The Wanderers
Chapter 15 – Motivations
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, there would be more decent love interests.
***Previously-On***
The Konoha survivors attacked the Sound forces entrenched in the ruined Uzu village. Naruto, Shikamaru and Hinata held off and destroyed the main force with Naruto's new Kage Bunshin technique, though it left Naruto with dangerous low chakra levels. The rest of them invaded the Uzu village and took the Sound forces by surprise, decimating them to a man. They met and struggled against Kimimaro, the leader of the Sound force. However in the heat of battle, Kakashi's Mangekyou Sharingan activated itself and he was able to use his personalised Sharingan technique, after a few tries, to finish off the deadly opponent. They were unable to get much information from one of their captives, though they suspect that Kabuto is the new leader of the Sound village. Their other captive is placed under a powerful genjutsu by Itachi and Sasuke, and is allowed to escape their custody.
***End Summary***
***Flashback*** Five hours ago
Itachi indicated for his brother to take position on the other side of the unconscious Sound Jounin. Neither of them had their Sharingan activated and as his brother placed his hand on the shinobi's head, Sasuke did the same.
"Why did you need my help on this?" asked Sasuke, knowing how powerful his brother's genjutsu's were.
Itachi looked at his brother with amusement, wondering whether he should tell his brother the real reason, or the one that would save him some face. Looking at his brother, he wondered at some of the changes the younger Uchiha was going through. He chose the truth, since Sasuke had no capacity to tell whether he was lying or not he felt little need to deceive his little brother, at least not now.
"I need to double layer the genjutsu; otherwise it might break at a long distance. You know the technique; it's the one that the victim itself populates."
"How long do we run it for?" asked Sasuke as he began to run his chakra into the Sound Jounin.
Itachi did the same, "For ten to twelve hours. Until he leaves the village, then it won't matter."
***End Flashback***
The group watched as the Jounin sped away from the Uzu village, taking a long breather as they collected their thoughts.
"Are you sure it worked?" asked Kakashi.
Itachi pointed to the direction that the Sound shinobi had disappeared to, "The fact that he's miles away and none of us are dead give you any indication?"
His companion sighed and sat down to rub his sore legs, "There's no reason for sarcasm, Itachi."
He turned to the rest of the watching group, noticing that they were all healed and prepared to move out, with the exception of Naruto who only seemed to be getting worse.
"How good is our tracking?"
Kiba and Shino stepped forward slowly, Kiba still recovering from the wound in his chest while Shino was not injured at all. Shino placed up a hand to show a collection of bugs across his index finger.
"I planted a female bug underneath the metal plate of his forehead protector. Why? Because the male bugs can trace the female scent from one side of the country to the other and…"
Not wanting to give Shino the chance to describe the full extent of his insects abilities, Kiba rubbed his nose with a wide grin, "...and I had Akamaru pee on his clothes a little, and the two of us could trace that to the end of the earth if need be."
Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement, "And with a Hiraishin mark on the inside of his clothing, we should be set."
He gave the order to the group to stand down. They had been on edge in case the genjutsu failed; even though they weren't fully recovered they were confident they could defeat the Jounin if he broke out of it. Several of the group had expressed an interest in pursuing him immediately, but Kakashi had reminded them that if they were able to track him constantly then they had time to recover their senses. Hinata called for Shizune's help as Naruto collapsed in her arms, his breathing getting heavier and for once it didn't appear like he was getting any better. Shizune instructed her to lay him down on the ground as she undid his jacket and placed her ear to his chest. After a few seconds she sat back up and told Sakura and Ino to bring them cold water.
"Is he going to be okay?" asked a concerned Hinata.
She knew better then most what Naruto's limits were, and yet even with all his stubbornness he was prone to overstepping such boundaries, and it fell to her to pull him back from the brink half the time. Shizune pulled out a long needle from her pack and filled it with a strange-looking liquid before kindly asking several of their group to hold him down.
"Hinata, he needs to be awake for this" said Shizune as Sasuke, Neji and Lee all worked together to make sure that Naruto couldn't escape.
The blonde's hatred of needles was legendary, even when they were necessary. The white-eyed girl leant down and subtly shook Naruto's shoulder, which only caused the blonde to mutter incoherently in his sleep and reach up to clutch at her hands.
Hinata sighed and leant down next to his ear, "Naruto-kun…we have fresh ramen ready…"
To her disappointment he didn't respond to that either, beginning to drool into his clothes. She rolled her eyes and gently asked the group helping her to plug their eyes for a few moments. They were reluctant, but it was difficult to refuse Hinata when she asked in such soft tones. She wanted to make sure that they couldn't hear her, though she knew that they probably did considering they were experienced shinobi, but Hinata saw no other option but to accept the embarrassment. Leaning back down, she pecked her boyfriend lightly on the cheek before placing her lips near his ear.
Whispering in as soft a tone as possible, she said six little words that caused Naruto to jolt right up with his eyes wide open. He went to say something to Hinata, but was immediately held down by his three male companions as Shizune drove the needle into his arm quickly. Naruto cried out in protest and attempted to struggle but was held down; his only course of action was to look at Hinata with the most pathetic look of betrayal as possible. She smiled warmly and placed a caring hand on his cheek as he fell back unconscious. The three holding him down sighed in relief and stood up as Shizune packed up her medical equipment.
She placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder, "Don't worry about that. Give him a hot meal and a smile and he won't care."
Hinata laughed softly and stood up; making sure that Naruto was comfortable before turning to her own duties. Kakashi asked the older medic how long the blonde shinobi would be out of it, to which Shizune had no response other then to say that he will be able to move in a day.
"What about the body?" asked Itachi, standing next to her.
Shizune pulled out a clipboard from her pack and flipped to the appropriate page. It contained handwritten numbers and details from her autopsy, information that was barely legible to non-medics.
She shook her head as she re-read the information, "There was nothing strange with the body. No modifications, no marks to signify that it was a fake. By all rights, I killed Kabuto Yakushi in the remains of Konoha."
Itachi considered the information carefully, Ino had been adamant that her description of the Sound leader was accurate.
"So we don't know who we are dealing with then?" he asked rhetorically.
