AN: There will be multiple characters with conflicting points of views on the Naruto/Sakura situation. Nobody is all wrong and nobody is all right, so take what each of them thinks with a grain of salt because all of our narrators are pretty unreliable at this point.
This chapter is rated M for: gratuitous and unapologetic swearing, a shocking lack of morals, and the fact that at this point there are no good people left in my Naruto universe.
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto it would have so not been let into Shounen Jump. Too much violence, sex, politics, swearing, and ambiguous morals.
Hokage's Office (Two days until Peace Negotiations)
The mood of the room was anything but calm. In fact, as far as Sakura was concerned, it was downright hostile. But like most things that had happened in this past twenty-four hours: she deserved it.
With the stunt she'd pulled (going AWOL while her teammates nearly killed each other) it was hardly surprising that Tsunade was still acting chilly with her. In fact, Sakura would swear that she still felt the sting of where the Hokage had slapped her. So of course she acted with complete maturity by shifting around and trying not to glance up lest she set off another rant of why one-did-not-run-off-to-the-enemy's-doorstep.
Frankly, her remorse was only a mild twinge, and more for the fact she that she caused worry then for the actual crimes. Sometimes it wasn't such a bad thing to be on the emotionally crippled side, or at this point she'd probably be a nervous wreck.
"So." Tsunade arched a delicate eyebrow. "Do I even want to know what little drama your squad has going on right now?"
Shikamaru, who was sitting in the corner, snorted.
Sakura was certain he was being purposefully unsupportive today.
"We…" Sakura was careful to pick her next words. "Have made amends to the best of our abilities. Rest assured, what occurred between Naruto and Sasuke will not happen again. Our squad can still perform at the same high levels you've always expected from us, and since I'm newly sealed and not demon-possessed we are at your disposal. We will not disgrace you further with our, hmmmm…social issues."
She felt proud of herself. That had been polite, precise, and extremely uninformative; the best kind of answer to give in this situation.
And she could tell by Tsunade's unimpressed gaze that the Hokage had seen right through it. Sakura could lie like a champion, but Tsunade could detect bullshit from a mile off. "And you crying all over Naruto at the hospital…?"
It was at this that Shikamaur finally sat up straight. "He made you cry?"
"I made myself cry." She corrected absently. "That is strictly between Naruto and I, and has absolutely no bearing on our ability to perform missions."
Something sad flitted across Tsunade's face, but her tone remained ever professional. "Teammates who are also lovers have a way of affecting the team dynamic. And lovers breaking up? You may skew it entirely."
Sakura felt her hackles rise in defense. "Naruto and I are not breaking up." And that was the truth. After their fight and tentative makeup just this morning, they had both agreed they'd been avoiding their issues too long. Unfortunately with the nearly-civil-war crisis, now wasn't the time to hash out their relationship. Until things evened out they'd stay in the same vein, but once it was over even Sakura didn't know how things would go. For once she was going to let the chips fall without trying to manipulate them to go her way.
She owed Naruto that much. No plans, no ulterior motives, no bloody agendas. It was all up to pure chance and either they'd be better off or they'd kill each other. Sakura really didn't see it ending any other way.
The Hokage wisely let the issue drop, knowing pushing would only cause evasion. And if there was one thing Sakura was good at, it was evading.
Shikamaru spoke up. "In that case, can we start planning for the peace negotiations or is Sakura still compromised?"
The Kage sucked in a breath, eyeing both jonin and likely noting the hope in their eyes. For better or worse the time of hesitation was over. With a quick flourish, she signed the form on her desk. "Congratulations Sakura, you've just been returned to the active duty roster."
The jinchuuriki practically beamed. Waiting on that new seal had been murder. Highly trained assassins rarely tolerated long periods of boredom or a lack of bloodshed, and being officially back in the game was a relief. "Thank you my Lady. I'm at your service as always." Then her voice slipped to a more serious octave, knowing the difficulty of what she'd ask next. "And while I don't have the arrogance to tell you how to proceed with the peace negotiations…I ask that I be there."
Tsunade lips going tight was only visible sign of her surprise.
Shikamaru did not restrain himself. "Are you insane?"
She smiled blandly. "The possibility of that is undeniably high. But the sanity of this has no relation to its necessity."
"Necessity?" He hissed. "These people tried to kill you. They hate you. We're one step off of civil war and something as simple as bringing you to the Hyuga compound could be the tipping point. Once that goes half the village will be dead, and the surviving half will get picked off by Iwa or Kumo!"
She just sighed, noticing that Tsunade was hardly interfering. She'd let them fight it out themselves; Shikamaru was one of the few of the Hokage's advisors that could match Sakura for intellect and then surpass her. Their fights in the War Room had become legendary amongst the staff.
This would be an uphill battle the entire way, but Sakura was not one to tolerate failure. "I know the consequences, but the fact of the matter is this: I'm involved. If we don't deal with that, this will just crack open again a few years down the line. This entire matter should have been resolved right after I was born, but Sarutobi dropped the ball and now we're all in this mess."
His eyes seemed to drill into her head as if he was trying to see her very thoughts as they twisted inside her skull. "How exactly are you involved in the clan divide? The fact that their power is dissolving is what made them to lash out at the easiest figurehead; you. But you're not directly responsible for it."
Yes I am. While political currents had slowly been moving in this direction for generations, Sakura had purposefully kick started the mudslide. What would have been a quite rot to last another century had instead exploded into conflict. And if Sakura had anything to say about it, that conflict would be short and bloody.
But no one, least of all Shikamaru, needed to be tipped off to that fact. So she asked a question: "Do you know why I am only referred to as Sakura? Why I carry no family name?"
It was practically cheating what she was about to do.
He paused and Tsunade inhaled sharply. It was a small thing really; she had hardly expected anyone to notice. She had merely been Sakura: the jinchuuriki, living vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. That had been more than enough. The name Sakura was dreadfully common but in this village, there was only one Sakura who could be referenced by that and be immediately recognized.
And while it pained him to say it, Shikamaru admitted ignorance. "No."
Her mouth twisted into a bitter facsimile of a grin. "The day I was born and made a jinchuuriki, the council stripped me of my family name. They said it would be an insult to whoever they were that I as a vessel kept their name. I honestly have no idea what it is; the records were sealed and likely destroyed."
Tsunade let out an appalled gasp. "You don't know who your parents are." And her words were more statement than question.
She just shrugged. "I don't. My medical records offered some clues but never an answer. My mother died in childbirth, the hospital was shorthanded and she was hemorrhaging. The medic on hand had to make a choice: kill her quicker by cutting me out or let us both die. Whoever the medic was he ripped me out. As for my father," Sakura shook her head. "If he lived where my mother didn't, I wouldn't know."
Shikamaru's voice went oddly flat. "I looked at your records when I realized you were a jinchuuriki. No family name, no documentation, no relations…it didn't even occur to me to ask why."
She gripped his arm. "Don't apologize. I really didn't think about it until I was a genin. I thought I might have been an orphan who just didn't have a name. That the council stripped it…I wasn't surprised."
The calm in her voice probably stunned them. They were outraged, she knew, but one ugly fact remained: Sakura had long grown use to the hatred. The lengths some of the villagers would go in their pettiness was practically banal due to its commonality. This slight, when compared with the attempts on her life as a child, was at best a mild nuisance and at worst could be applauded for creativity.
