November 3rd – that same night

Exhaustion was crippling them. Naruto could feel his teammates ply under the weight of fatigue, fear and weariness. They had lost one team member. Considering the harsh battle they had just come out, it was a miracle most of them had survived. But still…

Seasoned ANBU had reached their limits more often than not. The guerilla warfare the Syndicate forced them into was nothing new to them, but leading a coordinated attacks on such a large scale with stretched lines of supply and back-up was not something they had had to do since the last ninja war. Naruto fared better than them, thanks to the sealed Kyuubi inside him. Funny how the tailed-beast who caused despair in his early life was now his best insurance in tough situations. Well, not really funny… maybe just surprising… But even ten Kyuubis could not protect him from the sight of dying men, and from the butchery ninjas were capable of. Was the fight for peace really worth all this suffering out there? he wondered.

Slowly, they made their way through the dense forest toward the camp where the temporary headquarters had been set up. The commandment changed places regularly so as to avoid being targeted by their enemies. Naruto usually stayed with them and participated in the analyze of the recent intelligence and developed battle plans accordingly. But he had to admit, he lacked experience of strategical warfare and felt more at ease out there on the battlefield where his powers allowed him to be recognized as one of the best. But leading a contingent of deadly skilled ninjas against an enemy always on the move was not a skill he had mastered yet. He was most impressed with the way Kakashi and his fellow ANBU Captains led the whole operation. With a painful grip around his heart, he realized that he still had a long way to go before being a Hokage worth of the title. But small setbacks would never make him give up on his goals. With a long sigh, the young blond man quickened his pace and muttered words of encouragement to the tired figures following him.

As they came close to a river coursing through the woods, his senses picked up the buzzing of the chakra barrier nearby. His companions felt it too, and he could hear a few sighs of relief. Without, another word, the small group made its way toward a large oak tree in front of which a lone cloaked figure stood. A sensory type, Naruto knew. The tension among the silent figures rose slightly before the cloaked man gave a silent nod. A few seconds after that, they could feel part of the chakra barrier being momentarily lifted. Without another glance to the cloaked man, the group marched further between the shadows of the tall trees. About a hundred meters after the barrier stood the first brownish and greenish tents of their current retreat.

The camp was calm, and only a few fellow ANBUs wandered in between the tents. Naruto left his teammates in front of the medic encampment and walked toward the center of the camp where a rather large hole could be seen on the ground. With a few hand signs, he lifted the barrier protecting the entrance and entered the underground tunnel. The underground facility had been created only a few days prior by earth type ninjas, and the earth was still freshly returned, giving the whole facility the feeling that it could crumple down at any moment's notice. Well, it managed to hold until now, he preferred to think.

The dim light of candles lit the small room where the Captains were holding their late night council. His old teacher, Kakashi was leaning nonchalantly against a wooden pillar supporting the fragile roof above their heads. If they were buried because of this… Well, it's not like ninjas of their caliber would be stopped by a bit of earth. Or a lot for that matter… Stop thinking about this! He admonished himself.

Some of the men persons present nodded at his entrance, others ignored him, but he didn't take notice of it. They did not have the luxury of pettiness over small details. Over the briefing that took place, Naruto learned with dismay that most of the teams dispatched on that day had not been as lucky as his.

"It seems like they are regrouping North of here," explained a short dark-haired man, probably in his mid-thirties. "They are most likely organizing a counter attack, the only real question now is when and where they will strike."

"What about the ninjas we sent undercover within their ranks?" asked Takeo, a Hyuuga Captain with whom Naruto had frequently worked in the past.

"As far as we know, they have not been uncovered," said Kakashi slowly, letting his lone eyes rest on the faces of the men surrounding him, before adding. "Yet."

"Is there anyway, we could put them to better use. If they struck the leaders of the Syndicate now, chaos would ensue within their ranks, and we would be able to put an end to this conflict faster," intervened a tall man on the far left of the room. His face was partly hidden in the shadows, but all the same, Naruto felt an inexplicable unease take over his senses at the sight of the man, as well at the sound of his voice. Yet, he couldn't tell why he was reacting this way. After all, this is just another ANBU Captain… So why were alarm bells ringing in his head?

Kakashi straightened his previously slouched posture and cleared his throat before saying: "Those people are to remain undercover for now. Currently, they are our best assets in this fight, and provide us with valuable intelligence. The fact that, to our knowledge, most of them are still in place within the enemy's ranks is a small victory in itself, and provides us with a definite advantage should things come to worse. We cannot afford to risk that now just in the hope of having a quicker victory. There are too many cards in this fight which we don't hold yet. Rushing things now will only doom us later on." The grey-haired commander had explained all that in a tone that left no room for questioning or arguing, and Naruto watched in awe as all the other Captains present simply nodded their ascent without further debate. Kakashi was indeed a force to be reckoned with, both on the battlefield and out of it. He had this aura of a leader that Naruto desperately ran after, and while he felt or rather knew that he could match or even surpass Kakashi on the battlefield, he felt humbled by the man when it came to strategic thinking and leading.

