it slow."
Sakura smiled appreciatively towards her friend as they walked out of the hospital and towards her apartment.
"Have you seen you're parents since you got back?" Sakura looked towards Tenten as they walked down the street.
"Yeah. My mom came by the third day to see how I was. Apparently my dad is in Crater City doing some business with a man that lives there. He left two days before we got back and won't be home for another week."
"That sucks. You're mom still mad you moved into that apartment?" Tenten teased.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Sakura recited dully.
"Lesson number one-"
"Don't piss off your mother." Sakura interrupted.
Tenten began laughing as they reached the apartment building. The apartment was actually around the corner from where Sakura's parents still lived, but that meant nothing to the medic's mother, who fought tooth and nail for Sakura to stay living at home. However, the medic just couldn't do that. She needed her space and having a doting mother never solved anything. It almost always made things worse.
Sakura led the way into the building and up the stairs to the fourth floor, the top floor, where her apartment was located. She fingered the edge of the doorframe to the left side of the door and pushed down on the secret panel. It popped out and Sakura retrieved the key before unlocking the door and replacing the key.
She opened the door and allowed Tenten to walk in before following her in and locking the door behind her.
"You know, I still am amazed at that secret compartment thing you got there." Tenten said off handedly as she set Sakura's bag on the coffee table.
"Well, I never liked carrying around house keys." Sakura smiled as she moved to the kitchen. "Do you want to help me set up the guest room?"
"Sure." Tenten walked down the hall to the guest bedroom, admiring the apartment on the way.
The apartment was one of the nicer ones in the area. The front door opened up into a wide living room attached to a large gourmet kitchen with a kitchenette. At the back of the living room was a straight hallway. To the right was the master bedroom with bathroom while to the left was the spare bedroom. At the end of the hallway was the second bathroom. Sakura had kept the look simple, keeping a homey feeling, yet at the same time, there wasn't much there. There was a couch and loveseat set with a coffee table and TV in the living room while the kitchen was fully stocked. Both bedrooms only had the bare necessities which consisted of a bed, dresser, night stand, and blinds to cover the windows. However, Sakura's bedroom was the most done up room in the whole apartment.
Sakura met Tenten in the guest room with a cup of water in hand. She set it down on the night stand and helped the brunette change the sheets and clean up any mess Naruto had left when he had stayed with her the night before the invasion. They were having a movie night that led to a sleep over with Tenten. Said girl ended up staying on the couch as usual.
"So, Harumi is going to move in with you?" Tenten questioned in an attempt to start a conversation.
"Yeah. It's going to be weird seeing her as who she really is. In Otogakure, it was different. Different setting, different feelings, different circumstances." Sakura replied solemnly, her thoughts traveling to Sasuke.
"Are you okay?" Jade looked up to dark chocolate that were filled with worry.
Sakura nodded her head, not even giving an effort to smile. "It's difficult, you know? I miss him."
Tenten didn't need to be told who to understand who Sakura was talking about. "I know."
Once the room was done, Sakura moved to the kitchen to make lunch. The two spent the next hour talking.
-----
A rasp on the door was the only warning Harumi received before it was pulled open and the blonde hokage entered the room.
"Hokage-sama!" Harumi bowed respectively as Tsunade waved her off.
"I have come to inform you that you will be leaving the hospital and living with Sakura until you are able to go back to your village." Tsunade informed the girl as her apple green eyes grew in size.
"Are you serious?" Harumi squealed.
"Yes. Now, before you do go, we have something that needs to be dealt with first and the rules need to be laid down." Tsunade looked for confirmation from Harumi before continuing. The girl nodded her head and took a seat on the bed, waiting for Tsunade to continue.
"Now, you will listen to Sakura, seeing as though it is her home and she has accepted you. It was actually her idea for you to stay with her, so be grateful. Also, because she is still injured, I am asking that you keep an eye on her just in case something happens. This doesn't mean that you get to boss her around, because you are still a guest in Sakura's house.
"It was decided that there is a curfew in place for you, simply because you had spent time with Orochimaru, the council wants to be sure that nothing has influenced you to attack Konoha."
"I'm confused, Tsunade-sama. I know that I spent time with Orochimaru and that I was sought after, but so was Sakura. The village was even attacked so Orochimaru could get her. And she spent much more time in Otogakure then I did." Harumi interrupted.
"This was brought to the council's attention as well, but she has also been a citizen of Konoha since birth and is a current shinobi for the village. Not to mention, Sakura had agreed to comply with extensive tests to be sure that she was in no way given a curse seal and that she was still loyal to Konohagakure." Tsunade explained. "She was cleared, hence is why she isn't being given any curfews. Now, back to you. You can freely be about in the village, however, once ten o'clock strikes, you must be accompanied by someone until six the next morning if you are to be outside. In Sakura's apartment, you don't have to have anyone with you.