The Kyuubi had been her confidant and caretaker. He'd been almost parental because she'd needed it. Once she had outgrown that, the demon had switched roles and her curiosity towards her flesh and blood parents turned moot. They were either dead or hated her, and either way were unneeded.
Tsunade spoke, heat like flame in her voice. "I can write out an executive order immediately, if the file's still there or we get our hands on what's left of the council, we can find out."
It always warmed her heart when people were outraged on her behalf, but that was not the reason she'd brought this up. "There's no need. I have everything I want." Sakura looked to Tsunade fondly. "A mother."
Shikamaru draped a hand over hers and squeezed. She continued gently "I have a brother." She laughed happily. "Many, in fact." Shikamaru, Konohamaru, Chouji, Shino, Sasuke.
"I have sisters." Hinata, Ino, Hanabi.
"I have an uncle." Jiraiya.
"I have friends." Temari, Tenten, Neji, Lee, Kiba.
"I even have a kindred spirit." Gaara.
"And most of all," She shied away. "I have someone to love." Naruto.
The rueful grin returned. "I don't need the names of my parents, it won't give me anything."
The moment passed quietly, but it reminded her that she had more to fight for than just the Kyuubi's bloody crusade. And that realization was the first ray of light she'd seen in days. There'd be a life beyond revenge and bloodshed waiting for her, she just had to get there first.
Shikamaru cleared his throat roughly. "So all this time…"
"They hated me." She finished succinctly. "The village was in shambles and the clans were grasping for power. Sarutobi did enough to hold off civil war: he compromised. He let them strip my name and try to kill me and turned a blind eye because my body just wouldn't let me die. Instead of actually forcing executions or trying to reassert power of the Hokage…he was a tired old man. The council grew bolder, the clans fought for dominance, the older ninja entrenched their own system, and Sarutobi did the bare minimum to keep this village alive."
"Remind me." Tsunade mused, "To punch that old man during his next doctor's appointment."
The Nara chuckled. "Duly noted Hokage-sama."
Sakura did not rise to the bait. Sarutobi for his many faults, had been the only kind face she'd had before the Kyuubi. She would always love and hate that man in equal measure.
"Moral of the story." She interrupted, "Is that if we don't deal with me being a problem, this will just crop up again and again. If we want lasting peace this hatred of me needs to be settled."
Of course, our definitions of settled may be a bit...different.
The decision was made so quick and easy. Sakura should have hated herself for it.
Tsunade nodded briskly. "Then they'll just have to deal. You win: you'll have your seat at table in two days. In the mean time Shikamaru and I will start on picking the other delegates." The Kage's voice suddenly pitched up and Sakura felt a rush of foreboding. "And to make sure you don't run off again, you'll be staying with the Aburame. Naruto will join you...eventually."
Sakura objected. "But—"
"Too late." The woman replied, intercom already activated. "Your escort is already here to take you. Enjoy your time with the newlyweds."
She narrowed her eyes. "Oh you're good."
Tsunade preened. "A mother always knows Sakura, always. Now run along daughter."
She merely pouted as two Aburame, one male and one female, came to take her. "I object to this strenuously."
Tsunade's grin turned downright predatory. "Object all you like, if you go off again I'll chain you up in the basement of the ANBU headquarters and leave you there."
She shuddered. "I'll be good." It was a threat not at all in jest and they both knew it.
"I imagined you'd say that." The blonde purred.
Sakura sighed once more and stood, grudgingly letting herself be led from the room like a child. But despite her verbal misgivings, this was hardly a bad thing. She'd left plenty of clones to keep the Kyuubi occupied, though how the clones would occupy him she didn't care to know.
Overall she'd get to spend a few days with Hinata and Shino and relax until this all went spectacularly downhill.
Naruto likely wouldn't see out of the hospital until the Negotiations failed. Despite them holding off on a definite makeup or split, the guilt still burned raw as a chemical fire. Frankly, she could take all the time apart they could get. Getting her head wrapped around this new reality would take time and maybe for once she'd actually have it.
The Kyuubi was free by her hand. Unsealed, unleashed, ready to set the world ablaze into fire and ruin. It was all by her choice and she didn't regret it for a second.
Their existence was so entwined that sex was just a formality, maybe even an afterthought to the intimacy of how they were ensnared. For what it was worth, she and the Kyuubi would be companions for a very long time. While her life with Naruto and her life with the Kyuubi were overlapping now, that would come to an end and those two existences would become as different as night and day.
Naruto wouldn't live forever.
She would. And she already could feel that time slipping through her fingers.
She pushed the thought away. She needed to keep her head in the game if she was going to have the audacity to stage a second assassination against herself.
The Aburame took her out of the Tower and the crowds outside gave a wide berth. But that space was not out of fear or hatred, no. It was respect. These were the people who hadn't gone to celebrate her near murder, and as her polarizing nature dictated: those who didn't hate her adored her.
They'd all heard peace negotiations were soon to start and before their very eyes Sakura remained defiant. They would hope this was the sign that the short and bloody episode of the past week could be put behind the village for good.
But inwardly Sakura laughed, because she knew better.
Konoha had yet to realize it, but the darkest days in its history were yet to come.
Aburame Compound (One day until Peace Negotiations)
Aburame Shino was, to put it simply, quite pleased with himself.
He was recently married to the most beautiful girl in the village, his childhood friend, and closest confidant. He hadn't expected the marriage to come so soon, at the earliest they'd expected to tie the knot at eighteen after an extended engagement. But after his father had been assassinated by Oto ninja, the clan had been throw into utter disarray. Shino had been thrust into the position of leadership, left with no other option but to either step up or let his family dissolve.
And he had struggled; the assassinations that had taken his father had injured Hinata and killed over 70% of the kikai bugs of his Aburame brethren. Their only saving grace had been a new batch of experimental insects that had been kept in a sterile biosphere deep in the compound. Those had covered the shortage while new hives could be raised. The Aburame had just barely returned to strength less than a week ago, and before then fears had run rampant over whether they could ever recover.
Hinata had seen their need quite clearly, and to prove to both the village and her new clan that the Aburame remained resilient, she'd expertly arranged their marriage as grand show of strength. Shino couldn't have been more proud of how she'd risen to the challenge and he knew she would be the most loyal and able wife he could ask for. Hinata, even if she had been born Hyuga, was quickly becoming a quintessential Lady Aburame.
Then, naturally, Sakura had nearly gotten herself assassinated and interrupted their honeymoon in a bizarre way that only she was capable of.
But at least before their time had been cut short, Shino and his bride had gotten to know each other quite thoroughly. Which was a very, very strong factor in his current good mood.
Hyuga Hinata was eager in bed.
He shook his head and smiled. It would be Aburame Hinata now, wouldn't it?
And while his marriage was the greatest source of his happiness, there was more to his good mood than that.
The assassination attempt on Sakura, quite bluntly, had thrown the village into disarray. He'd been furious and terrified, but at the same moment had plainly seen opportunity. All of his friends had been displaced in the aftermath, clan children suddenly without homes and family. After Ino had lost her parents she'd moved in with Chouji, but when the assassination was revealed for all its ugly glory, they'd fled the Akimichi and had been without refuge.
Refuge Shino now provided. Shikamaru and Kiba had been roped in less than half a day later with minimal fuss. Though with Shikamaru practically living in the Hokage's Tower, he was rarely seen except at breakfast.