After that, few valuable suggestions were made, and they collectively decided to stick to the battle plan already in place. After a few words with Kakashi, Naruto left the underground facility and welcomed the fresh air of the night against his skin. Leaving that earthy hole was a relief in itself. The meeting had been longer than he had expected, and he could see that the dawn was already rising. Most tents were still silent, their inhabitants probably trying to catch as much precious sleep as they could. Some rushed movement on the left caught his attention and his eyes widened at the sight of a pink-haired kunoichi hurrying outside a small tent standing on the outskirts of the camp. If he didn't know any better… that tent was Sasuke's…


November 4th – early morning

Hanare stretched her tired limbs with a groan. She had spent the night watching over her injured teammate. The medics had patched up most of his nasty leg injury, but she had felt that it was her duty to stay close by. If she had been the injured one, she wouldn't have wanted to spend the night alone. After a painful healing session, Hitoshi has fallen in a much needed sleep. At some point during the night, she must have dozed off as well, but she regretted it now. Sleeping on a chair was not the best of ideas. Hitoshi was still unconscious, and his face looked free of the fear and pain that has marred his features the night before. With a small smile directed at her asleep comrade, she stood up and pushed the curtain closing their "room" to the side. She walked to the center of the tent, where a tiny medic was unpacking supplies and laying them in an orderly manner on the table in front of her.

"Hello," said Hanare to the young medic brunette, who turned around to face her. Hanare saw how she first frowned when laying her eyes on her, but that expression quickly went away, and the ANBU woman supposed the medic must just have been alarmed by the amount of blood splashed across her ANBU uniform. She did not have the time to wash it after all… But after a quick check up, the medic concluded that Hanare was not on the verge of dying, and she smiled back.

"Hi. What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering if someone should maybe check on my teammate. It's been hours since a medic last came by and… I don't know. I just want to make sure that he's fine, you know?"

"Sure," said the small brunette, looking up to meet the eyes of the tall slender ANBU. "One of the medic in charge should be here shortly. Ah! Speaking of which-"

The heavy curtain marking the entrance of the tent was promptly lifted and interrupted the medic. Both women in the tent turned around at the sound and the medic offered a polite nod at the person walking in in abrupt steps.

"Sakura!" she greeted cheerfully, while the head medic gave back a short nod of recognition, her features setting in a hard mask at the sight of the person standing next to her young assistant. The pinkette had not expected to come across Hanare, and in spite of Sasuke's last cryptic assurances, she could not help the cold grip of fear from chocking her tender throat. The ANBU woman offered her a friendly smile, one that said that nothing stood between them.

"I'm happy you're here," said Hanare.

Pink eyebrows rose high in surprise.

"My teammate was injured last night," supplied Hanare quickly. "You guys did a wonderful job patching him up, yet… I guess I just need to hear once more that he's going to be fine. Sorry if I'm a bother…"

"It's okay," said Sakura in a soft tone.

Passing by the tall ANBU, Sakura walked in the small cubicle made of curtains where the injured man lay. He was still deep asleep and the regular rhythm of his breaths was a first indicator that Sakura's mind registered automatically. She kneeled next to the makeshift bed and ley her hands on the man's torso, letting a thin layer of chakra cover his body, checking in a short amount of time the state of his vitals as well as the healing of his injuries. She felt a presence behind her back, one she assumed to be Hanare's.

"He's going to be fine. His body needs sleep first though. He's not going to be sent out on the field for now."

"Alright," breathed Hanare. "Thank you. I –"

"I should go," interrupted the pinkette, standing up quickly and reaching the curtain door in two long steps, not once glancing at the other woman.

"Sakura, wait!"

Said person halted mid step, one hand already grasping the curtain. She heard the person behind her release a heavy sigh, and then murmur in a small voice:

"Don't hate me…"

What?

She turned around slowly, and fixed her intimidating green eyes on the elegant brunette who was still half covered in blood.

"Why should I hate you?" she asked, forcing her voice to be slow and measured.

"Because of Sasuke."

Oh. So they were having this discussion…

Sakura forced the anger and pain afflicting her to clear up, and said with an honesty that surprised her: "I don't hate you. He told me about… That you… lost someone."

"Ah." A veil of sadness and pain covered the features of Hanare and Sakura felt a pang of pain at the sight.

"I… it's true that I hated you though. Or I'm not sure if it was really hate… just-"

"I know," said Hanare with a sad smile. "I would have felt the same, trust me. It's all over. You know. And I never meant to come between you two. But you just seemed to never seek each other's company. And I…"

"Stop it," said Sakura abruptly. "You do not have to explain yourself. It's –"

"No I do," interrupted Hanare once more. "I feel like I do, so please let me."

Sakura said nothing and the ANBU brunette took in for a sign of consent.

"I was selfish. I have to admit that I was. I felt lonely and I was attracted to him, and I thought my pain justified me seeking affection from him."

Sakura remained still, listening with conflicting emotions as the other woman poured her heart out.

"He never gave me much you know. It was just sex to him. At first, I thought that that was just the way he was. That he was really just as cold as his reputation said. Sometimes he was quite rough too, and I felt like I should stop it. That usually happened after he saw you or talked to you, I found out later on," said Hanare staring directly into the green orbs of the woman who obsessed her Captain.

"I made him angry," said Sakura sadly.

"No, you made him desperate." Hanare watched intently as Sakura's eyes widened in surprise and how she then frowned in misunderstanding. "He loves you," explained the bunette.

A deep blush covered Sakura's cheeks while she felt her heart was trying to climb out of her throat. She took in a shaky breath, but found herself unable to say anything, and watched with an open mouth as Hanare went on:

"He just doesn't know how."

"I… I…" tried to articulate Sakura.

"I don't know him that well you know. He never opened up to me or confided himself in me. I just figured it out after a while. There was always a pattern to his reactions whenever you came close to him. That's how I understood. I'm afraid I let myself in something toxic with him. But I respect him, and I want him to be happy. I know you and me will never be friends, Sakura. But please… taking the advice from someone who lost her lover to this sick world… give yourselves a chance."

Two drops of water ran down the reddened cheeks of the young medic in front of her.