The group took a few moments before deciding that they wanted to pursue the Sound shinobi. There was little to find at the ruined Uzu village, all the information and objects of value had been moved to the Sound village, and the Uzumaki scroll was the only prize they had gotten from their attack.
They left the next morning. Having woken up during the night, and being quite irate about being jabbed with a large needle, Naruto confirmed that he was fit to travel, though after a few miles he needed support to continue moving. Lee was happy to assist him as the group moved through the countryside at a reasonable pace. Even at a full sprint, it was a month's journey to the place that they suspected the Hidden Sound village was. After a few hours of strategising, in which Itachi had to keep reminding them that there was no way the Jounin knew he was being followed, Shikamaru had helped them devise a plan of pursuit.
If they worked under the assumption that the Sound village prepared for a Konoha counterattack, then even if they arrived a day after the Jounin then the Sound village would be prepared for their assault. However there was only a certain amount of time that a heightened state of defence could be maintained, and if they aimed for the period of time when their defences were down then the battle could swing in their favour. According to information he had received from Jiraiya, Itachi said that the Sound village was one of the smallest villages in the world since it was the newest, and that the army that had destroyed would have been a large portion of their total force.
"So who won the count?"
Before they attacked the Uzu village, the Konoha Genin had made a competition on who could take down the most shinobi. Naturally Naruto was banned from the competition, and the Jounin hadn't expressed any interest at all. Sasuke did a mental count of his takedowns as the other's considered their own numbers.
"I think I got eight" said Chouji, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth as he remembered the battle.
Lee smiled as he shifted his shoulders, "I got you beat there, Chouji-kun. I got fourteen."
The group continued to move through the fields as the Genin argued over the numbers. As they moved towards the end of the stream that led into the Uzu village, Kakashi and Shizune called for a break. They refilled their cantinas and took out some of the food that they had brought from the village they had spent so long at. Pulling out a countryside map from his pack, Shikamaru traced out a line from their current position to the Land of Rice Fields.
"What is it, Shikamaru?" asked Chouji as he opened up a pack of chips.
While on the road he had to ration himself from eating all his snack foods at once, though amusingly he had found a sealing technique in his family scroll to seal large quantities of food into scrolls for future consumption. His long-term friend traced his finger along the line he had drawn before resting his finger on a small dot at the edge of the Land of Fire. Chouji's eyes widened as he recognised the name. It wasn't on the most direct path, but the deviation wasn't unreasonable.
"I'll tell Kakashi-sensei" said Chouji, making his way over to where the silver-haired Jounin was resting.
Shikamaru watched as some of the others ran a few things by the one-eyed shinobi. In a private conversation, he had asked whether Kakashi was comfortable leading the group, considering nobody had actually asked him to. Kakashi had said that he didn't consider himself the leader, neither did Shizune or Itachi, it was just the fact that he was more experienced then the others. The de-facto leader said that he never had an interest in leading but as he had colourfully pointed out to the lazy Nara heir, it was types like them that people turned to in a crisis. He smiled as Chouji convinced the Jounin that it was a good idea, and as it spread around the group he could tell that it was more and more popular.
Why didn't we think of this before?
They reached the village at the middle of the day, a cloudy sky and light mist covering the group's approach to the small village.
"Nice to know this place hasn't changed" commented Shikamaru, eager to find his old teacher to make sure that he and Kurenai were okay.
The village hadn't changed at all from their last visit, there even seemed to be the same type of people walking around as they passed through the village gates.
"What are we doing first?" asked Lee.
The group began to discuss their plans, until they were interrupted by a strange squeak from Hinata, causing a wide smile to creep onto Naruto's face beside her as he removed his hand from her backside.
She tried and failed to hide a blush as she straightened her clothes, "I…uh…promised Naruto I would treat him to some ramen to make up for…you know…"
Naruto nodded in agreement as she spoke, with most of the group simply shrugging and walking away.
Thinking about it for a moment, Lee stepped towards his blonde companion, "Some ramen would be delicious. I'd be happy to accompany you, Naruto-kun."
Neither Naruto nor Hinata had a chance to respond as Lee was sent spirally away by a smack to his head, one that even his well-honed instincts rendered him unable to react to. It took him a few seconds before his vision returned to normal and yet he already knew who had hit him.
"They want to be alone, Lee" said Sakura, putting down her hand calmly.
The green-clad shinobi stood up straight and cracked his neck. She hadn't hit him in a while, but after the ninth time Itachi had colourfully informed him that it was just a sign of affection, though Lee never intended to presume to understand what Sakura thought of him.
"I…guess you are right, Sakura-san."
Naruto rolled his eyes and led Hinata away from the group as Lee made an oblivious comment back to Sakura, causing the pink-haired kunoichi to frown and raise her voice but the group had already moved into the village.
While Naruto was being treated to ramen, the rest of the group headed into the centre of town to see if they couldn't find their old companions. Neji had enquired several villagers on Tenten and her father, but none of them seemed to know anything about them.
"Anyone know where to start?" asked Chouji, spying the barbeque shop he had frequented the first time they had visited the village.
"Do we know if they are still here?" asked Ino.
Standing behind her with his doujutsu active, Neji was frowning as he scanned the village. After years of honing his inherited technique he was able to pick out the image of a close companion quickly, but finding a needle in a large stack of needles was difficult at the best of times.
"She isn't in the village…" he said as he continued to look around the village.
"What about Asuma and Kurenai-sensei?" asked Kiba.
Akamaru had gone hunting around the village outskirts, leaving his friend to wander the village without him.
Without moving his head, Neji pointed to a section of houses on the south-east side of the village, "Fifth house on the right, the one with the green-brown roof."
He sighed as his vision concentrated on the ramen shop, watching Naruto feed his cousin a piece of beef with his chopsticks. It hadn't bothered him for a while, but the wide smile on her face caused a sinking feeling in his stomach.
She's moved on, and I'm still stuck in the past. I need to meet some new people.
The group began to walk towards the house he pointed at, while Neji deactivated his Byakugan. Unlike the Sharingan, it hurt his head to have so much visual information at once, so he only used it when necessary.
"I'm going to check out Tenten's shop, to see where she might have gone" he said to the others before making his way to the edge of the village.
