A/N: It's gotten to the point that I'm so excited to post chapters again. Having a concrete upload schedule is amazing! Anyway, here's the next one! Also, backstory (thankfully, not the mother fuckload of backstory yet... that's saved for another chapter).
Chapter 4: Friendly Company
In the coolness of the night, Sakura shivered under her cloak.
"You're still cold?" Tsunade turned to glance over at her, a worried look on her face.
"A bit," the girl confessed, clutching the cup closer to her chest, "but I'll be fine. I've braved worse."
"Ah, that you have." Tsunade nodded solemnly, remembering that past event. "To this day, I still can't understand how a girl of your age could be so scrawny."
"Blame the Uchihas," Sakura laughed mirthlessly. "Between their taxes and my father's business taking a dive when the border between Fire and Sand closed, the only things eating more than I on a regular basis were the village mutts."
The older blonde woman clucked her tongue, gently wrapping an arm around the teenager and pulling her closer to huddle against her frame.
"Good thing you found me when you did, though." Sakura continued, sending her mentor a grateful grin. "Had you taken a day longer, I probably would have died."
"Of the animals?"
"Or starvation, whichever won out first." She shrugged.
Tsunade chuckled, leaning in to rest her chin on the crown of her head.
As much of an eyesore as it was, Sakura adored her hair. Once a bright strawberry-blonde combination of her parents' hair, over the years it had become a bright, natural cherry blossom pink, much like the ethereal blooms she was named for. She'd always kept it at an impractical length before she 'went missing' in hopes of catching the affections of the prince - who'd been rumored to love long-haired women once upon a time ago - much like every other preteen and teenage girl six years before. At that time, a girl with long, pinkish hair was either seen as an oddity or a beauty.
Luckily, she'd grown out of it, preferring it to fall at the top of her breasts instead of going towards her knees. They'd once thought of dying it to hide her identity, should they travel to any major village in Fire, but when they tried dying it blonde, the dye somehow turned her hair a sick shade of orange-brown and wouldn't wash out for two weeks. Colored contacts were out of the question, as well, since they were constantly on the move and didn't always have access to clean water and sterilizing supplies. Magic was out, too, as she was still learning and found it very tiring to keep up a ruse for too long. The most she could do was a week with her energy levels.
Even if they were 'rebels' against the Crown, they weren't exactly miracle workers.
Then again, once she was able to gain a copy of Tsunade's forehead seal, just about anything would become possible for her. It was what they'd been training for ever since she was fourteen. Every day, she grew closer to that absolute power.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed as a scout approached them in the nook of camp.
"My lady, forgive the intrusion, but the Gamma Squadron is approaching." He bowed to her.
She startled, letting go of Sakura and getting to her feet. "Bring them to the Strategy Tent."
She turned to her mentee with an apologetic grimace. "Sakura-"
"Go ahead." She smiled. "I'll join you in a few minutes."
Temari trudged towards her assigned tent, collapsing to the soft fabric bottom with a drawn-out groan.
"Sweet relief," she murmured into her bedroll.
Noh stifled a giggle as she knelt beside her, setting up her side of the tent. "Don't forget, we have to check in with Tsunade."
Temari mumbled something unintelligible, but she soon pushed herself up and set up her own bedroll.
Noh looked up when Karin hobbled in, supported by Hinata.
"Ah, you're looking well." The medic exclaimed, getting to her feet.
She took the lady's hand. "How are you feeling, Lady Hyuuga?"
"I'm feeling just fine, thank you so much." She gave the woman a polite smile. "And please, call me Hinata. Lady Hyuuga was the name my mother took."
Noh nodded, turning to Karin. "How's your back holding up?"
"It'll be better after a good night's sleep," she replied with a wince.
Temari turned to face her. "As long as it's not infected, and as long as you don't have big bubbles of pus, I think you'll be good."
She glanced over to Noh. "Right?"
"Of course." She gave a firm nod. "Be careful, maybe sleep on your stomach for tonight, and we'll check on it in the morning."
"Glad to see your party still in one piece," Tsunade greeted as they stepped into the tent. Noh waved at Sakura, who sat at Tsunade's right, and the girl grinned in response.
"It wasn't easy, especially since they seem to have suddenly increased their troops." She replied, taking a seat. "It was even harder this evening, since they seem to be specifically looking for anyone matching Hinata's description."
"What for?" Sakura demanded, eyes wide. "Is it because we didn't leave a body?"
"Oh, no, the 'death' slowed them down," Noh shook her head, "but when they went to sift through the rubble, the fact that we didn't leave any trace of Hinata's 'remains' tipped them off to something suspicious."
Said heiress winced a little at the mention, but she kept her hands folded demurely in her lap, not portraying her inner turmoil.
"And how is Karin?" Tsunade asked, thankfully changing the subject. "She's resting in the medical tent right now, yes?"
"Yes, she is." Noh nodded. "Her back is still badly burned, but thankfully, they don't look to be third-degree like we first thought they were. She's been managing."
"Thank Kami," Sakura breathed. "It wouldn't bode well for us if we lost one of our best."
"No, it definitely wouldn't." Tsunade agreed with a frown. "I assume you got the news?"
"About Troops 9 and 12? Of course." Noh mirrored her face, folding her arms across her chest. "Such a tragic, senseless waste of human life."
"I shouldn't have stationed them so close to the village," Tsunade said, shaking her head bitterly. "I hear it was practically target practice."
"Mother, you shouldn't blame yourself." Sakura placed a gentle hand on the older woman's arm.
"No, this time, I should." The older woman retorted, her fingers curling into a tight fist. "I knew we would try to get Hinata out, and I still decided to tempt fate by stationing them close by. This... this massacre... this is my fault."
A/N: Hooray, our heroes are united!
Also, just a quick note: If you hate certain main characters/pairings, then please do me a favor and just PM me about your complaints! I'm here for you to hate on... in PMs only.
Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys later!
