Disclaimer: ...don't make me sic the vampires on you.

Chapter 51: Compromise

Sakura worked on Naruto all night, and would have continued to do so into the next day if her Chakra hadn't sputtered to a bare trickle…and if a hand hadn't landed on her shoulder, she probably would have tried to continue healing him anyway. But as it was, she turned around tiredly to be met by a glowering Hiraku, 'Guess the Jutsu wore off…' she thought tiredly as her day's work caught up to her, 'Oh well, at least Naruto is stable now…I can check back in later…'

Sakura was so tired she couldn't even concentrate on what Hiraku was saying to her as he practically dragged her back to her room. She was sure she'd done more work in a day than this…but she couldn't remember any particular incident at the moment. As the door was closed behind her and she flopped on the bed, her last muddled thought before she fell asleep was, '…but why is he here, and like that?'


Hiraku stormed into the room, completely ignoring the wind that surrounded him the moment he entered, and sank into his Kekkei Genkai. The moment he entered the indescribable universe of their own making he started towards his sister, talking quickly, "Sis, we got a problem-"

Michi interrupted him blandly, "Yes, I know, your little stone was hurt."

"It's not a stone, it's…oh, never mind, that ain't the point!" Michi raised an eyebrow at her flustered brother, surprised that he hadn't gone on a rant. He ignored her, "The point is that the little lady got past the barrier that Li himself told us to make!" If they had been in the real world, Michi probably would have fallen over in shock, but as it was there was no evident sign of gravity here, so the only thing that pointed to her shock was her gaping mouth.

"She what-how? I admit that I was concentrating more on holding up the main barrier, but I wouldn't think that would cause me to be lax enough with the others for one to go down!"

Hiraku shook his head, "It wasn't your fault," he grimaced as he added, "if anyone is at fault, it's me. I should have been able to stop her, but…UGG!" he grunted angrily, though at Sakura or himself, Michi wasn't sure, "If anyone ever had doubts about her being related to Li…well, tonight would have proven even the most pig headed skeptic wrong…and I ain't even a skeptic and she felt like prove'n it to me!"

He finally took a breath, then continued his rant (at a slightly slower pace) as his sister sat back and stared, "The little lady apparently had something worked out with Konan's little sub, you know, the purple haired girl. Well, the girl somehow found out what was behind the barrier and began to tell the little lady, but then the little lady ran off as if she'd been born and raised here. I built this place and even I had a hard time keeping up with her!"

Hiraku threw his hands up dramatically as he continued, "And that's not even the worst of it! I didn't figure out where she was headed until I'd already taken one step too close to the first barrier, so it deactivated and she ran past. After that I decided to use my head and made sure that the barrier on the door wouldn't budge even if I got closer; and then, do you know what she did?" He didn't wait for an answer, "She went and smashed right through it! How could she do that!"

Michi opened her mouth to point out that Sakura had probably awoken her father's Kekkei Genkai (considering that was the only thing they knew of that could actually break their barriers), but Hiraku didn't give her the chance, "Then she was about to open the door and I overreacted and grabbed her arm…I wasn't trying to hurt her or scare her, just trying to stop her, but she flung my hand off of her and used that weird Hoshi thingy on me…the one that freezes you in place, and-"

Michi finally decided to just clamp a hand over her brothers flapping mouth. She knew from past experience that once he got on a roll, nothing short of duck tape or (in cases where duck tape wasn't available) a well placed hand could stop him. She waited for him to stop making noises before she spoke calmly, "So…the point is that she found out?" Hiraku nodded sullenly.

"Well, you do know that I told both you and her father from the start that I didn't think your little plan of 'keep away' was a good idea. I told you that it was likely that she'd find a way to find out anyway…she is her father's daughter after all. I believe I also warned you that you were underestimating her, thinking that she'd not be able to come to terms with…things…and awaken her Shihaigan for at least another year. Really, I've only met her once, and I can read her better than you!"

Hiraku muttered something under his breath that sounded like, "Yeah, because you're a girl." Needless to say that after that remark, he was left nursing a nice big lump on his head.

Michi glared at her brother, but decided that one lump was enough of a warning, so instead of continuing on the subject, she asked, "So, now what are you going to do, dear brother?"

Her brother sat down indignantly, his hands flying to his head as he pulled his hair childishly "I don't know! I can't think about much other than that Li is going to kill me when he finds out!"