The house that Neji had directed them to looked reasonably new compared to the rest of the village, a two story building with a half done paint job.
Placing a hand on the gate, Ino looked at the door, "Should we knock?" Standing next to her, Shikamaru looked at the latch on the gate with an amused expression.
An almost invisible tag was attached to the gate, one that alerted the occupants to their approach with a pulse of chakra.
"Well at least we know they are here" said Kiba with a sniff, a smile creeping onto his face as he sensed a figure coming from the back.
"Oh! If it isn't Kakashi and his merry men."
Asuma hadn't changed too much in the time they had spent apart; he still kept an indifferent look on his face and his dark facial hair. He wiped his hands on the civilian clothes he wore and smiled as his three students stepped forward to greet him.
"Well, well. You three have grown big."
He ruffled Chouji's hair and looked over at the rest of the group. Before he could say anything, Kakashi indicated to the newest members of their group.
"This is Shizune, the former apprentice to Tsunade."
Asuma nodded to her respectfully before frowning as his eyes landed on the other Jounin in the group.
"And this is…"
"Uchiha Itachi" interrupted the retired Jounin.
Before the village had been destroyed, everyone knew of the elder Uchiha's name even before the death of the Uchiha clan. Itachi could see his muscles constricting until he saw the younger Uchiha standing next to his brother.
"I would not have expected you to join them, Itachi."
The elder Uchiha smiled slightly, causing a strange look to pass over Asuma's face.
"I wasn't expecting to be so, but this is how it ended up."
Asuma frowned again before turning to Kakashi, "It would seem we have much to speak about."
The one-eyed Jounin laughed awkwardly, "Yeah, something like that. Can we come inside?"
He nodded and indicated to the door. As Itachi entered the house he watched him carefully, wondering what the kinslayer had done to earn Kakashi's trust, nevermind the trust of his brother who had sworn to kill him.
The inside of the house was commonly enough, as Asuma indicated for them to sit he made a note of how much the Genin had grown in their time apart.
"Where is Kurenai-sensei?" asked Kiba, making himself comfortable on the sofa and placing his feet on the table.
It lasted for a few seconds before Ino smacked him on the head and forced him to sit respectfully.
"Hang on, I'll get her" said Asuma before making his way up the staircase nearby.
The group waited patiently before Asuma reappeared a minute later.
"She'll be right down" he said before taking a seat opposite the group.
They sat in awkward silence for several minutes, before Asuma finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Is…is this all of you? Where are the others?"
The group collectively looked down at the floor in sadness, though only for a second before a loud crack of lightning flashed in the room as Naruto and Hinata appeared behind the group.
"See, told you we weren't late" said Naruto as Hinata apologised to the group before smiling as she saw Asuma.
Turning his head around, Sasuke stared at his teammate with confusion.
"How did you get here?"
Naruto gave him his best are-you-kidding-me looks before reaching down and removing the Hiraishin tag he had attached to the back of Sasuke's shirt. He gave Sasuke an amused wink before pocketing the tag. The younger Uchiha simply shook his head in disbelief and turned back around, not wanting to deal with Naruto for the moment, though he swore he'd get his revenge at some point in the future.
Kakashi coughed awkwardly to get Asuma's attention, "Neji is out looking for Tenten's shop."
"Oh, she and her father moved a few months ago"
"When he gets back, I'll tell him that. I believe Sakura and Lee are taking a look around the village before coming here as well."
Kakashi hesitated for a moment, causing Asuma's eyes to widen as he realised who was missing. He sighed sadly before leaning back in his chair.
"So he's gone then. That's a damn shame."
The group nodded in agreement before turning as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Kurenai, unlike Asuma, had changed quite a bit. She no longer wore her shinobi outfit, and instead wore a housewife's garb and her black hair was a complete mess down to her elbows. Her eyes widened and a smile broke onto her face as she saw the group, widening even more when she saw her three ex-students.
"It is good to see you guys again after so long" she said as she made her way through the group to stand next to Asuma.
The retired Team 10 leader smiled as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
He looked up at her with a smile, "Is she…"
Kurenai nodded and returned the smile before looking at the rest of the group.
"So what have we missed?"
They took turns telling parts of their story, with both Kurenai and Asuma asking certain questions that brought out information they had forgotten.
"And then we decided to come here, and that's basically it" finished Kakashi.
"Well that's…quite a tale" said Asuma.
Across the room, it finally clicked in Shikamaru's mind, causing him to point judging at his old teacher.
"Asuma…it's been bothering me for ages."
His teacher laughed at the lazy shinobi's comment, "Speak your mind, please."
"You haven't had a smoke since we got here."
Asuma waved the comment off, "I had to quit since the baby was born, but to be honest I haven't missed it…ah damn…"
He trailed off as he realised what he just told the Konoha shinobi. They all stared at the two of them with open mouths, except for the two newest of the group who weren't sure what to make of it.
"Did…we hear you right?" asked Ino, slowly rising from her seat.
Asuma laughed for a moment before being unceremoniously smacked upside the head by Kurenai, his Jounin toughness unable to stop all the pain from her blow. Kurenai rubbed her hand with an amused smile on her face, her fingers running over a plain gold ring on her left hand.
"Would you…like to meet her?" she asked, her smile widening as she saw Ino squeal with excitement.
Looking at the clock on the wall, Kurenai tapped Asuma on the shoulder before making her way up the staircase again. After ten minutes, and an indication from Asuma, they turned at once as Kurenai walked back down the steps. In her arms was the smallest little baby girl, with dark black hair and smooth pale skin, breathing softly with closed eyes. Almost at once, the Genin shot out of their chairs to greet the baby, but found themselves unable to move from their spots.
At the edge of the room, Shikamaru shook his head, "The baby is asleep guys, we shouldn't crowd it."
He had given them just enough movement to sit back down in their chairs and let Kurenai come to them. After a few seconds of struggling, to his amazement Ino pulled away from his technique and nearly fell in her attempt to reach the new mother. She smiled as wide as she could as she asked Kurenai if she could hold her, and she was ecstatic when she agreed. Shikamaru released his technique while trying to work out how his teammate had broken it, allowing the rest of the group to surround Ino as she took the baby carefully from Kurenai's hands, supporting its head with her arms. The baby stretched its arms out with a yawn before revealing pale blue eyes for a fraction of a second before closing them again and shifting its head slightly to get more comfortable in her arms. Kurenai smiled as she saw the looks on the group's faces as they watched Ino hold her baby.