Then quite neatly, Sakura had been deposited on his doorstep for safekeeping, and all of the people he loved were living under the same roof. And frankly, if this became a long term arrangement? He wouldn't mind in the slightest.
His generation had spectacular codependency issues and Shino was not even trying to fix them. He was clan head now, and if he wanted to hoard his family and friends he would damn well do so. Whether it was protecting Hinata from her former family, Sakura from the many assassins out for her neck, Kiba from the pain of betrayal, Shikamaru from taking on too much responsibility, Ino from slipping too deeply into depression, or Chouji from his fears, he'd do it and do it gladly.
It was the least that could be done.
The Aburame more than once had been compared to the Inuzuka in their pack mentality. But that was grossly incorrect to the point his family laughed about it behind closed doors. They all knew that if the Aburame had been the same as the Inuzuka, their clan would have been become traitors just as readily. Pack mentality made the Inuzuka more concerned with pride and pleasing the grudges of the alpha even at the cost of all else.
The Aburame had a hive mindset. They saw the big picture and knew the importance of each person from the lowliest worker to the highest queen, and realized that some would be sacrificed for the many. They saw themselves as part of the village and not a separate collection, and all Aburame did their best to support the greater infrastructure and not their own ends.
It was why the Aburame would be the last clan standing in Konoha. Even if the peace negotiations succeeded, all the other clans would be stripped of a great deal of power, their reputations ruined, and forever distrusted for what they'd done. But in this dark time where others had turned traitor, the Aburame had remained ever loyal. It was a great piece of PR and Shino, always looking for a way to improve his family's chances, had pounced on it.
Amazingly, the clan who had bugs living under their skin was now the most trusted family in the whole village. Times were changing and Shino was proud that he could change with them.
So he walked with purpose through the walkways of the gardens, for once not stopping to check on the ant hills or the new breed of beetle or the state the butterfly pupae. He had somewhere to be with a scroll in hand, and knew his various filial relations would care for what he could not.
A melody of laughter drifted to him through the crisp fall air. As he recognized each voice, he smiled and stepped into a sun drenched pavilion. A bird with jewel bright feathers flitted through the air, narrowly avoiding his face. He watched it go; mentally noting to kill it later so it wouldn't eat any of the insects in the garden.
When he looked back to the pavilion his eyes landed on Kiba.
His teammate was leaning against the large flank of Akamaru, eyes dreamy as he stared across the grass. Shino followed his gaze and immediately knew what was on his friend's mind.
Hinata and Ino were setting together, Sakura kneeling between them and having her hair braided. For a surreal second they were only sixteen year old girls and almost children in his eyes. Then Shino reminded himself Hinata was a trained diplomat and assassin, Ino a torture specialist and interrogator, and Sakura a walking-talking force of nature.
Kiba waved him over. "Hey buddy."
Shino took the invitation and sat, leaning against Akamaru's side. The dog barked and Shino patted him fondly before turning to his grinning teammate. "You're not checking out my wife, are you?"
Kiba adopted an innocent look. "Oh you know me."
"I do." Shino deadpanned. "And that's what worries me. You do know they're all taken."
Kiba mock grasped his chest, and while outwardly Shino chuckled, inwardly he was glad his friends was smiling again. Kiba's sister dying had hit hard, and Shino had worried his teammate would hold it against Sakura. The jinchuuriki had been the one to deliver that brutal killing blow.
Prepared to put them on opposite sides of the compound and play peacemaker, he'd been pleasantly surprised when Kiba displayed heretofore unknown maturity. His teammate had placed the blame where it belonged: on his clan. On the day Sakura arrived Kiba had taken her aside to say just that.
They'd both come back with sad eyes but shoulders brushing, at ease.
Kiba interrupted his grim thoughts. "Where's Shikamaru?"
"Hokage's Tower again. Half the logistics staff were defecting Nara." This situation had gotten so catastrophic it was sometimes hard to grasp. "I suppose he's forcing himself to pick up the slack."
Out in the sun, Ino tugged on one of Sakura's braids and the girls devolved into a wrestling match over it. Kiba's lips rose into a lecherous grin. "Man, Shikamaru needs to relax. He's taking the sins of his father way too seriously. He could be here watching this."
If one of his own family members had tried to kill Sakura, let alone his own father, Shino would have gone to the same lengths of penance "You know him. He's much closer to Sakura than you are. He's her oldest friend and…I don't have to spell it out for you. "
Both went quiet for awhile, watching as Sakura threw herself into Hinata's lap and whined over how Ino was bullying her. The blonde huffed and flipped her hair, smiling in a way Shino hadn't seen in months. They were all still healing from wounds that might never close, but he was glad that hers might just be getting a little better.
"Where's Chouji?" Kiba eventually asked.
"With Shikamaru, without Temari here to keep him from working himself to death it fell to him." And Shino mentally noted that if Teamri ever got that transfer here, he'd probably have to set up a room for her.
Kiba was eyeing the girls with new interest. "That bastard Sasuke?"
"Still in the hospital."
"Naruto?"
He was wondering where this was going. "The same."
"Huh." Kiba muttered.
Shino blinked. "Huh?"
Kiba's eyes drifted along the three girls: blonde, black, and blue hair shining so vividly. The dark of his eyes kept snagging on Sakura. "Rumors have been going around, people talking." His gaze flicked to Shino. "Heard from one of your nurse cousins that Naruto and Sakura got in a massive fight. Made her cry and everything."
Shino neither confirmed nor denied, but he did throw out a warning. "You're lucky Naruto isn't here, or he'd skin you alive."
"Maybe." Kiba allowed. "But if she's going back on the market because Naruto fucked up, I'm getting in line."
Shino frowned at the entire situation. Once, he'd considered Naruto to be good for her: he'd accepted her during a time there wasn't much kindness to be found. He'd loved her in a way Shino had hoped would heal.
Sakura hid the utter desolation of her heart better now; that lack of something human she would never ever have. Some of her smiles were even real nowadays, but some still weren't. He liked it better when she smirked or mocked or screamed or cried. The ugliness in her was the person he loved, not the pretty façade she drew up for the world.
He understood what it was to be damaged and that being stunted never went away. And now he was faced with the regrettable conclusion that maybe Naruto loved the facade too much and the ugliness too little. It was coming to bite them both in the ass that Sakura wasn't living up to the pedestal Naruto had placed her on.
He knew the situation, knew there were lies and hideous things in Sakura's heart that would never be shared. He'd accepted that she would always confide more in Hinata than in him, that she had known Shikamaru the longest, that Chouji was the one she went to for a good meal and company, that she went to Naruto for sex and Sasuke for silence.
He'd accepted that as part of her baggage and had gotten the fuck on with their lives.
There was fight going on with Team seven because Sasuke resented her and Naruto couldn't accept her lies and the boys had taken it out on each other before Sakura had come clean. And he hated Naruto for it, hated that he made Sakura doubt and crumple in on herself sobbing in Hinata's lap.
It was followed though by the nagging suspicion that he was biased to her side of things, and all the blame didn't belong to Naruto alone. But setting blame had never been his job. Sakura was his friend, Uzumaki on the other hand was just...passing through.
But he was a good friend and Sakura hadn't asked him for advice, so he didn't give it. But if he was so inclined to share his views with Chouji and Shikamaru, and see if they'd like to join in giving Naruto a good shake down over it, he couldn't be blamed.
