44. Welcome back again, a full chapter this time. What I have planned is anti-climatic, but the setups in the previous chapters should have already gotten this scene ready. After all, since I've promised a happy ending, I need to continue thinking of how to make the story end cleanly.
"Sasuke, let's head back home now." Itachi, still henged as Kakashi, dispels the Raikiri he had been preparing. The younger Uchiha looks concerned at his older brother but obeys nonetheless.
Itachi's distant smile is awkward on Kakashi's face, his one eye already away from the training ground with his crow. "Akatsuki has arrived in the vicinity. We have to go back to the others."
Alarm spreads across Sasuke's face before he hurries to gather up their scant possessions, towels and water bottles, plus onigiri wrappers.
"Don't run," Itachi soothes, "they will not attack now. We must not let them know that we know. I have sent my crow ahead of us."
As controlled as Sasuke knows he should be, he's also worried since he knows this is a test. To know that every moment that his brother is out of the watchful eye of someone else, he is not enough to vouch for Itachi's loyalty.
"But what if they have seen us, nii-san? We really should hurry…" Itachi ruffles his hair in response, the action as fluid as ever even though Sasuke has grown over a foot since the day Itachi left.
It's the kind of affection that Kakashi-sensei rarely shows, but none of the Suna residents would know that, least of all the Akatsuki members flying in the sky on a white bird.
"They would not attack us in broad daylight. Even if Deidara suddenly felt like it, Sasori will have a plan that they will end up sticking to." Sasuke walks just a fraction faster before Itachi says it in a soft voice, a crack in his pretence, "Trust me."
The younger Uchiha bumps into his brother's side, affirming that trust. Itachi smiles and picks him up, slinging him over his shoulders in a show of strength. "But we can certainly hurry home to dinner."
He leapt to the nearest roof, startling the baker who had just brought out a new batch of bread to display. Running across the solid rock that many Suna buildings were made of, the geometric shapes as if they were cut out of mountains in the desert of sand – each contact of his sandals throws up dust.
"Nii-chan," Sasuke murmurs over the sound of the wind, "They've been circling the village for a while." And he feels Itachi's grip tighten minutely, imagining the frown to his face if it had not been a henge over his skin.
"Crow has already alerted the rest of them, so the Lord Kazekage must also be watching for movements. It will be alright."
The guest building begins to come into view, dwarfed by the much larger Suna Kazekage Tower. For a moment, Sasuke activates his Sharingan, scanning over the blips in the building to find the bright white splash at the topmost window.
Gaara and Naruto, after all, have the same splash, so it's easy enough to find.
"He's not alone." A thought that's always assuring, and they can see the Akatsuki members in the distance. They're going to the cave out in the desert for the night.
That cave was already scouted out by both of them, Itachi tampered with the structures to include a little extra and Sasuke mapped out the quickest possible exits. With a little bit of luck, they would be able to tie down one or both of their would-be kidnappers.
Sasuke waits on Sakura's reply when brother has finished his preliminary report. Lord Jiraiya, who taught Naruto is lounging on their couch, with the same faux casualness he detests in Kaka-sensei.
Naruto listens intently but says nothing, his face oddly pensive. When he thinks about it, Sasuke also wonders a little more as to the logic behind sending Naruto with them to Suna.
Even with Jiraiya-sama, that they left unguarded as they are is a poor move when they factor in that the village itself doesn't fully trust Suna.
Sasuke can tell that much. They cannot trust the Suna infrastructure to save Naruto if he gets kidnapped, be it their willingness to endanger their own people, or even their ability to fight back.
After all, Gaara is still only one person, and the original invasion by the Sand went terribly wrong from the start.
"Sakura-chan…" his words raise into the sound of a question, though he knows she is thinking. She's thinking very hard about the possibilities they can pursue and for a moment, Sasuke is afraid of what she will –
Her green eyes flicker to him and there is a smile.