"What is her name?" asked Hinata quietly, trying to resist the temptation to reach out and stroke the baby's hair.
"Airi. Sarutobi Airi" said Kurenai.
Next to his female counterpart, Kakashi took a glance at the baby's face before turning to face Asuma.
"You sure this is your kid, Asuma? She's far too beautiful."
With a laugh, Asuma stood up slowly from his seat, "Well, sometimes miracles happen."
Ino began slowly swaying back and forth, unable to keep her sheer glee from her face. The others began to file slowly back to their seats, though there weren't enough seats for everyone. Naruto tried to give his seat to Hinata, but instead she forced him to sit down before planting herself on his lap with a sly smile on her face. Kurenai frowned as she watched the interaction between the two of them, asking Ino if she wouldn't mind putting the baby back in her crib in the room upstairs before sitting down on the table opposite the couple.
"Something I should know about, Hinata?"
Her white-eyed student blushed terribly as she realised she hadn't mentioned it to their former teachers, while beneath her Naruto laughed awkwardly.
"Yes, isn't it wonderful?" said Sasuke sarcastically.
He could feel his brother's stare at his back, but it wasn't as scary as the rest of the group's.
He put up his arms in surrender, "I was kidding. No sense of humour these days…"
After Ino came back downstairs, they got down to the discussion they had put off for so long.
"So you are going to just invade the Hidden Village of the Sound? Even for us, that's a big call."
Asuma bit at the stick of wood that he stuck in his mouth, his way of compensating for his inability to smoke. After a long explanation from Kakashi and Sasuke, the two of them had understood that Itachi was on their side, and as the elder Uchiha outlined their plan they had to admit the group was far better off with his inclusion.
"You know we can't come with you, even though we would like to."
Under his mask, Kakashi smiled slowly as he glanced up at the staircase. He told them that they hadn't come to the village to recruit them; they respected their decision to retire, and with a new born baby it was nowhere on their agenda. As they rolled up the area map, Naruto pointed out that they hadn't eaten in a while, prompting the group to order some food from a nearby restaurant. After they ate, Kurenai asked Itachi to step outside with her for a moment, which he was suspicious about but agreed to join her. Placing his hands together under his chin, Shikamaru stared at his old teacher with an odd look on his face.
"Asuma…how old is Airi?"
It took him a moment to remember it before smiling and turning to the Nara heir, "She'll be two months in a few days."
To their credit, it wasn't just Shikamaru who was surprised by Asuma's comment. Both Naruto and Kakashi noticed immediately, and it took the others only a few more moments.
"Asuma…we left here eight and a half months ago."
"Your point being?"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Asuma, is the reason you guys stayed here because you knew Kurenai was pregnant?"
"Ah…um…possibly…"
The rest of the group laughed at his awkwardness, it was a strange sight when Sarutobi Asuma didn't know what to say. After half an hour, Itachi and Kurenai returned to the room. Sasuke cocked his head in questioning, but Itachi shook his head, indicating that he would speak on it later.
"How long will you stay?" asked Kurenai.
Kakashi leant back in his chair, "We'll leave in the morning. It isn't worth the risk to you guys. Especially not now."
Asuma chuckled as Kurenai stood behind him with a sad smile on her face.
"Would that we could go with you. Especially if that intel is anywhere near accurate, but we can't leave Airi."
"We understand. I know this might seem strange, but could we bunk here tonight? I don't want to leave a paper trail."
"Of course."
As they turned a corner, Lee froze when he saw a rundown dumpling shop at the edge of the village.
"What is it?" asked Sakura, noticing that Lee had been very quiet since they had let the rest of the group go on ahead.
Her companion didn't respond to her question, he simply walked slowly towards the empty shop and looked at the old man behind the counter with a sad look on his face. The old man seemed to barely notice Lee for a moment before a smile cracked onto his face.
"Ah, it has been a long time dear boy. Would you like to come in and have something to eat?"
Sakura stepped up next to her green-clad companion, "Do you know this place, Lee?"
He smiled before nodding slightly and walking into the shop. The old man showed them to a table before serving them water and telling them that he would serve the shop's special in a few minutes. Sakura sipped her water quietly as she regarded the solemn look on Lee's face. He kept staring at a back part of the shop, barely even noticing that she was sitting beside him. The old man made good on his promise and served them a plate of pork dumplings that was the equal of any she had tasted before. Lee seemed less enthusiastic about eating, and was so quiet during the meal it drove Sakura insane.
"What's wrong?" she asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.
Looking up from his plate, Lee frowned at the question, "No…nothing is wrong Sakura-san."
He shook his head as if to shake himself out of his stupor before putting up a wide grin.
"I'm fine."
Sakura put down her chopsticks and leant her elbows on the table with her hands together. They had paid with money they had taken from the Sound shinobi corpses at the Uzu village, which several in the group had insisted that they no longer needed. She stared straight into Lee's eyes, easily able to see past his smile.
"Lee, I've never known you to lie before."
"I'm not lying!" he protested, trying to think of anyway he could to get out of the conversation.
Unfortunately Sakura didn't let up, "Lee, I've spent a long time with Naruto. I know when someone is smiling to hide their pain."
Lee dropped his smile and adopted a serious expression, "And what would you know of pain, huh?"
She could tell that she had stepped into the question, but that didn't stop her from letting her anger rise.
She slammed a hand onto the table, "You aren't the only one who has lost someone! You should remember that!"
Lee clenched his hands on the table and stared at her angrily for a few seconds before standing up abruptly. He turned and thanked the old man for the meal before walked out of the shop without another word to her. Sakura balled her fists as she stared at their empty plates.
I had every right to get angry at him. If he wants to be selfish, then fine. I had the right of it. Didn't I?