The thought left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. "As both of your friends Kiba I'll say this: I don't know if Naruto and Sakura will work out their problems. And gods help me, if he makes her cry one more time I think I might kill him. But if you somehow fuck this up either way for her—"
Kiba winced. "Hey, I was just joking."
But they both knew he wasn't. Sakura and Naruto had dated before she'd hit the bloom of puberty. Her physical aesthetic now was downright glorious, and between her confidence and being a walking powerhouse, she was wanted in a carnal way by other shinobi that bordered on the unsettling.
Shino had grasped the fact that if they really split, anything male and under twenty-five (and even some female) would be throwing themselves at her. And he dreaded that because at least Naruto believed he loved her; many of those new ones would not suffer under that same delusion.
Sakura didn't need that.
"The joke isn't funny. Until they actually break up or even after that…keep the hitting on her to your bare minimum level." He threatened.
"Sorry." Kiba raised his hands in surrender, "Not another word, promise. But…you know how I like alpha females. And god, she's it."
Now he really, really wished he hadn't heard that.
They were all so fucked in the head. Sakura was an emotionally crippled assassin and a living-breathing genocide. Kiba was walking the fine line between feral and human and was professing attraction about the woman who'd killed his sister. Ino was a torture specialist who had turned nearly bipolar, and was currently braiding flowers into the hair of a human weapon. His wife was a disowned Hyuga that had married him of all people. Shikamaru was a genius with an over developed guilt complex and was trying to redeem his family single-handedly. And Chouji was in love with a depressed-neurotic torture specialist and had his own crippling self-esteem issues.
Shino himself was a former anti-social recluse turned clan head whom possessed acute issues concerning physical affection, and was trying to figure out how he could emotionally blackmail his friends into remaining here forever.
It was a wonder the village was still standing. They were the next generation and it seemed like a bad joke.
"Shino…?" His teammate grabbed his shoulder.
He shook his head. "Just wondering how we were the ones that ended up with the world on our shoulders."
Kiba laughed bitterly. "Don't you know Shino? We're just fucking amazing like that."
"You're incorrigible." He responded wryly.
"Yeah," Kiba grinned proudly. "I am, aren't I?"
The scroll in his pocket dug into his side, and he suddenly remembered he'd been here for more than talking and watching the girls play. In moments he was across the garden to his wife and her face lit up when she saw him. It nearly took his breath away. They exchanged a kiss slow and deep, and in the background Ino and Sakura mock swooned and fell into each other's arms.
Shino scoffed at them, but the girls just stared into each other's eyes dramatically while mimicking something of a lover's embrace.
Hinata sighed. "Honestly you two."
Kiba shouted across the garden. "Just kiss already!"
Both girls laughed, falling in a tangle of limbs and flower strewn braids. Kiba huffed. "You two are freakin' teases, you know that?"
Shino shared an amused glance with his wife. If they could still laugh even after everything, maybe they weren't as screwed up as he had feared.
Shino was loathe to interrupt their fun, but the scroll he was carrying had to be addressed. "Hinata, the Hokage's order came through. Your request was granted."
His wife's smile slipped: cooler, smoother, Lady Aburame proud and true. "Thank you for your support in this."
"It was logical." He defended.
Ino whined. "Don't leave us out, what's the news?"
He took a deep breath. This was something that she needed to do and he would never stand in her way. "Hinata will be the chief negotiator for the Hokage at the Negotiations."
The garden went silent and a cloud rolled overhead. Sakura got up off the grass and Shino honestly couldn't decipher the look on her face.
"You'll be facing your father." The jinchuuriki stated.
Hinata was unmoved. "I know."
The cloud rolled away. Sakura bowed her head. "Then I won't be a hypocrite and say you shouldn't. Welcome aboard Hinata."
His wife shined brighter than the sun. "Thank you." She touched her hair, then his elbow. "I might as well put my diplomatic training to use. My father was the one to teach me, and I'd like to use the one thing he ever gave me against him."
"Rebellion!" Ino crowed. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."
They all laughed, bitter and proud. Today was a good day.
He bowed out. "I need to go. Clan duties." He placed another kiss on his wife and on a whim ruffled Sakura and Ino's hair.
Kiba slapped his back. "You leaving me with the girls? I'm sorry I ever doubted you: you are the best friend ever."
"Try and contain yourself." He answered dryly.
As he left the gardens the laughter returned to the air and the thought occurred to him again: if they could all still laugh everything would be okay.
He didn't notice a bird with jewel bright feathers sitting in a garden tree, watching his friends with an intelligence far beyond its capacity. If Ino had noticed it, she would have recognized the sign of soul-based-Yamanaka possession instantly. But nobody noticed, and the bird sat: watching and listening.
Konoha Hospital, Room 311
Uzumaki Naruto gazed into the mirror on the bathroom wall, eying the new scar on his jaw. Sasuke had broken the bone in three places, some of the breaks quite nasty. He didn't mind it. Sakura had always liked his scars, giving each loving attention with her fingers and then her mouth on many a slow morning.
The memories made him grin and he touched the scar more reverently. Then the warmth slid away. The scar was just an excuse to stare himself in the face.
Where had he messed up?
Where had Sakura?
He didn't know and everything was such a fucking mess in his head. The Uchiha massacre, Sasuke lying bloody on the floor, Hanabi screaming, Sakura broken and bitter. Blood and memory turned to a roar drowning out everything and leaving only starkness behind.
Where had they gone wrong?
He couldn't tell.
Sakura had been so confident when she was young, but had then turned to him with secrets and smiles like he was the only one in the world, and his little genin heart had fallen for her then and here. Then he'd learned she was a vessel for a monstrosity and after the initial shock passed he'd just loved her more.
She'd dragged him from his self-imposed exile, refused to let him languish in his father's shadow. She had plans, saying she'd mold him into Hokage and make all their dreams come true. She'd promised to make him a legend that would leave the Yondaime wanting in comparison.
He had loved every promise, taken each to heart as gospel truth.
There were so many lies and the very foundation he'd built himself upon was breaking. The wall were crumbling and only when things were falling apart, did she barely trust him with any of it.
The Uchiha massacre.
Fucking hell.
The heavy ache of guilt was building inside his chest. What had he said to her yesterday about his fight with Sasuke? I regret nothing. That was it.
He regretted everything.
Sakura had woven a tangled web of love, hatred, lies and mistrust around them, lashing them together in pursuit of one bloody destiny. She had dragged Sasuke in and no matter where he turned, he would never be able to escape. Naruto couldn't even begin to fathom having to serve the very woman who had killed your entire family and unable to say a word. That Sasuke had exploded at him, now that Naruto had seen the whole ghastly picture, no longer surprised him.
He didn't even know if he blamed his teammate anymore. Most of the venom had been bled out of him in their fight, and all he was left with was recriminations and a heavy heart.
And even now he still wished Sakura was here to tell him what to do so he could make things right again. She'd always had the answers. She'd always had the right lies.
He'd depended on her too long; let himself be led without asking of their destination. Now that he was no longer willing to let her secrets go unprovoked…they were heading for a dark place he wasn't sure they could return from.
He still loved her so much that he ached for her. And in a dark, terrible corner of his heart, he wondered if she had ever felt the same.