Then her eyes are on his nii-chan who made the report, docile as a lamb. "Itachi-san, then you should go and save them tonight, don't you think?"
From the corner of his vision, Sasuke can see that all the other adults in the room have tensed up at her suggestion. His brother, however, clearly doesn't care about their suspicions. He replies guilelessly in the manner Sasuke has grown to both love and hate.
His 'next time, otouto' voice. "If that is your decision, Sakura-san, and Hokage-sama will stand by it." No doubt, a power play of his teammate's. Sakura has always been more flexible when it comes to authority and power and the whole notion of 'putting the Leaf first'.
Sasuke doesn't object because it's obvious that everyone else will suspect his nii-chan to death.
"Sakura-chan, will you come with Itachi-nii and me?" so he sidles his way in, a little wiggle and a foot in the door. A step, a step into the endless darkness. Saying it with the blind devotion of a child and watching as sensei is the first to soften.
After all, while Jiraiya-sama and Tenzo-san cannot see him that way, Kakahi-sensei literally watched him from his pre-teens. He is young, but not that young. Merely an illusion of innocence that all adults see in their children.
"Sasuke, I think it's better if you two stay and guard Gaara. Jiraiya-sama and I will head out to handle the Akatsuki members with Itachi." A considerate and gentle objection, the one they need first to show that the half opposing their plans are on the weaker footing.
Naruto is the one who chimes in this time, the three of them have been together long enough to understand what they are really trying to protect.
"Sensei, that's just stupid. They can't protect me and Gaara at the same time."
The blond is crass, but always honest. Jiraiya-sama sits up to whack his own disciple on the head, chiding him even though Naruto is not apologetic, mouthing off that, "Ero-sennin, I gotta call a kunai a kunai right? You're here to protect me, that's what baa-chan told Sakura-chan. You can't just leave me. It's not even like the Akatsuki members are hot women, why are you going?"
Blending the right amount of informality into stiffness and that way with people. Since Sakura is too smooth and that makes people uneasy and he's too cold to otherwise show warmth. They lucked out in having Naruto to complement them, his rough and fuzzy edges.
"It's okay, Naruto-chan," Sakura smiles, playing the devil's advocate. Their advocate. "If Jiraiya-sama is able to eliminate the threat, then you are safe wherever you are in the world. Besides, you're not under threat today. They have many more Jinchuuriki that they have to get a hold of before they can get you, as Itachi has already explained."
To him, it's odd that Sakura lies with such ease. He's ninety per cent sure that Itachi wasn't the one who told her specifics of Bijuu extraction. His nii-chan would not have information like that since he would have told that to the Lady Hokage to reduce the suspicion upon him.
There are too much thinking and too many mind games being played concurrently. "Then Sakura-chan, you aren't going to the cave tonight? What of the cave-in planned?"
"Since they are volunteering, then there is no reason for us to object. It works that we can leave Itachi safe here, then. In case we fail, we will not blow his cover either."
He frowns because they didn't press their advantage and only retreated. His brother only nods, agreeing to the plan, "Very well. Then Tenzo-san and I will consult the Kazekage on the finalised defence plan for the aerial bomb. I will send Karasu with you."
At many points, Sasuke is not sure if brother's passiveness is the best solution to the deadlock. His quiet deference makes them wary but aggression would also make them concerned. It is a problem with no solution.
Sakura claps her hands together. "Karasu will lead Jiraya-sama, sensei and I. We will plan to make contact with them at nightfall. Itachi can see and read our lips with the crow, but I don't expect that the conversation will be anything to crow about. He is mainly to watch in case the Iwa bomber makes a break for us."
The three of them share a small smile at her deliberate pun, the unappreciative adults do not notice or do not laugh.