Later that night at Asuma and Kurenai's house, even the discovery of little Airi wasn't enough to dampen the sinking feeling in Sakura's stomach. On the promise that they would be very watchful over the baby, the Genin let the Jounin take out the new parents drinking in celebration. Naruto had tried to convince them to take him with them, even producing a passable adult female transformation. They had laughed him off though, Itachi pulling him aside to ask him why his patented 'Sexy Technique' had changed to a long dark haired pale-skinned girl, Naruto grew a colourful shade of red and cancelled the technique, muttered about how he had some training to do that took priority.
As the moon reached the peak in the sky, most of the group had retired for the night, most of them sleeping on the floor in the house. Lee still hadn't returned, and neither had Neji but they weren't concerned about the elder Hyuuga. The baby was fast asleep in her crib upstairs from the living room, and even at the late time the Jounin still hadn't returned from their drinking trip. Sitting on the couch, Hinata struggled to move her arm that had fallen asleep underneath the large blonde weight that had fallen asleep on her legs. Try as she might her right arm wouldn't move, but when she saw the peaceful smile on Naruto's face as he slept quietly she didn't want to disturb him, though from prior experience it was very difficult to wake Naruto. She ran her free hand through his spiky blonde hair, running the yellow strands between her fingers. He rarely let her play with his hair, but considering all the times he played with hers she considering it morally reasonable.
"He looks so peaceful like that."
Hinata smiled warmly at Sakura's comment as the pink-haired kunoichi sat down opposite her. Sakura smiled awkwardly back at her companion. It had taken some time to get used to the two of them acting like that, and try as she might Sakura couldn't keep a tiny spark of jealousy rising up inside her mind.
"You guys really are a happy couple, aren't you?" she asked.
Hinata took her eyes from Naruto's face and looked over at Sakura with a smile, "We do what we can."
Sakura smiled back at her and looked at the nearby staircase before looking over the sleeping bodies of the rest of the Genin.
"Do you think you guys will ever be like Asuma and Kurenai-sensei?"
She took great amusement at the idea of causing Hinata to blush, but to her surprise Hinata simply smiled warmly before looking back at the blonde on her lap, her hand moving to touch his cheek lightly, running her fingers across his birthmark scars.
"If we get the opportunity, I think so."
"Really? You'd want to marry that knucklehead?"
The white-eyed girl giggled slightly at the question as she saw an opportunity to free her hand, pulling it out from under him with slow grace before placing it on his chest. The moment her hand hit his shirt, Naruto shifted slightly in his sleep and his hands reached up and clutched at her newly-freed arm before muttered quietly and rubbed his face against her smooth skin and continuing to sleep.
"We haven't talked about it. But so long as I am with Naruto, I don't care."
Sakura sighed as she leant back in her chair.
They really love each other. Not some kind of puppy-dog teenage love affair either, I've seem them fight together. They completely trust each other. Then there is me, who seems to just push away anyway I care about. I did it with Naruto, and now…
They sat quietly for a few minutes beside each other, they had promised the Jounin that a few of them would stay awake in case something happened with Airi, but Sakura felt no great urge to sleep yet, though she could tell Hinata was struggling to keep herself awake.
She thought about it for a moment before taking a deep breath and leaning forward with her hands clutched together, "Hey Hinata…"
Her dark-haired compatriot shook her head slightly, "I'm not asleep, I swear."
Sakura laughed lightly at her response, it was very Naruto-ish. She fidgeted with her gloved fingers as she tried to think of a way to frame her question. Eventually after a few moments she told Hinata about her encounter with Lee earlier. The younger Hyuuga listened carefully to her tale, not wanting to comment until Sakura had finished.
"So…what do you think?" asked Sakura expectantly, at a loss for what she should do next.
The sinking feeling in her stomach had gotten worse over the night, and even though she knew it had to do with Lee, she had no idea how to get rid of it. Hinata thought about it for a few moments as the nearby clock on the wall ticked loudly, indicated it was just past one in the morning. It had concerned her as well that Lee hadn't returned, but she thought it would have been for the same reason as her cousin.
"Sakura…I don't think there is an answer. Grief affects everybody differently, you know that. We were all hit hard by the destruction of Konoha, we all lost our families."
She looked down at Naruto's face as she caressed his face with the lightest touch, "And there are some like Naruto and Lee that never knew their parents. But the reason you are confused, is that you don't understand Lee's grief, or why it is harder for him now then it was for the rest of us eight months ago."
Sakura frowned at her comment and crossed her legs, "What do you mean? Isn't it the same?"
Hinata smiled sadly as she shook her head in disagreement, "You don't understand Lee's pain. We all lost our parents and families, that was awful, there is no questioning that. But you don't understand Gai-sensei's relationship to Lee. He wasn't just a teacher to him. Gai was his father. His older brother. His idol, his motivation, his hope. But most of all, Gai was his saviour; he helped Lee out of the darkness. And just when Lee was in a position to make his hero proud of him, he was taken away. I can't think of a crueller fate, Sakura-san."
They sat quietly together as Sakura let everything Hinata said sink in. She had never considered it in such a fashion, but on reflection she realised that identifying that someone was in pain was only the first step. Since she had grown so confident lately, Hinata felt an obligation to tell Sakura something she wished she had learnt years ago, before she had been able to tell Naruto her feelings.
"Sakura, Lee is currently in a state of confusion, not knowing where he is meant to go, or what he's meant to do. If you want to stay close to him, and I suspect you do, then shouldn't you aim to be the one stable thing in his life?"
Sakura's green eyes widened at Hinata's last comment. She wondered, and not for the first time that night, when the white-eyed girl had gotten so wise, until she realised that it was because she had gone through the same situation before, though not as dramatic. Sakura considered what Hinata said for a few minutes before raising from her seat slowly.
"I'm…uh…"
Hinata smiled at her warmly, activating her Byakugan for a few seconds before returning her eyes to normal.
"Go. The other's are on their way back."
Sakura bowed slightly to thank Hinata for her help before turning and walked over the top of a snoring Kiba and Akamaru to get to the door.