Now wasn't the time to dig that answer out though. There was a civil-war sitting on the doorstep and nobody including him had the time. And if nothing else, he needed to apologize to Sasuke.
He ripped away from the mirror and looked to his hospital room door. There were ANBU stationed outside to keep an eye on him. They would be as likely to let him go see Sasuke as they would to start tap dancing.
So he'd take a shortcut.
It wasn't well known, but Sakura had an office in the hospital. It was just a desk and some filing cabinets mostly used to keep track of patients. Naruto only knew about it because they'd had sex on the desk a few times, and at some point during one of those happy lunch break trysts, he'd stuck a hirashin kunai to the wall for future use.
He gathered his chakra, wary of his physical state. His internal organs felt…squishy-raw. And he didn't even know what that meant.
He flung himself towards the kunai. It was a bit like blinking really, one moment in front of the bathroom mirror and the next in a sparsely furnished office. His organs settled back into place but they felt angry with him.
Well there was nothing he could do about that.
He saluted the kunai and opened the door, casually sticking his head outside. He trotted down two flights of stairs and through a service hallway. Nobody had told him where Sasuke's room was but he wasn't a top jonin for nothing.
Room 181 had two ANBU guards. Naruto slapped a quick henge on and went to the nurse's desk. He hit the girl with genjutsu and went back and waited. A minute later the genjutsu laden nurse sent a page to the ANBU and they dutifully answered. The door to room 181 was left unguarded and he waltzed right in.
Hanabi was sitting on the bed, and when she saw him her face grew thunderous. "What are you doing here?"
He raised his hands in surrender. "No fighting, I came to apologize. Where's Sasuke?"
She eyed him like an unfortunate bug she'd scrapped off the bottom of her shoe. She had the Hyuga glare of disdain down quite pat. Naruto wondered if he had legitimate reason to be afraid of this girl.
Most likely.
She leapt off the bed and moved to the bathroom door and slipped in. He heard low voices murmuring for a moment, the tone indecipherable, neither hostile nor warm. Her head stuck back out and she pushed the door open, and it was as good an invitation as he was going to get.
Sasuke was standing over the sink, hands gripping the edges as if it was the only thing still keeping him standing. Naruto had been in the same pose only ten minutes prior. If it was anyone else, he would have been sure they were staring in the mirror at themselves. But with Sasuke being blind and all, it was hard to tell.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked, his voice eerily flat.
"I'm sorry." Naruto had never really tried for anything beyond bluntness.
Sasuke's shoulders did a spasm but his hands stayed on the sink. The Uchiha did not turn his head. Hanabi hung in the corner, at least giving Naruto somebody to make eye contact with. A long silence followed.
He knew he'd be the one to have to break the tension. "I know everything."
Sasuke jerked again and this time his head turned. "About that?"
"Yes. About that."
Hanabi looked between them in confusion but Naruto wasn't willing to drag her in. This bloodbath was already three people deep; they didn't need to add a fourth.
She tugged at Sasuke's shirt, but he touched her neck and she went mute, half-clinging to his side.
Sasuke didn't raise his voice but that somehow made the rage all the worse. "If you're looking for forgiveness, I'm the wrong person to ask. And if you're looking for forgiveness for her you can kindly go fuck yourself."
The ache in his chest worsened. "No. This is just me. I wish…I wish thing could have been different."
His teammate snorted. "She said the same thing, you know, right to my face. Then she informed me that there was nothing I could do to change things. I'm surprised I didn't try to kill her." Something unbearably bitter filled his voice. "When she told me that, she sounded like she was crying."
A lump formed in his throat. It was all a mess. Sakura was a contradiction of kindness and cruelty and lies and truth. He couldn't pin down what she was anymore, and maybe he'd never known at all.
"We can't tell anybody about this." He said instead.
His teammate snarled. "I know that. Do you think I like how this turned out? Do you think I like having to face her and hear her voice while my head is so fucked up?" The words dropped and Naruto could only watch as Hanabi reached up, clinging turning to a hug full. Sasuke turned away from him and wrapped an arm around her.
Naruto had never felt as alone as this.
"I'm sorry." He repeated lamely. There were no words. "Sakura and I…I still love her. But I don't know if she ever loved me the way I loved her. I don't know if I ever knew her."
Hanabi's voice rang clear. "You're an idiot."
He blinked. Had the preteen girlfriend of his teammate just insulted him? He blinked again. She had alright.
"…what?" He asked blankly.
Hanabi snapped. "Of course she loves you. If she didn't love you, she wouldn't have told you anything! And she wouldn't have looked so goddamn sad when she came to see us."
The words hit like a slap, and that was the moment he finally grasped that the problem wasn't that they didn't love each other, or she didn't love him: it was that the person he'd built up in his head wasn't the person he loved. What was in there and who Sakura was were two totally different people.
And if he couldn't reconcile them, they would never move past this.
Sasuke spoke to Hanabi, dismissing him outright. "Could you help me with something?"
She nodded and Sasuke sat her up on the sink. Naruto pretended not to notice her hooking her ankles behind his legs. He also pretended not to notice the kiss they shared.
"I think..." Sasuke declared, "I'm going to cut my hair."
Naruto gaped.
Hanabi just smiled. "Okay. Give me the scissors?"
Sasuke handed her a pair and she cut and cut, taking away dark strands and cropping high and tight. His teammate had always looked disturbingly like Itachi once he'd aged, but now with the long hair falling…Naruto almost didn't recognize him. His face seemed to take on new lines: warmer and harder, stronger and prouder.
When Hanabi was done, they shared a second kiss and Naruto just stared. It suited Sasuke, having very short hair, and Hanabi already looked smitten with it judging by how she was running her hands through it.
He should have left ten minutes ago. Just as he was feeling a voyeur about the whole episode, his teammate spoke. "Naruto, when you see Sakura again tell her this: it's about time we stopped living in the past."
Naruto had the feeling, right then, he'd just witnessed the most profound thing Sasuke would ever say. His teammate added one last thing. "That goes for you too. It's about time you stepped out of your father's shadow and hers."
Naruto had no more words and the jonin hummed an agreement and turned to leave. The ache was returning; for a blind man, Sasuke saw things far too clearly.
Naruto didn't know what the future would hold. He'd spent too long trapped in the past by dreams and lies and resentment towards his father. If things could ever be made right, he would have to find the answers for himself.
He closed his eyes, vanishing in a burst of yellow.
No one noticed the bird sitting on the hospital window, watching them with too intelligent eyes and listening with too intelligent ears. They never would.
Abandoned District, 11:46 PM
In the light of the moon a single clone flitted, leaping and flinging her body into a dizzying kata of acrobatics. One move flowed into the next: leap, spin, tumble, kick, flip, crouch, roll, push, aerial turn, thrust, feint.
The clone repeated over and over, working up a sweat that gleamed slick in the moonlight. But of course, in this dark she was hardly alone.
The clone smirked and the kata's dance instantly gave way to attack. Her pursuer was male, muscled and sinuous, hard and brutal. He hit her with the force of a meteor and flung her twenty feet airborne before she regained her balance to land without a scratch.
When the clone looked up her eyes were scarlet, but she didn't have time to blink before her attacker was on her. The fight that followed was fierce but where her moves were a well honed show of skill, he was all instinct and brutality and the bruising of a punishing blow.