"Also, you cannot leave the village unless you are given special permission from myself. Once you have been cleared to go back home, then you will be escorted there by a team and then you will be left in peace. Understand?"
"Hai."
"Good, now follow me. There is someone who has been pining to see you."
Harumi followed Tsunade out of the hospital room, curious at who wanted to see her and ecstatic at the thought that she gets to leave the hospital finally. They stopped at a door at the end of the hall, opposite of Harumi's room. There were two ANBU Black-Ops standing guard on either side of the door. The only movement coming from them was the small tilt of the head in respect to their hokage.
"Now, Harumi. I must warn you, the sight is going to be shocking, but it is who you think it is." Tsunade informed the girl cryptically.
Harumi only nodded in reply and watched as the door was opened. Tsunade stepped aside and allowed her to go before herself. Harumi took two steps in and froze.
On the bed was a familiar looking man who she had been hoping to see for years now. He was hooked up to two IVs that were pumping fluids and nutrients into his body. He was also attached to a heart rate monitor. His greasy and stringy hair had been washed, as well as the rest of his body, and it was now pulled back into a small ponytail at the base of his neck. Deep purple circled his eyes and his green eyes looked hollow.
"N-Nii-san?" Harumi gasped out.
Toshiro was silent as he nodded his head. In a flash Harumi was at his side, embracing him in a bone crushing hug as tears ran the length of her face.
"I can't believe it! I thought you died!" She sobbed.
"I missed you too, Harumi." Toshiro whispered as he held his sister even tighter against him.
-----
"Hey, I have a date with Neji tonight, so I'll see you tomorrow." Tenten informed her friend as she gave Sakura a hug good-bye. "Are we still on for breakfast tomorrow?"
"Sure. But Harumi may tag along. Plans were made before she moved in." Sakura smiled.
"That's fine. I'd love to actually meet her. The only time I saw her was when she was going to Sound with you and Sasuke and at the hospital."
Sakura laughed. "Right. I'm sure she'll love you."
Sakura shooed the girl out of her house and cleaned up the kitchen from the mess from lunch. Almost an hour later there was a timid knock on the door. Sakura stood up from her spot on the couch and walked to the door. She answered it and immediately smiled at the sight of the red head medic.
"Harumi, welcome." She ushered the girl in and then dismissed the ANBU escort.
"Thank you for letting me stay here." Harumi mumbled shyly.
"It's alright. No need to be shy. Come on, I'll show you your room."
Sakura led Harumi to the guest room and helped the girl get settled. Afterwards they moved to the kitchen where Sakura started dinner. Once it was done they sat at the table and ate. The beginning of the meal was filled with an anxious silence, but finally Sakura broke the silence, as it was starting to annoy her.
"So tomorrow, I had plans to go to breakfast with a friend of mine; I think you met her. Her name is Tenten. Anyway, you can come along if you want, or hang out here or explore the village or something. From now till you leave, this is your home, so don't be a stranger."
Harumi nodded and took another bite of her food. "Thank you Sakura-san."
"None of that. San makes me feel old." Sakura laughed. "Besides, I'm only a year older then you."
Harumi nodded once more. "My brother arrived today. Toshiro."
"Was he the man that was meeting with Tsunade-sama? Red hair, skinny?" Sakura asked surprised.
"Yes. That's him. He was captured. My mother and I thought he had died."
"Well now. At least you know he's alive."
-----
"So what's the plan?"
"Simple, ain't it? Find the prick and kill him."
"Watch your mouth! There's a lady present!"
"…where?"
"Suigetsu-"
"Enough."
The two bickering shinobi froze and turned to the annoyed looking Uchiha. Beside him stood the large man who was petting a bird that rested on his index finger.
Karin scratched the back of her head before latching onto Sasuke's arm. "Sorry, Sasuke-kun. Suigetsu is just being an idiot." In the background there was a distinctive 'tsh' before Sasuke rolled his eyes and began walking once more.
"Let's not waste any more daylight. It will be dark within the hour." Sasuke commanded.
"Right!" Karin ran to catch up while the water man snickered and followed not too far behind.
"Entertaining." Juugo mumbled to the bird before following as well.
Not as long as the last two, but what ever. All I ask is that you complete your mission (haha, I just love hearing about other people, sue me) and I WILL reply to them, by the way. Normally I don't really reply to reviews except the ones that made me laugh or really touched me (yes Sevvy, that includes you). Until later, loves!
missy - HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2008!