"Sanzen happyaku nijuu ichi…sanzen happyaku nijuu ni…sanzen happyaku nijuu san…"
Sakura watched from the bushes as Lee continued his intense training in the empty field dozens of feet away, doing one-handed pushups while alternating hands. It took her a few moments before she noticed that he had covered himself with weights, but that didn't slow his pushups one bit as sweat dripped from his face onto the grass beneath him. She almost stood up to speak to him, until she saw the serious look on his face. It was difficult to read Lee's emotions when he was concentrating, but looking into his dark eyes Sakura could tell that Lee wasn't angry. It took a few moments before Sakura noticed that it wasn't just sweat hitting the ground.
He's…should I go and say something? Wait…that's what got us into this mess.
"Sanzen happyaku sanjuu…"
Taking care to not make any sudden movements, Sakura stood up slowly and walked over to a nearby tree that Lee had been striking earlier. She made it clear that wasn't going to interact with him as she put on her fighting gloves from her pocket and began punching the tree trunk. Out of the corner of her eyes, Sakura noticed that Lee had faltered slightly with his pushups as he heard her striking the tree. Using a small amount of chakra, a technique Lee had taught her, Sakura began to strike the tree harder, causing the tree bark to splinter under her fists. After a few minutes of practising without her paying any attention to him, Lee stood up from his exercises and walked over to her. He didn't have an angry look on his face, but he kept a serious visage as he stood beside her. Sakura didn't take notice of him, mixing up her punches with the occasional kick.
"Why are you here?" asked Lee in a neutral tone.
She didn't look at him while she struck the tree with her fists, "I came here to train. To strengthen my body and mind."
With a final strike to the tree, she turned and stared him straight in the eye with barely two feet between their faces.
"What did you come here for?" she asked while maintaining her stare, taking a large gamble.
She knew that Lee would never strike her unless it was during a training session, and that he didn't hate her.
Lee clenched his fists as he stared back at her, "I'm here for the same." "Bullshit. Why are you here?"
Lee was taken back by her swearing, but didn't understand what she was pressing him for.
"I…I'm here to work hard…"
Sakura saw that she was getting closer to what she wanted, but it required one more push. She took a step forward so that their faces were inches apart. Lee was taller than her, but under her forceful gaze he felt miniscule.
"I will only ask one more time. Why are you here?"
For a few moments they stood next to each other and stared at each other, neither willing to give any ground. Lee went to answer then stopped himself as he saw the intense gaze in Sakura's green eyes. For a split second he moved his eyes downward and broke the connection, but before he could say anything he felt a gloved hand on his chin, Sakura's fingers forcing his face up to look back at hers.
Her face broke into a soft smile, "Lee..."
"I don't want to be a failure."
As soon as he said it, Sakura felt her heart break as he reached up and removed her hand from his chin, taking a step back and turning around. Lee was not the type of person to push his troubles onto others, and made sure that Sakura couldn't see the tears streaming down his face.
"I…only wanted to…be a good…but now…"
With one motion, Sakura stepped forward and snaked her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly from behind, leaning her head on the top of his back. They had never interacted like that before, but that wasn't what Lee was thinking about at that moment. He could feel Sakura's grip on his waist and her breath on the back of his neck. Lee reached up and rubbed at his eyes, covering his bandages with moisture.
"He never got to see who I became…"
"He would have been proud of you" said Sakura, tightening her grip as she drew herself closer to him.
"I know I am."
They stood together for several moments, before Sakura peeled herself off him and stood back a step. Lee turned around slowly and smiled at his pink-haired companion.
"Th…thank you, Sakura-san. I…don't know what to say."
Sakura laughed softly, causing Lee to shake his head in confusion. To his surprise, she stepped forward and lightly pecked him on the cheek before walking back towards the village. Lee didn't move as he reached up and touched the part of his cheek she had kissed, feeling a warm yet tender sensation. He turned around slowly and watched her walk away, seeing her in a way that he hadn't expected before.
I don't understand this at all he thought as he jogged to catch up to her.
As the group crossed the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields, they stopped at the edge of a small river to recuperate. It would be harder going from then on, since they were entering the land of their enemy. They had let the Sound Jounin go almost two months ago, and by all rights he would have reached the Sound village long ago. Kakashi rolled out a map of the outlying regions as a few of the group looked over it with him. From their position the trackers of the group had indicated that the Sound Jounin had moved in a north-western direction from their current position. They had initially taken the Jounin's path, but now that they were in enemy territory that wasn't viable. Even though he was under the genjutsu when he left and Itachi assured them that the Jounin wouldn't believe he was being pursued, but they weren't willing to take any risks.
"What's the best route to take from here?" asked Shizune.
They began to look at out-of-the-way routes towards where they suspected the village to be. As they were laying out a small amount of food, Naruto and Hinata pulled Neji aside. He frowned as they brought him outside of earshot of the rest of the group, uncomfortable with the idea that there were things they wanted to keep secret from the others. Naruto looked at Hinata with a questioning look before she gave him a slight nod. He reached into his pocket and produced the scroll they had taken from the Uzu village.
"What is this?"
The couple smiled as Naruto passed the scroll to Neji, "I've spent a long time looking at my family's scroll, Neji. I have to confess, I have no idea what to make of it. But I know two things. First, I'm definitely not smart enough to understand these techniques. At least not for a few years."
He unravelled the scroll to a certain section and showed it to Neji. The elder Hyuuga frowned again as his white eyes ran over the symbols on the scroll.
"What is this?" he asked again, recognising a few words but not too many.
Hinata indicated to a symbol two-thirds down the track with a smile on her face.
"You know more about this then me, Neji-niisan."
Neji's eyes widened as he realised what she was talking about, taking the scroll gently from Naruto's hands and examining it carefully. He still didn't understand most of it, but what had taken Naruto and Hinata hours to deduce, took Neji three minutes.
"This…is similar to our…how the hell?"
"We don't know. But we wanted to make sure before showing you this."
Neji rolled up the scroll, "And you are just giving it to me?"
With a grin, Naruto nodded, "In a way. Well, consider it a loan. Your thing is more important than me keeping a family heirloom."
With a cocked head, Neji saw his blonde companion with a whole new light. He'd often considered Naruto a dropout, and even after he'd been shown that Naruto wasn't someone to mess with, he was still indifferent about him. But now he began to develop a different opinion about the clone-user.
"It would seem I misjudged you, Naruto."