But the clone had more experience and in the end, that was all the fight boiled down to. When the attacker hesitated for one brief second unguarded, she pounced. She hit her assailant's side and plowed them into the ground, pinning his arms behind his back in the process. Their wild tumble ended in a bright swathe of moonlight and she gleamed like midnight while he showed like blood.
"I win again." Sakura's clone cheered.
The man under snarled. "Get off me you pretentious bitch."
"Oh no." The clone lifted the back of her hand to her face as if she'd swoon. "Kyuubi-sama has insulted me, whatever shall I do?"
The audience of clones watching from the walkways laughed, and the Kyuubi jerked sideways. The clone rolled off, letting the momentum of his throw carry her back to her feet. He rose less elegantly, muscles moving with an odd and graceless coordination.
There was a long and resentful pause. "What was wrong this time?"
The clone would have liked to gloat, but even with her glee was running high she knew better than to bruise his ego. "You're depending on her memories for your fighting style. Your body is taller, heavier, and wider than ours, so all those years of training to balance Sakura's body means her memories of taijutsu are next to useless for yours."
His hands flexed and the clone, secretly amused, was certain he wanted to strangle her. "There's also the matter of you leaving yourself open to attack while flying at me straight like you're in a goddamn berserker rage. You've got years of our tactics and battle knowledge in your head, use it."
"Please." He rolled his eyes. "Puny human attacks won't kill me even if they do hit."
"But they can debilitate, pin, or destabilize you." She countered. "And being insanely strong with an even insane-er regenerative trait is no excuse to get lazy."
He growled. Oh yes, he definitely wanted to strangle her. She should probably wrap this up before she started enjoying it too much.
"Lastly," She walked up beside him and slapped his backside. "This is your ass: it has no tails. It will never have tails again. Quit trying to use your nonexistent tails, you look like an idiot."
A lash of crimson chakra exploded out, smashing her across the face. She just redirected and the scarlet flow past like water. "Still not a flesh and blood tail: give it up, you're not in your foxy body anymore. You're gonna have to get down in the blood and mud with the rest of us."
If he was anyone else, the expression that crossed his face could almost be described as pouting. But his facial expressions weren't matching up quite right with his emotions. And while rage looked like rage; amusement resembled hunger, annoyance looked like pain, and humor seemed more bemused than anything. All of the clones had been playing match-the-emotion-with-the-facial-expression since they had realized. He hated it, of course, but that had hardly stopped them before.
Suddenly, the clone saw one of her sisters striding from the compound. This one was in a black body suit with a balaclava resting on her head. The most distinctive thing however was the vest that she wore.
The original felt a surge of exhilaration. "Is it ready?"
The second clone spun once, for her sister clones as much as the Kyuubi, to display the heavily packed vest. The second crooned. "This baby is locked and loaded. Best damn C4 in the village, enough to make the Hyuga compound go boom. Suicide-vest alpha is a go."
The original clone was quite peeved when the second flounced to the Kyuubi, wrapped her arms around his neck and purred: "You like?"
The Kyuubi was eyeing much more than just the vest. "Very. For a shadow you're almost half competent."
The original smirked as the second sighed. At least the Kyuubi had disdain for all their kind equally. He liked the true Sakura best, and regarded the rest of them as barley suitable substitutes. But that didn't stop the clones from trying to be the favorite. The original had found it rather amusing that the Kyuubi had been caught off guard having to play referee between the clones he'd been left with. Even living in Sakura's head, he had never quite grasped how neurotic they could get when left alive for extended periods.
"All right you hussy." The original shooed the second away, "If we're going to start a civil war tomorrow, the boss here is going to need as much fighting practice as he can get."
The second left begrudgingly, kissing a not-really-protesting Kyuubi before joining her sisters to watch.
The original liked being the one in charge, and she spoke with authority. "Watch my kata again and pick up what you can, when you're ready start the attack."
"Just move." He grunted.
She smiled benignly. "Of course. Just remember: your ass no longer has tails."
He exploded into motion, attacking before the kata could even begin. She laughed in delight, battle lust blooming fully as she flowed around his first punch. Her existence would be short as a clone, but the few days she'd lived had been wonderful. She hoped she would get to see the village burn before she returned to the ether of Sakura's chakra.
She deserved that much, right?
Aburame Compound, 6:05 AM
Like all things, both good and bad, the Peace Negotiations came too quickly for all those involved.
The sun had not even risen when Sakura found herself fully dressed, fed, and having her makeup done by one of Hinata's attendants. She sat through it patiently, watching out of the corner of her eye as Hinata was fitted with a full-on formal kimono.
The swathes of blue and silver were striking on her figure, and Hinata looked inch for inch the closest thing to a princess Konoha would ever have. Sakura briefly entertained the idea of conquering a small country just so she could give Hinata a kingdom to make that title true.
The thought was her one bright spot before reality set in. If all went according to plan, by this time tomorrow the village would be embroiled in war.
Sakura got to her feet as the last of her eye shadow was applied. Her battle kimono swirled around her, the dark blue hem settling on her pale thighs. An Aburame girl, barely a teen, helped Sakura slide a katana through a sling at the small of her back.
The katana was a special one with a ceremonial locked sheath and a decorative guard in the shape of a lotus. A locked sheath was an ornament that had once belonged in noble circles, as the shape of the sheath and the guard made it impossible for the sword to be drawn. It was only for show: a sign of strength with no actual danger.
Sakura carried the sign of a noble on her back with nothing but bastard blood running in her veins. She liked the message of it. However like most things in this world, ninja had bastardized the lock sheath for their own use. As she was a ninja…the show was all just a show.
There was a fatal flaw in the lock sheath that would allow a very real, very deadly sword to be drawn, and that flaw was deliberate.
Sakura had always loved irony.
"Are you ready…" Sakura bowed her head low to the Lady Aburame. "Hinata-sama?"
The other girl swatted her backside as she stepped off the dressing stool. "None of that Sakura, it's too early in the morning for your insults."
"It wasn't an insult, just a sign of my undying affection." She replied slyly, offering her arm in escort. Hinata took it, setting her palm inside Sakura's elbow delicately. For a second she felt like the knight protecting the princess; the kind of fairy tale she had never been read as a child but had to steal from a bookstore for herself. It was odd that, before she would set off the bloodiest moment in Konoha's history, she would feel so nostalgic.
"Your undying affection will be the death of me." Hinata sighed.
Sakura's mood darkened further and her guts felt like acid had been poured in. She hoped, with every fiber of her being, that those words would not be an omen of things to come.
Shino was waiting for them on the walkway, a full guard of Aburame at his back. He raised an eyebrow and asked. "Stealing my wife Sakura?"
"Yes." Was her blunt reply.
His lips, almost imperceptibly, twitched. "I should have known."
Shino moved to Hinata's opposite side and took her other arm. The twosome-now-threesome moved to the gateway leading to Konoha proper.
As they neared the Hokage's delegation waiting at the gate, Shino spoke again. "I have something for you Hinata." And from his sleeve drew a gorgeous jet black bodied, sapphire jeweled hairclip in the shape of a beetle. The entire thing was the size of Sakura's fist.
Then to Sakura's horror, the thing twitched and she realized it was an actual bug with gems glued to its actually living shell. The former demon vessel could only watch in mute horror as Hinata cooed over it.
"It's…alive." She stated lamely.