Her voice brooks no argument, and no one will question her decision now since they've already gone too far. "Naruto, Sasuke, you two are Gaara's primary guards. Tenzo will take the puppeteer if he escapes from us because he's somewhat immune to the poisons, but from our understanding, he's less mobile. Gaara will need help to stall the bomb if he has to defend the village, Naruto you know him best. Itachi will focus on watching us and alerting you all to what to prepare. It's about an hour's run, assume less than that by flight."
It's a gamble, as with most of the things. She supposes since this is going to be a negotiation, things are eventually meant to be safer. She's the homebody medic. The planner. Tsunade-sama will scold her for leaving Tenzo behind.
Still, she cannot chance Lord Jiraiya having some kind of secret mission to kill Sasuke's brother. She trusts that Tenzo is more reserved. In another better time, she would have felt safer bringing Itachi and Tenzo, but Sakura is almost certain that the Toad Sage is here to watch Itachi rather than protect Naruto.
They left Naruto within Suna for long enough. A calculated move to ensure that nothing goes off in the final portion of the plan.
Itachi will ask Gaara at a more polite juncture if he could accept Sasori back. She's only bringing enough people to prevent them from attacking tomorrow morning. As long as they can set back their plans to another cycle, there will be enough time to get them to talk.
"By your leave then," Jiraiya-sama gestures at the door, "Haruno-hime." His purposeful suffix in a casual though not joking manner. What is it supposed to be?
She nods, her gaze sweeping over the others that she wants to protect. Naruto and Sasuke are looking confident, though Sasuke's lips are lightly pursed. Itachi and Tenzo have faces set into their most comfortable masks, geniality.
"Sensei?"
His lone eye crosses from Itachi to her when she says his title in a voice full of uncertainty. "Mm, yes, Sakura-kun. I was just wondering if the planned cave-in was something that could be remotely triggered."
She looks to Sasuke and asks because she knows Itachi planned it – and because Sasuke also knows what to say.
"Nope, sensei. I can't trigger it. I just made the cave less stable by widening the internal stress points. Heating the rock causing unequal expansion, something like that. I'd recommend leaving when the first rock falls."
There's something twisting in his gaze and it makes Sakura want to reach out. He's afraid of a cave in.
"Right. Then it's better if we leave earlier and start negotiations earlier. Can you program Karasu to warn us?"
Itachi summons his crow for Sasuke to bind to. Sakura would ask another time but having a bird with a Sharingan eye is handy in upgrading their abilities.
"Then Karasu will lead you into the desert and help you enter the cave without triggering the traps that were originally set."
They make it in slightly under an hour to the stone outcrop. Karasu has stopped on a rocky ledge, looking at them with a keen eye before she can feel a genjutsu settling over them. She doesn't resist and then Itachi is there, pointing for them and speaking of the directions to find the cave without disrupting the illusion trap set with seals.
Behind her, Jiraiya-sama makes a sound of surprise and interest. "Genjutsu seals?"
"There's a concentration of natural chakra in the cave, good for training and thus bijuu extraction. When we first set up the cave, I anchored my illusion to the natural well. The seals were done by someone else after me. I do not know who the organisation contracted – but if they are not one of our current members, they were probably dealt with."
The seals master presses a hand to his chest in a gesture of agony, "Ah, and we are already so rare…"
Itachi points at a shadow, "These are things we put into the illusion to make people move away from the safe route. If you jump back, you will land on the trigger seal for kunai in the walls to be launched. Sasori installed those, so there will be poison. Not to mention, the sound will give you away. Follow the shadows and you will be safe."
The crow's genjutsu wears off and Jiraiya reaches out to Sakura, to pull her back and stop her from going in immediately.
She turns away from the crow who looks back at them. "Jiraiya-sama, Itachi can read your lips through the crow. So I'd advise you to refrain if you want everyone to truly be safe."
He nods and schools his face, replying along a different wavelength, that "Your reflexes are not so hardboiled. We will follow you then."
She cannot convince them to trust Itachi without giving Konan and Nagato away. So that is one secret she will have to divulge soon, she can only use his suspicion to their favour for now.
