A/N: Whoa, almost forgot to post today. Sorry! The first of several times you'll see the codenames in action! Enjoy!
Chapter 6: On the Move
Noh yawned, cracking her back as she stepped out of the trees.
Temari winced from behind her. "How the heck can you stand to do that?"
"It's a bad habit, yes, but it's satisfying." The brunette responded with a smile. "Anyways, we've done our session, and now we need to start packing again."
"Aw, really?" The girl sighed, looking longingly at one of the lunch packs still beside the firepit.
Noh caught her gaze and nodded. "Go ahead and eat. I'll take care of the rest."
Temari gave her a grateful look, heading for the pit.
Noh looked around, squinting at the skyline.
"Aha, there it is." She murmured, seeing a far-off billow of smoke in-between the trees. "They're catching up faster than I'd like."
She turned to see Temari eating a loaf of bread with some cheese and meat stuffed into it.
Kami, this is the third time in two weeks, she sighed to herself. She shook her head. "No. I mustn't bring her into this. We have to run."
Quickly, she drenched the still-smoldering embers with water, taking a stick and spreading it around.
Temari looked up. "Are they coming?"
Noh paused for a second before nodding. "Yes. We need to hurry."
The young woman swore quietly, stuffing the last of her makeshift sandwich in her mouth before standing, brushing off the crumbs. She gathered both of their packs, waiting for the medic to finish masking their campsite.
"Ready?" She asked, handing the pack to her.
"Yes. Let's go."
Sakura's eyes narrowed as she heard hoofbeats.
"Iris," she called quietly in warning.
"Already ahead of you." The blonde woman nodded, leading the group deeper into the trees.
Hinata covered her mouth in fear, and Karin gently placed a hand on her wrist.
"C'mon," she said lowly, handing her a cloak.
"But... but your back..."
"Leave it." Karin ignored the twigs brushing against the back of her shirt. "Just put it on."
Reluctantly, the young woman took it, wrapping it around herself. It was warm, even in the summer sun. It smelled vaguely of some kind of medicine, and she stared guiltily at Karin every time the hem of her shirt revealed a bit of her still-tender back.
The group stilled in a clump of trees where the grass grew thick and tall, waiting for the soldiers to pass them by.
Sure enough, the hoofbeats grew louder and louder as the king's soldiers rode past, looking regal in their crimson garb and silvery armor. Their horses looked well-kept, too, with armor pieces that gleamed in the sun and full manes and tails.
Sakura peeked over the top of a tree to see the last of the soldiers go by.
She nodded to Tsunade, who instructed the group to lay low and follow her through the brush.
They traveled about a mile this way, stopping whenever they heard someone coming. Finally, after about an hour, they came across a clearing with tents and a firepit.
Tsunade looked alarmed. "Turn to the left," she hissed in a low whisper. "Soldiers."
The group nodded, and they cut sharply to the left of their original path.
Sakura couldn't help but stay farther behind to listen to two men who'd stopped by the trees to get some water and chat.
"Man, I'm getting kinda tired of chasing them," one was saying. He had brown hair and unnervingly-wide black eyes. The standard Konoha military headband (with the kingdom's symbol of course) was strapped tightly to his forehead. "I mean, we don't even have any good leads. For all we know, they've already gotten to the border or something."
"They wouldn't dare go out of the country with no identification," another remarked, almost boredly. His unruly silver hair stuck up in almost gravity-defying spikes. His headband slanted to cover his left eye, while his other one was the same black as the first one. "Well, it would be unwise to leave the country anyway. Our officers would catch them before they even stepped a foot outside."
"I- I guess you're right," the first one laughed a bit sheepishly, taking another sip of water.
The second one watched the treeline, eye narrowed.
Sakura froze, ducking down slowly. "Dammit! Did he see me?"
The second one didn't move until the first put a hand on his shoulder. "Kakashi-senpai? You okay?"
"Just fine," was the reply as he gulped down his water. "Just... wary."
"I highly doubt that Riot members would be around here," Yamato chuckled, refilling his cup.
Kakashi slowly lowered the cup from his lips, giving him a deadpan stare. "Need I remind you that the prince's bride-to-be is missing?"
The man quieted, cowed by the man's point.
"We have to be on high alert everywhere," he continued, sharp eye scanning the area. "We mustn't leave one stone unturned in case the wretched snakes are embedded between the rocks, ready to strike. If we don't kill them, they will undoubtedly kill us first."
Yamato nodded, sparing a glance towards their temporary rest stop. "We'd probably get back to the others... I think the horses have rested."
"Yes."
At once, both of them began walking back to the other riders, and Sakura slowly slunk away into the shadows of the trees.
"Violet, what were you doing?" Noh gently chided, taking her arm and guiding her through the woods. "Iris-sama was getting worried about you. She thought you'd been captured!"
"Sorry, sorry, I was... eavesdropping." She gave an apologetic grimace. "The Uchihas have their soldiers on high alert for us. It won't be easy for us to slip away."
"Yes, I understand, but... please, let one of us know when you stay behind next time." Noh nodded to her, finally catching up with the rest of the group.
The medic gave Tsunade a look, and the woman simply clucked her tongue, bringing Sakura into her arms for a tight embrace.
"Did you at least find out anything significant?" Temari asked dryly.
Sakura gave her a half-hearted glare and a harder-than-usual nudge with an elbow. "Actually, I found out that the king has sent his troops to be on high alert. All borders of Fire are most likely crawling with them. There's... essentially no out of the country."
She sent a sympathetic glance to Temari as she spoke. "That means... there's no easy way to get you home. I'm sorry."
There was a moment of silence in the group. A few people turned to look at Temari with bated breath, quietly anticipating some kind of reaction.
Temari herself looked deep in thought for a minute, as if the news had somehow numbed something in her brain that she couldn't seem to grasp.
Tsunade sighed deeply, resting a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Geranium, please, don't take it too hard. We want to get you home, we really do. But... this wouldn't be the right time. And if you weren't already ready to return, well..."
Temari suddenly snorted, folding her arms across her chest. "Did you think that I'd have been ready to border-jump to Suna anyway? I wanna drag those tyrants down whether I die trying or not. I'm staying."
The group was caught off-guard, but a grin spread across Sakura's face, and she reached up and waited for Temari to clasp her hand in hers, squeezing tightly for a second before letting go. For a moment, the pinkette was reminded of beaming cerulean eyes and a wide, boyish smile before she let go.
"That's what I was hoping to hear," she replied. With a fierce determination, she pointed deeper into the woods. "Now let's move on. We have to be at the rendezvous point before dark."
A/N: In case it wasn't that obvious:
Iris - Tsunade
Violet - Sakura
Geranium - Temari
Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