Shino nodded and judging by his bright tone, hadn't noticed her distaste. "It's one of our new breeds, an acid-spitter King Beetle. It was specially fed on your chakra Hinata so you're immune. It dearly adores you and will do everything in its power to protect you. If anyone gets too close they'll be in for a nasty surprise."
Hinata kissed her husband's cheek and took up the beetle, practically gushing. "I love it; it's the most adorable thing."
Sakura left unsaid that it was an abomination against nature and that was coming from her, the Queen of abominations.
Hinata lifted it to her head and the beetle clicked and crawled onto the crown of her head. It gathered her hair underneath itself in a rather fetching arrangement. Sakura was appalled to realize the bug had a better fashion sense than she did.
It went still and its glittering eyes and bedazzled body once again looked like an exotic, not-alive hair clip.
Sakura shuddered.
God have mercy on them all.
She looked ahead to Tsunade and immediately inclined her head in deference. "Tsunade-Hime."
The Hokage nodded back. "Good morning to you too. Any problems?"
Sakura sent a few more glances at the bug-hair-clip and was unable to articulate anything beyond a strangled moan. Tsunade stared at her oddly, but then shrugged and clapped. "All right then, let's get this show on the road. Make your Hokage proud."
The ninja sent up cheers. When the morale boost was over Sakura felt someone touch her elbow and she turned to see Shino.
"Protect her." He murmured.
She nodded stiffly. As the last not traitor clan head, they couldn't risk bringing Shino along to the negotiations. Too many eggs were already in one basket as it was.
"I will." Sakura assured. But in her head, she thought only to herself: I hope.
He squeezed her elbow and then kissed Hinata goodbye before stepping back among the Aburame. Sakura looked back until they rounded a corner and the compound vanished from sight.
To keep her mind from lingering, Sakura took stock of the rest of the party.
There was Tsunade of course, the Lady Hokage in the most devastatingly gorgeous cut of the Hokage robes that Sakura had ever seen. Jiraiya, toad sage and pervert extraordinaire was walking at her side in a simple haori looking almost…respectable. And she had never thought the words Jiraiya and respectable could be used in a sentence without the word not between them.
She gravitated in the direction of Shikamaru and Chouji. Both like her, were in outfits that could double as battle gear. Chouji was wearing his dark red armor, shined to a polish that she could see her own reflection in. Shikamaru was smoking up a storm as if trying to get a week's worth of cigarettes out of the way in ten minutes. Guiltily, she realized he looked as if he hadn't slept in a small age.
The other delegates were of little note to her: two diplomats who'd be playing second fiddle to Hinata, three jonin she only recognized from around, a chunin she'd done a mission with a year ago, and oddly enough, Tenten.
Of all the people she'd expected to see today, Tenten hadn't even made the list. For a moment Sakura tried to fathom the reason of her presence. The girl could whip out a literal arsenal in the blink of an eye, so in strategic logic she was a good force multiplier. Except for the fact they weren't supposed to bring weapons, which put a terrible dent in that theory
She let it slide.
Finally, and not actually part of the official entourage, were the five squads of ANBU body guards shadowing them from the roofs. She even recognized one of the white cloaked Captain's as the notorious close quarters killer Blade. All and all it was a diplomatic party with some very excellent fire power.
Tsunade and Shikamaru knew what they were doing, not that she had doubted them.
"Look alive people." The smile had gone from Tsunade's face, replaced with a look of distaste. "We've got the civilians coming up and they're not happy. Don't respond, keep your distance, and hold your tempers. We don't need a slaughter out here, not like this."
Sakura would beg to disagree, but then again, she was a monster who shouldn't be listened to in situations like this.
She heard the villagers before she saw them. There was shouting, signing, and a general sound of revelry. When the first jonin was within eyesight of the crowds, things changed. The shouts turned angry, the crowd of hundreds surging up but not coming any closer than twenty feet. As more of the party got within eye line the shouting turned louder and more vulgar, and it was as if they walking into a solid wall of sound.
Then Sakura who'd been lagging behind rounded the corner.
There was one long moment of silence; almost surreal in how the crowd hushed at the sight of her. Sakura could taste the tension in the air, bitter and hot and hanging so thick. Then the tension cracked and hysteria boiled over.
They went wild.
"Demon whore!"
"Your mother should have strangled you!"
" –why won't you go fucking die like we asked?"
"Go to hell you fucki—"
Then the first bottle was thrown. Sakura watched its lazy arc as headed straight for her. She didn't even try to move out of the way. There was a stir of air and the bottle vanished.
The ANBU no doubt. She wondered it if had been a replacement technique or if it'd been caught in transit with a shunshin, but the how of it hardly mattered.
Being foiled in their cowardly attack only seemed to infuriate and the mob screamed more abuse. Her comrades hovered about awkwardly, not knowing how to proceed. Everyone: Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shikamaru, and even those Sakura didn't know were uncomfortable. They had never, ever in their lives been met with such obvious and violent loathing towards their persons.
Sakura was suddenly nostalgic for her childhood. This was just like old times and the days of running from mobs out for her blood. While the rest of the diplomatic party hung back, Sakura took a step forward with the confidence only experience could bring.
She rested her hand on the katana. She imagined the quick motion of her wrist moving forward and then down, knowing the exact amount of force per square inch that would exploit the flaw of the sheath and draw the blade. It would shine so bright with the sing of drawn steel. In her mind's eye she rushed the crowd leading with the blade.
She imagined slashing and cutting and hot blood being spilled. In her mind's eye it would all culminate in the horrified stampede that would crush dozens of people to death as the rest tried to escape.
Sakura knew she was supremely fucked in the head, and all that stirred in her was a warm and fuzzy feeling. She wished the Kyuubi was here so she could share this fantasy; he would be the only one who would appreciate the artistry of it.
"My Lady." She called out. "Permission to clear the way?"
The sound of Sakura's cool disinterest forced Tsunade to gather herself. Composure regained, the Hokage shook her head. "I said there wasn't going to be a slaughter today."
She smiled reflexively. The Hokage knew her, that was for sure. "There won't be one drop of blood, broken bone, or bruise to show our passing. Permission to move them Hokage-sama?"
They shared a glance and the unease gave way to unconditional trust. The Hokage nodded. "Clear the way jonin Sakura."
"With pleasure my Lady." She bowed her head, letting her hand fall from the hilt of the katana. Another time, perhaps.
She loosened the seals on her killing intent. The effect was immediate, the screams choked off into whispers, a murmur of unease spreading through the crowd. The mob began to lose its cohesion in blocking the street as fear crept in their ranks. They did not know the source of the noxious fog, and not knowing only heightened their agitation.
Sakura smirked and kicked it up a notch. The weakest went down to their knees with the sheer force of her desire to kill, rip, maim, bludgeon, and burn that raged through. Sakura kicked it up one more notch and held it there, grinning viciously as she did.
Any higher and the crowd would be pissing themselves, and she would rather not have to walk over the mess of it when it was over. The first of the villagers broke rank and ran screaming, and that avalanched into the entirety of them fleeing like cowards.
The road to the Hyuga compound was clear.
Sakura turned to the people behind her, bowed, and made a sweeping gesture to the open road. "After you."
Hyuga Compound, Inner Housing
"Hatake-san?"
At the sound of Yamanka Sojiro's voice, Kakashi's eyes shot open. He rubbed his neck wondering how he'd managed to drift asleep while reading.