Which for one means highlighting the potential threat he could be if he understood how deeply Konoha suspected him. Sakura knows this is old news to Itachi, but Jiraiya doesn't know that.
Suspect? Naturally. But know? No. She would laugh since nothing really is for certain.
The illusion settles on them slowly, a finely crafted one with a fiery torch far inside, as if they were not SSS-ranked criminals hiding out. But it is meant for wanderers, not those who are searching out for SSS-ranked criminals.
A shadow flits across the wall and she moves towards it, against all her instincts, pretending it is curiosity.
Jiraiya and Kakashi behind her take time to unfreeze and follow.
There are three more repetitions of this game. Not long enough to make people suspicious, only meant to make people cautious. The walls of the hallway narrow to a bottleneck, which drops off into a precipice.
A fall that could break someone's neck, so they chakra stick to the wall and scale down into the trench where the genjutsu can wear off. She prepares an area of false darkness for them to prevent the blue glow from giving them away, and they use chakra to soften their steps as they enter the main cavern.
It's dark, and uninhabited, which confuses her for a moment before Karasu's glowing red eye catches her attention. "There is no fire, but they are in the far edge from you. Deidara is asleep, Sasori is not," comes the warning via a mild genjutsu.
She doesn't spare the time to differentiate the auditory hallucination since it is the best that they can work with. The two others with her have received the same information, whether or not they trust it is debatable.
She mouths to Karasu and gets Itachi to transmit her message. "Sensei will grab Sasori with a Head Hunter no Jutsu. I will restrain the bombmaker. Once that is done, we can have a little more light in the cave. Sensei can see with his Sharingan, Karasu will help Jiraiya-sama if things go awry, I have enough chains to restrain them. We don't need them to know that we have a Sannin unless it's for bargaining."
The plan goes very smoothly since none of the two captured ninjas had expected to be found in their hideout.
By the time Sakura's chains have wound around each of the Iwa ninja's limbs, sensei has buried the puppetmaster neck-deep in rock. Then the ninja in her hold curses out loud as he wakes up and she nearly laughs.
"Sasori, what the hell are you doing? Sleep puppeting?"
The blue glow of her chains illuminates the area and the puppetmaster's growly reply comes, steady and without panic. "That's a Konoha ninja restraining you, Deidara. I would never use chain strings so thick. How wasteful."
She smiles tilting her head to be able to look at the man buried into the ground, head beside sensei's sandals. "But I am not losing chakra passively." She extends another chain out to reach around the ninja's neck. Just in case.
Her chain reports with surprise that there's a mechanical joint inside. "You will snap my neck with chakra?" comes his curious question. She moves the Iwa-nin a little further away before allowing her chain to lift the piece off.
"There is no need if you are restrained. But neither sensei nor I expected that you would have a puppet body outside. Will you come out, or do you intend to fight us still?"
She looks away for a moment as her chains spear a little white clay bug that was sailing through the air.
"The cave is not stable, Deidara-san. I would recommend you not detonate anything unless you want to be buried alive."
Sasori climbs out of the shell, revealing a youthful face out of place until the light catches on his wooden joints.
"They want something other than to kill us. It will not hurt to listen a while, Deidara. The girl holding you is Haruno Sakura. The medic Itachi was sent to recruit for our organisation."
Deidara is like them, blindsided by the fact that Sasori is not the portrayed grumpy old man. "Danna, you're actually a puppet." The dangerous edge to their encounter is gone.
"Tell us. What is your deal? You have come to join us after all? Itachi is with you in Suna to aid in the capture of both the Ichibi and the Kyuubi."
The blond looks up for a moment before he pales, "You're not gonna like hearing this, but danna, that's Hatake Kakashi behind you, un."
"I am here to ask you to return to Suna, Akasuna no Sasori. Since it would help me to not have to fight or kill you. And Chiyo-sama would be happy to see you."