The blonde chuckled as Neji pocketed the Uzumaki scroll. He put his arm around Hinata's shoulder, and squeezed it slightly.
"I had some help."
They turned at the same time as they heard Kakashi call for the group to start moving again. Neji bowed slightly his thanks to Naruto before turning to his cousin.
"Are you sure you want this, Hinata-sama? This is breaking with Hyuuga tradition."
She took a moment to tell Naruto to go on ahead as the group began to pack up. She reached down and took one of Neji's hands into hers, smiling as she grasped his bandaged fingers. It had been difficult for the two of them to connect since Suna; beyond the training field they were awkward around each other at the best of times. Hinata had forgiven Neji a long time ago, and had tried to get him to talk to her, but Neji hadn't responded, preferring to keep their relationship to the training field. She looked at his white eyes with hers, a feat that she hadn't been able to do before the Chuunin Exams.
"Neji-niisan, we are all that is left of the Hyuuga clan. I have thought about it for a while, and my father was right. I am not suited to be the head of the clan, but that's not a bad thing. Neji-niisan, you are a much better shinobi than I am. You were lost before, but I can tell that you are becoming the man that you were meant to be. Naruto and I will help you however you need to achieve this goal."
Not one for emotional displays, Neji smiled sadly as his cousin released his hand.
"I appreciate that, Hinata-sama. But…I…"
Seeing the look in her eyes, Neji knew that while she would understand his motivations, she would try to change them, and it had taken too long to set himself onto his current path. It was a huge step for him at that moment and for a time he decided to put aside his pride. It was a massive task for him in general, but one that he had no intention of failing at. While it wasn't particularly necessary, the symbolism of her and Naruto's action made all the difference in Neji's mind.
"…I'll think about what you've said. Thank you, Hinata-sama."
She smiled and let go of his hand before moving to join Naruto with the rest of the group. Neji watched as she began talking to the blonde with a warm smile on her face, smiling to himself as he considered how different life had become from a year ago. Lee came over and asked if he was ready to move, to which he nodded and shifted his sore shoulder muscles. He wanted to sit down and examine the scroll immediately, but he also knew that it wasn't the highest priority for the group. As they began to walk across the river, Neji remembered something Gai had told him at the hospital in Suna after the Second Exam, when Lee had nearly killed him defending Hinata.
I'm no longer a bird in a cage. I haven't been for a long time. But even so, the cage remains, waiting to trap me back inside at the worst time possible. With this…
The Land of Rice Fields was a strange place, though not so different from the Land of Fire before the fall of Konoha. They had avoided civilization altogether as they couldn't know who was a spy for the Sound or not, but as they continued to track the scents of the Sound Jounin they had only run into a single three-man patrol of Sound Genin. They had taken the Sound shinobi by surprise, but to their dismay they didn't know anything about the Konoha prisoners, though after a few hours under duress they were able to get a location on the Hidden Sound village. They left the three of them tied to a tree a reasonable distance away so as to not bring any attention on their group as they continued to move under the cover of darkness through the grasslands.
As they drew closer to the village their pace slowed, but they didn't encounter any more patrols as they reached the inner areas of the Land of Rice Fields. They ran past a small farming village before both Kiba and Shino stopped them abruptly while they were passing through a tree line. They pointed to a small rundown house in the middle of an open field, causing a few of the group to snort in amusement.
"That's their hideout?" asked Naruto, highly amused by the fact that they had been so cautious for something so small.
He ducked a millisecond after making the comment, causing the inevitable smack across his head to fall short. Lee was forced to reach forward and pull Sakura back as she fell to the ground. Kakashi indicated to the Hyuugas in the group, waiting for the two of them to active their doujutsu and scan the area. Neji leant over and whispered to his cousin, having a quiet conversation between themselves as they continued to scan the area. After several minutes they turned back to the group and deactivated their family technique.
"What is it?" asked Itachi as he saw the looks on their faces.
Neji looked at Hinata for a moment before turning back to the group, "It's…underground. The whole village is underneath the ground. It expands deep below, some five kilometres with lots of connecting rooms and areas."
They let the group consider what they had just said, but before they could ask the question they really wanted to know, Neji interrupted them.
"I asked Hinata-sama, and we've both seen the same thing. There must be some kind of safeguards in place that is obscuring our technique, but we can't see any people down there."
Next to Kakashi, Kiba frowned as he ran a greater amount of chakra to his nose.
"That can't be right. I smell a whole bunch of different scents down there."
Without a word Shino nodded in agreement and Akamaru barked softly. After a few minutes of discussion, through which Neji identified five additional entrances to the Hidden Village in the outlying areas, they decided that they would proceed with the attack. Though even with the intel they had, several of the group had expressed an interest in getting greater surveillance before going in.
"Every moment we stay here, we risk being detected" said Shizune, wanting to get underway as soon as possible.
They began discussing possible attack plans, as Shikamaru adopted his thinking pose while Hinata drew the other entrances on the map between them. After a few hours of not moving from their position, they decided that the best time to attack would be during the next morning, since time of day was meaningless underground. Shikamaru removed his hands from his pose at the same time as both Kakashi and Itachi came up with their own ideas.
They all spoke at the same time, before the two Jounin let the Nara heir speak first. They didn't want to admit it, but after the attack on the Uzu village Shikamaru had demonstrated himself as a better strategist then both of them put together, and when he was motivated it was impossible to beat him. The normally-lazy shinobi smoothed out the map before pulling out a pen and flicking it between his fingers.
"From the indications Neji and Hinata have told us, the tunnels that make up the pathways for the village are about three-people wide. By all accounts we've already taken care of their main force, but even if we haven't in those tunnels their numbers will be meaningless. This is a village designed for secrecy, not siege or raid. With the right compositions, I believe we can take the village by surprise, and cause enough chaos to find and evacuate our people, if they are in there."
After looking at the detailed map Neji had drawn for them, he put his pen to paper and began writing names next to the entrances. Without stopping, he waved over Naruto, who came over as quickly as he could.
"Naruto, how many Kage Bunshin can you create while still being at full fighting strength?"