Sojiro spoke again. "Hatake-san, it's time."
That woke him fully up. He looked around the room to see the short, blonde haired, wiry Sojiro standing by an empty birdcage. Nearby his sister Yuki sat silently, eyes closed as if in a trance.
Which come to think of it, she was: her soul was currently in the body of a small singing bird far from here.
Kakashi had been given two Yamanaka and some birds the Branch House kept in cages. The symbolism of those pets had been clear, but Kakashi had just been thankful they'd been there for the task at hand. With soul-possession and some very maneuverable and easily missed vessels for it, Kakashi had some semblance of an Intel operation going.
It was not as large as he hoped though; Peace Negotiations were coming down and finding out why Sakura was breaking up with the Uzumaki or what the secretive horrible thing she'd done to the Uchiha was rapidly becoming moot.
Still, from what he had gathered having the members of the Death Squad shadowed, something had gone horribly wrong between them and it wasn't any run of the mill spat. What'd he heard had given him a taste of something ugly and shattering: lies, secrets, an obliquely referenced event in their past strewn with violence…
Kakashi had a feeling that if he figured out the why Naruto and Sasuke had nearly killed each other, why Naruto and Sakura were fighting, and where Sakura had disappeared too during that mess, he might have the edge he needed if things went south.
"What is it?" He asked.
Sojiro's eyes were fearful. "They're coming,
Kakashi swore: today was the morning of the Negotiations and he'd completely forgotten.
How worse could today get?
The Yamanaka twitched. "She is with them."
Kakashi blinked. Sakura, the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune that had been nearly assassinated by the people living in this very compound, was coming here.
This would not go over well.
Okay, he'd been wrong, today could get worse.
He rubbed at his tired eyes furiously, trying to calculate how much time was left. "Okay. I'll go tell Hiashi before they get here and things get out of hand. If Sakura's coming here…then keep close watch on the Uzumaki and Uchiha. If anything slips out about whatever the hell is going on, I want to hear it ASAP."
Sojiro nodded and Kakashi clapped the chunin on the shoulder, trying to assure him. Somehow he didn't feel that successful, but knew he didn't have more time. The Peace Negotiations were upon them and what that meant for him and everyone else here…he honestly didn't know.
And that uncertainty worried him.
One Block from Hyuga Compound
The second clone sucked in a deep breath of the morning air, reveling in the moment. It was crisp and clean and tasted like champagne. But no matter how deeply she breathed she couldn't get enough; the weight of the suicide vest constricted her chest too tightly for that.
Toady was the last day she would be alive and she wanted to savor it. She had bid her sister clones goodbye, kissed the Kyuubi one last time (even if he objected), pulled the balaclava on, checked her suicide vest, and left the only home she'd known in her less than a week-long life.
Now she was only a shadow in shadows contentedly hanging in the trees twenty feet from the Hyuga compound walls. This is what she'd been made for and there was no regret.
On the opposite side of the sprawling grounds, the main gate was being opened and her sensitive ears caught the sound of it easily. Grudgingly, the Hyuga were allowing a diplomatic party that hated their guts to enter, and they were still pretended to be the ones wronged in this whole affair.
Typical.
The clone smelled the air, letting her enhanced senses do the work. Somewhere over there was the true Sakura. And that Sakura was depending on the second clone to do this job. The shadow wouldn't let her mistress down.
Luckily for her though, the true Sakura being around meant all guards would be concentrated around her. If she went wild, they would need every scrap of fire power they could get to bring her down. That, rather unfortunately for the rebellion, left their walls woefully under guarded.
She'd just have to take advantage of that, now wouldn't she?
The clone dropped a genjutsu on herself and one specially made to work against the byakugan. Long ago Sakura had made it to use in sparring and only put it to full use when sneaking into the Hyuga compound during that rescue fiasco after Hinata's engagement.
Now it was being used for another infiltration, except this time she wouldn't leave without a massacre. The clone cheerfully mused this would now put two clan massacres under Sakura's belt.
The Hyuga patrol, Branch House judging by their foreheads, passed like clockwork on the other side of the wall.
She would have a minute window to get in, maybe less.
More than enough.
She made the leap over the road. The roof came up to meet her and she rolled and let momentum carry her off the side. She landed crouching and sprang under the porch of the nearest building.
She was in.
The smell of decaying grass, rot, and stagnation was nearly an assault. The clone almost whimpered before she managed to get a chakra block on her sense of smell. The fit was tight under the house with the vest on, but the way these building had been constructed left about a foot and a half of clearance between the foundation and the actual floor. She'd make due.
The clone began the slow crawl on her stomach using her elbows to pull herself forward. All the while she fought through muck and dead things she didn't want to identify. It was claustrophobic and the air was growing hot and thin the deeper she went under the houses. Whatever light she'd had was gone and had rendered her blind; only her sense of touch was left to guide her as she breathed in dust and choked on it.
Red chakra began to kick in, oxygenating her blood manually for what her lungs couldn't do.
The clone was suddenly glad for the bulky suicide vest. She wouldn't have to figure out how to turn around and crawl out from here. She would get to die and leave this ugly place behind and return…well, return to wherever it was dispersed clones went.
Her ears pricked at the sound of voices. Even through the floors, she could feel the footsteps of those moving above. Now, judging by the blue prints she'd seen, there should be a gathering hall somewhere around here…
When she heard the sound of children laughing she knew she was under the right spot. Though the clone could not see it, above her many Hyuga and the conspirator ninja and their families were sitting together having a communal breakfast.
The rations were short, but the families: wives, husbands, children, brothers, sisters, and parents, made due. Many knew the fate of the civilian conspirators that had already been captured and executed (and they had been so lucky to be the family of ninja that had some warning), and the story of what Yamanaka Ino had done to Gemma had spread far and wide.
It was said she'd kept him alive for a week without any of his limbs before allowing him the blessing of death. It was Gemma who'd spilled their treacherous secret and sent them all fleeing from ANBU squads and arrest warrants.
So they ate glad to have their families intact, gossiping and bonding with those trapped in the same situation as they. Talk of what was going on at the Negotiators was running rampant; there were even rumors of Her being there.
The clone heard the gossip as she rested on the ground. She closed her eyes and rooted through the suicide vest. She found the dead man's switch and pressed it down. The vest was active, the second she released the switch the C4 in it would blow. The fire, concussive force, searing heat, and pouches of razor-shrapnel would have nowhere to go but up.
Even if someone found her and managed to disperse her…nothing would stop the explosion from taking out everyone within a hundred foot radius.
Now all she had to wait for was the signal like a good little shadow.
Above the clone people laughed and talked, oblivious to the danger right at their feet.
The clone just smiled and counted down the seconds to her death, her finger on the switch.
Another chapter. Hurray.
I know some people don't like the relationship situation between Sakura, the Kyuubi, and Naruto. This story is evolving into adult territory along with the characters, and true love and happily ever afters is never on a real world menu. Issues need to be worked out, insanity needs to be addressed, and the fact that Sakura was never a good person and Naruto still is...barely.
Of course, this story is closing up rapidly, so rest assured the issues are going to be settled out shortly. Oh and there will be violence ahead kiddies, rest assured. We're definitely moving to the climax of the story.
Edit: Fixed a lot of spelling errors, generally smoothed out conversation, and cut out a lot of extraneous wording. Besides that, the chapter is pretty much the same as the old.