Michi sighed, thinking, 'He's annoying enough with his everyday nonchalance that I forget how much worse he is once he gets on a roll.' She then patted her brother on the head, "Oh, stop moping. Yes, Li will be angry, but he won't kill you…at least, I don't think he will."

"Thanks." The sarcasm was evident.

"Hey, don't worry about it. If it will make you feel better, I'll speak to him latter on your behalf. But for now, you need to get your head out of the clouds and think of what you're going to do about the situation at hand…because I'm not going to do that for you."


When Sakura woke up, she felt drained, as if she hadn't slept at all. 'I over did it…and I probably need some sun.' She slowly got up and dressed, then went to her door. It was locked. Sakura angrily knocked on the door, but got no response. If she hadn't been so tired, she probably would have attempted knocking the door down, but as it was she didn't have the energy to do so. Instead she grabbed the journal and sat down on a chair to read.

Sakura wasn't sure how much time she'd spent reading and how much time she'd spent nodding off, but after a while, she finally heard the lock click. She jerked awake, having just enough time to straighten her posture before the door opened and Hiraku walked in almost sheepishly. Sakura glared at him. He held up both hands as if to say he was unarmed, "Little Lady, I'm sorry you're unhappy, but-"

Sakura cut him off, not really in the mood to dance around the matter, "I can figure out on my own why I wasn't told. You had your orders, didn't you?" Hiraku nodded. "I thought so. Now, I'm guessing that if I tried to return to Naruto, you'd try to stop me again because of those orders, correct?" Another nod, "Fine, then let me speak with Li."

Hiraku tried to argue, but Sakura stood up, ignoring the weight on her shoulders. "There's no point in me arguing with the middle man, Hiraku. You'll follow your orders no matter what I say, so I'll have to get your orders changed. Otherwise you'll just be a hindrance. Now, let me speak with my father." If Sakura hadn't been so tired, angry, and desperate, she probably would have refrained from being so blunt; but she was, so she didn't.

What she didn't know, however, was that it was her bluntness that made up Hiraku's mind. She had unknowingly acted the part of the heir, from her direct words to her haughty stance…and that made him feel the need to obey. He just didn't know that they came from her fighting the desire to fall back asleep rather than her having taken up her mantle. "Yes, Lady Sakura." Sakura was too tired to twitch.

She followed him unquestioningly through the hallways, not even speaking up when she noticed they were heading towards the room Michi had been in. She already knew that she wouldn't be speaking with her father in person, since he was no longer here, so it made sense that Michi would have the way to contact him; though, that may have just been her fatigued mind trying to make sense of things.

When they entered the odd universe, the first thing Sakura noticed was that Michi was looking at a screen with such attention that she didn't even notice their appearance. Hiraku walked over and tapped his sister on the shoulder, causing her to jump and hit him on the head by reflex. She was about to say something to him when she caught sight of Sakura. She paled, caught her brother's eye, then returned her gaze to Sakura and slowly nodded. Hiraku motioned for Sakura to join them. She slowly obliged, trying not to drag her feet on her way over.

Sakura looked directly at the screen, not surprised at all to find her father already on it. Maybe it was her exhaustion, but she didn't even think to ask if he could hear her, she just spoke bluntly to the screen, "I want you to say that I am allowed to help Naruto."

Her father's face didn't change, and for once, Sakura's muddled mind couldn't read beyond his mask. She wanted to shake her head to clear it, but she didn't want to seem as if she were contradicting herself, so she just straightened her posture, hoping that would help, even a little bit. Her father's mouth twitched, perhaps having noticed her movement, perhaps for some other reason, but once again, to Sakura's annoyance, she couldn't understand what it stood for.

When he spoke, she didn't hear him with her ears, but in her head. Even this, however, wasn't enough to brake her lethargic composure. 'It's a good thing I read lips, Sakura. Oh, and the answer is no.' Sakura glared at him, mentally willing for him to change his mind. He chuckled, 'For not knowing what you're doing, you're doing it very well, but the answer is still no. I can't let you interfere with our retrieval of the nine-tails.' Sakura thought she heard a sigh in his thoughts as he continued, 'I knew you'd get worked up over this…that is why I didn't want you to know…though I see that didn't work out.'

"You think I'll just sit back and let you kill my best friend?" Sakura wasn't sure if she said it out loud or not, but she said it with a glare.

There was another sigh, then, 'Sakura, you're still young…you don't understand the importance of obtaining all the tailed beasts. With them under our control, we can create a world with-' Sakura interrupted.