"The old hag is alive? And she didn't even attempt to kill the Hatake?"
Sakura reaches a hand out to the puppetman, asking rhetorically, "How could she?" The medic may not be following the conversation entirely, but she can get the rough gist.
Sasori takes her hand. "If Suna will take me, then I will return. What about Deidara?"
There's a trace of amusement in Sakura's voice, as the Suna ninja's question tapers into stony deference.
"He only wants to run away from Akatsuki. If you put in a word for him, Suna would take him. Itachi is ours and he will not chase you, even if your Leader-sama orders it."
"And if Iwa demands for him?" comes the question and Sakura realises that Itachi was wrong about the Artist pair. Konan was right.
"You can protect him," she says it and means it, her chains retracting and allowing the bomb maker to rub his sleepy eyes.
"Will you come with me to Suna?" a hesitant question in the shared darkness.
But Deidara is smiling, a grin from the corner of his mouth which reminds Sakura of Naruto. "If you're gonna protect me, sure, un! I can't believe Itachi was a turncoat. You're sure he's not out to kidnap you, pinkie?"
Sakura shakes her head. "Not when his younger brother is so close by. He would never hurt us."
The Iwa nin reaches out into the ground to retrieve Sasori's puppet body. "Sure, if you say so. If he flashes his dratted Sharingan at me though, don't blame me if I bomb him, un."
Sasori re-enters his puppet body while remarking mildly that, "You will blow your face off before you scratch the Uchiha."
Deidara rolls his eyes, waving off the criticism – they go well together, an easy of companionship that Sakura can respect. "Whatever you say, danna. Not like you did too hot against someone with just one Sharingan."
The puppetmaster's voice is back to a growl, "Shut up."
Sensei cuts the building tension with his fake laugh. "I hate to spoil this moment, but we should leave before the cave collapses."
Deidara pulls a little white clay bird out of his pocket before returning it to size. "Why don't we collapse the cave and leave instead? We can leave through the top, then."
He flicks a little white spider to crawl up the wall. "It'll be fine unless you have a whole team waiting in the shadows."
Sakura hums. "We have one more, but I'm sure your art piece can handle him." And just as predicted, the same kind of smile, full of pride. "Of course, un!" her heart aches just a little.
"Then, Jiraiya-sama, please. Let us leave now."
Sasori makes a whistling sound from inside his puppet body. "A Sannin sent to deal with us. What an honour."
The white-haired man gives her an unamused look even as he walks over, allowing his geta shoes to clack across the floor. "Of course. I can't leave just anyone to protect my disciple the Jinchuuriki, can I, gentlemen."
The spider explodes a hole in the wall at that moment, and the cave begins to shudder.
Deidara and sensei are the first to get on, then Jiraya-sama. Sakura waits for Sasori to clamber on, puppet and all before she gets on. Maybe she is sentimental, so she says it, "Chiyo-sama may be happy enough to teach me the ultimate healing technique she promised."
A wishful thought and an expression of that love.
Karasu caws out loud for the first time, making the Iwa-nin start in shock, escaping out into the night through the side hole. The bird is piloted it seems subconsciously – swerving from side to side to avoid debris.
Sakura extends her chains to whip away the rocks in their straight-line path and they're out of the cave, safe.
"Thanks, uh, chain girl."
Sensei cocks his head to look at her, but she only laughs. It's the one time that a negotiation has gone smoothly. Even with Zabuza or Mei, or Konan or Itachi, she hasn't felt quite so safe.
"I'm Sakura. Glad to meet you, clay brother."
Things will go well. Like this now, both Naruto and Itachi are safe. Therefore, the ones important to her are safe.
As promised, the full chapter. Thanks for coming by, I hope that you all are safe wherever you are in lockdown/quarantine or otherwise. Do leave a review to tell me how you're doing :)
Wishing everyone well,
Kayo.