The blonde considered the question for a moment, knowing that after the stern lecture he had gotten from Shizune earlier he couldn't use his newly named Blood Bunshin technique unless absolutely necessary, and that it wasn't always the best option either.
"And still be at my best? Probably…two thousand, give or take."
Shikamaru stopped in the middle of a character and looked at Naruto with a frown before turning back to his map.
"Freak" he muttered in bewilderment before writing down Naruto's name next to the entrance in front of them.
After a few more minutes, they called the whole group over to have a look at their plan. With a proud nod, Kakashi indicated for Shikamaru to tell everyone what they needed to hear.
He pointed to the main entrance with his pen, "Naruto, I need you to storm the main entrance. You don't need to win the battle, but I want you to use about two thousand clones. Try to draw as many of them out as possible, and engage as you will."
The blonde nodded his acknowledgement, but Shikamaru also pointed out that he needed Naruto in one of the group invading the village.
"We need to attack the village on five fronts. The army of clones will attack the main area, where the defence would be strongest, and where the most resistance would be. Since they are only clones, we can only gain from that field of battle."
He pointed to the small entrance two kilometres away from their position and the names written next to it, "This entrance is small and confined, leading into what appears to be training area. Itachi and Sasuke will attack from here, using your fire techniques and genjutsu you should be able to disable any possible civilian population and training shinobi. Sasuke, your brother will be in charge."
Both Uchiha brothers gave their acknowledgements, Sasuke indicating he had no problem taking his brother's orders. Back at the map, Shikamaru pointed to the eastern entrance shrouded by a lake and waterfall.
"This is another main entrance, but it leads into what I believe to be a warehouse or storeroom facility. Kiba, Sakura, Lee and Hinata will take this route. When underground the technique used to block the Byakugan shouldn't be in effect, so Hinata will direct the group and Lee will be the leader."
The younger Hyuuga tensed at the idea, but before she could say anything she could feel Naruto's grip on her shoulder, the blonde unable to contain his frustration.
"Shikamaru, I want to be part of Hinata's group."
Before he could say any more though, Shikamaru stared at him with cold eyes, "Naruto, we have to make sure the groups are as effective as possible, and your strength is needed in the next group."
"But…" he stopped himself from saying more as he took a look at Hinata's smiling face.
With a slow nod, he squeezed her shoulder and apologised to Shikamaru for interrupting. He still wasn't comfortable with the idea, but knew that she would be able to take care of herself. In serious doubt, she still wore the tag around her neck with the Hiraishin seal on it, so he knew he could flash to her at any time. With that out of the way, Shikamaru pointed to the northern entrance.
"Naruto I need you here with Ino, Chouji and Shizune-sensei, who will be in charge. You'll want to flood several tunnels with water techniques before proceeding down this junction. Just to clarify, Naruto I want you there for combat strength, same goes for you Chouji. You are to protect the other two while they do their techniques."
The shinobi mentioned gave their acknowledgements, Ino and Shizune asking Shikamaru to give them a map of what areas to flood. Chouji reached into his pocket before producing a brown and black pill in a small pouch, handing it to Naruto. He wasn't an expert in the Akimichi pill making, but from his family's scroll he was able to make a more enhanced soldier pill.
"What is this for?" asked Naruto.
Chouji wrapped up the pouch and placed it in his hand, "Just in case, Naruto-kun. I think you'll need it more than me."
He was still suspicious, but still thanked the large shinobi and pocketed the pill. Shikamaru coughed slightly to get their attention and pointed at the southern entrance that was the closest to their current position.
"This is where Shino, Kakashi-sensei and I will go. Kakashi-sensei will be in charge of our group, and our goal is the hardest."
Shino gave no visual acknowledgement, but they all knew that he was mentally preparing himself, and Kakashi simply shrugged at the plan. Shikamaru hated the idea of sending his friends into battle, so it was only a natural thing to send himself into the hardest job.
He pointed to a hastily drawn picture near the entrance his group would be going through, "We are going to hunt down, and try to capture their leader."
With that declaration he rolled up the map and told the group to prepare themselves. They all went about discussing with their leaders what their plan of attack was, as Naruto sat down and tried to relax himself for the massive chakra output he would need to put out. As Shikamaru left to refill his water canister, he saw Neji walking up to him slowly.
"You didn't mention my name, Shikamaru."
The Nara heir waved at him to join him and be quiet, both of them kneeling down so as to not drawn suspicion from the rest of the group.
"I've told the others that you will out keeping an eye on our backs, making sure the entrances are clear."
"But that's not the plan."
"No. The last entrance, the one directly west of us. I…"
"You want me to confirm if any of our people are there" interjected Neji, understanding why he was going alone.
If their people were dead, then it was best that someone who had already lost their parents to discover them. It was a harsh truth, but of the entire group Neji understood his role best. He was also one of the strongest of the Genin, though they hadn't tested each other in a few months.
"You still plan to go through with it?" asked Shikamaru, aware of what Neji was planning to do before their attack.
The elder Hyuuga nodded slowly, "It won't incapacitate me, or diminish my strength. I…if there is a chance I'm going to die…"
Shikamaru stopped him there, he knew what troubled Neji, and that it wasn't his place to pry.
"Come on, we'd best get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day" said Shikamaru, praying that his plan wasn't going to get his friends killed.
There was too much riding on it.
Author's Note:
I must admit, I regret killing off Gai. Every time I write about him now, I feel guilty and wish I hadn't. But such is the reality of life; things rarely work out the way we want them to. For anyone curious, the Japanese that Lee is saying is number counting. It's 3820 onwards. I speak a little Japanese, so I'm sneaking it in. The next chapter will be delayed by a little bit, since my Japanese Exam is next week.
Please review and tell me what you think. I try to reply to each review, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.
Anime Spotlight: Full Metal Panic. This is a very interesting Mech-style character driven story that has two seasons and one offshoot. The offshoot is hilarious, and the main story is fascinating. A military teenager is tasked with protecting a girl who has the secrets of their Mechs hidden inside her mind, but she is unaware of it. He's completely oblivious to social constructs, and like the classic tsundere character she beats the stuffing out of it for it. Definitely one that I recommend, and one worth seeing, if nothing else than to watch the interactions between Sousuke and Chidori.