'That's all you care about, isn't it? The nine-tails? What about Naruto?' This time she knew she wasn't speaking out loud, because she couldn't get her voice to work, and even if she could, she had the feeling that she wouldn't have succeeded in raising her voice beyond the bare minimal. She gulped as she fought tears, 'Does his life mean nothing to you?' She read the answer on his face, 'Well I won't stand for it! I…I'll, I'll find a way to save him…somehow.'

Her father didn't say anything right away, perhaps watching as a tear that escaped her control trickled down her cheek, or perhaps thinking about what to say next. One way or the other, he eventually said slowly, 'I see…you are just like your mother.' Sakura couldn't muster up the strength to twitch at that comparison. 'I want the nine-tails which resides in the boy. You want the boy to live. Since neither of us are willing give in and let the other win, let's compromise.'

He paused, as if gauging his thoughts, then said, 'You've already healed the boy enough that he'll live through the process, so I won't give you permission to heal him any more. However, as things stand, he'll die anyway when the nine-tails is finally removed on the third day. This is where I am giving you a chance to change his fate. If you can find a way to remove the beast, without killing the boy, in time to save him, then yes, you have my permission to do so. If you do not, then things will proceed as they are planed. Counting today, you have five days in which to find the 'cure' you desire.'

Sakura nodded wearily. It wasn't exactly what she'd call a wonder plan, but it was better than nothing. 'Agreed. Now, tell them that. If you don't, they'll just get in my way again.' He smirked, then turned to the twins. Sakura didn't hear what he said, but she saw them nod, and knew they'd gotten the message.


Once it was just him and Michi, Li sighed, rubbed his head tiredly, then said, 'That girl…she really loves to pry into my plans, trying to change them…and she's probably angry at me.'

Michi nodded and said bluntly, "Most definitely." She ignored his sigh of exasperation as she added, "You know, Li…she probably wouldn't have been so angry if you had explained it to her in the first place. That, and if you had explained why you let him get into that condition in the first place."

Li plastered on a smile, 'Yeah, probably, but she most likely wouldn't understand the need for me to suppress all of the boy's Chakra, thus stopping the nine-tails from healing him. She's too attached to him to think rationally.'

Michi nodded, she'd thought the same thing. After a short silence, she said lightly, "Well, at least one good thing has come out of this." One look from Li was all it took for her to explain, "After all, she seems to have come to terms with who she is. She spoke directly to us like our superior, as she should, and she also must have come to terms with what Uchiha did, since her Shihaigan seems to have awoken. So that's actually two good things sprung from one bad. I'd say that's a good trade, wouldn't you?"

Li's expression didn't change as he answered, 'No…because this 'trade' has given me a headache. Now, I need to go back to work. It's hard enough to hold down so many people's Chakra at once…and even twice as hard when one is a tailed-beast.'


As Sakura and Hiraku walked down the hall, her mind was abuzz with thoughts of where to try to find her 'cure'. The best place would probably be the library. She could get her cousins to help her find books that could possibly hold the answer. She'd have to also ask for Hiraku to return Ayaka to her. She didn't need to ask him to know that he'd removed Ayaka from her post due to her involvement the night before. Now that he had his new orders, that shouldn't cause a problem. Also, she'd have to make sure to ask if there were any other rooms in the place that could hold the information she sought.

Not once did she even contemplate going back to sleep.


There, another chapter down. I'm really sorry for the long wait, but I had finals, the ACT, and then a trip to California, so I only just got back. The good news is you finally get this chapter...the bad news is that I haven't even begun the next chapter and I have busy weeks up ahead. I'll try to update on Saturday, but there's a high likelihood that I won't be able to. If not, then next Saturday. Once again, I'm really sorry.

Reviews. Constructive criticisms, and people going to my forum/DeviantART page are welcome to meet my vampire friend from Halloween. Flamers, however, are welcome …it's just that if they actually come, they'll be the main course. Now, onto the pretty list!

Thanks to: ozeki, Selene98, knightchaser, ItaDeiPei, Cster, LovelyLittleAngel144, Okinawa Angel, Ally (thank you), xoBreathe (he's not necessarily dead yet), .assassinator, xokatherine229, Dhampire12, icinnamonx3, aznkitty180 (PM me exact questions and I will answer what I can. and yes, it was Naruto), xXSasuxSakuXx, bellacullen3, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, NightWing101, Shadow Danzer, Spirit Seer (thanks for even half a review), cherryredblossom, & flyingsnails for reviewing!