Author's Notes:

Um, yes, I have no excuse to offer about this delayed update other than things didn't go as planned. Now I'll let everyone just read the chapter while I go hide under the safety of my bed. Thanks for all the continuous support from my reviewers. You know you all rule, right?

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.


The first impression that foreigners usually gleaned from the Hidden Sand Village was a consuming sense of barren isolation. Hundreds of miles away from any neighboring signs of human settlement, the village itself was a secluded community nestled away in the heart of a vast and daunting desert. Only as she followed their escort through the open streets, Sakura was overcome with a keenly acute sense of disparity and overriding suspicion.

Though the shinobi village resembled her own in many ways, one could readily see the differences if they paid close attention. While the villagers the Leaf group passed all appeared occupied and content to continue about their own business, the aura of distrust emanating from the people was almost tangible. The local civilians paid little to no attention towards the foreigners who strolled openly through their village, though occasionally suspicious glances were tossed in group's general direction.

Their escort, a man by the name of Ichiro, who had the glaring habit of running stubby fingers over his balding head, made no attempt to engage the Leaf squad in any casual conversation. Instead, he preferred to mumble to himself under his breath, keeping his stern features pulled into a constant frown of worry. Sakura noted the bronze hue of his deeply tanned skin that was typical for Sand shinobi and unconsciously wiped at her own chalky complexion that was sporting a sizeable litter of burns. Thankfully she had packed a decent supply of aloe vera gel, since the painful areas needed to be treated twice daily to keep discomfort at a minimum. Even now, the back of her neck was peeling with new skin.

After an extremely awkward though thankfully brief traipse across town, Ichiro finally led them to the Sand Village's Central Administration Complex, where a part of the conventional building had been sectioned of as living quarters for foreign dignitaries. It was an unusual but appropriate honor extended to Kakashi's squad when they were allowed residence there for the duration of their stay.

They found four individual rooms joined by an impressive common area, all located in the east wing of the building. Ichiro made a fumbled attempt at reassuring the visitors that all their needs would be provided for, and then left hurriedly to inform the Kazekage of their arrival.

At the sound of the closing door, all four Leaf shinobi promptly shared a look and at Kakashi's signaling nod, meticulously began turning their living space upside down in an attempt to find implanted bugs. After conducting a thorough search that left the rooms looking like the aftermath of a domestic battle, they reassembled in the common room, where Sakura threw herself wearily onto one of the two pillowing couches. Kakashi plunked down beside her while Neji and Lee sat opposite them.

"Sakura's room happens to be on the far-east corner," Kakashi told the resting group, "and appears to be the most soundproof. Any confidential conversations will be held there."

"Hmph, as if I want you all piling in there," the kunoichi grumbled before getting up to grab them all drinks from the fridge.

"How soon do think Kazekage-sama will see us?" asked Lee, who relaxed back in his seat and started drumming his fingers against the couch arm.

Kakashi scratched at his neck pensively, while the other hand tugged at the edge of his facemask to make sure that all desired areas were sufficiently covered.

"With the way things look," he replied reflectively, "I would guess soon, if not tomorrow then the day after for sure. It'll be even sooner if we make things expensive for them."

Lee looked positively scandalized for a moment, before an ear-splitting grin spread across his face.

"I'm sure that'll be easy once Sakura reports her findings back to us,"

"If you mean the fridge, then it's definitely well-stocked," came the voice from the other room, " I see five different brands of drinks alone…you have to wonder what it costs the village to have this stuff imported."

Neji listened silently, all the while with his head tilted sideways slightly in a meditative position. Just as Sakura returned with their drinks, he directed a questioning gaze towards their Jounin squad leader.

"Kakashi, I remember when we were still in the Grass Country that you mentioned something about the existence of a rebel faction in the Sand village. Would that have any bearing on the current situation here?"

"I haven't heard anything really specific," informed the older shinobi, who shook his head after catching the invitingly cold water bottle Sakura tossed to him, "but they appear to be some poorly organized ragtag group. They shouldn't be that much cause for concern, or else we would have known more about them. But what's interesting is that there have been several notable attempts on the Kazekage's life."

Sakura held her own drink up to her sweltering forehead while carefully considering this information. It wasn't unusual for the Kage of a village to be the target of assassination attempts, but it was strange to have an entire faction devoted to the cause.

"Do we know who these people are?" she asked curiously.

"No and it'd be best to not bring this issue up during the talks." The Copy Ninja rubbed at the bridge of his nose tiredly in an effort to clear his mind. "But then again, our focus shouldn't be solely on the talks themselves. We will need to pay a decent amount of attention to whether or not this village looks like it's planning for a large scale military operation."

"It's common courtesy to give foreign delegates a tour," Sakura interjected, "that would be a good chance to see their facilities and training centers."

The others all nodded their agreement, and spent the remainder of the evening drawing up a detailed list of discussion topics that would need to be negotiated during their meeting with the Kazekage.

As predicted, the summons arrived early the next morning. Minutes after the crack of dawn, Ichiro delivered the message that the Kazekage had invited the Leaf delegation to meet with him in the main reception room in several hours.

All four shinobi from Konoha decided that it would be best if they appeared in standard uniforms instead of ANBU apparel. While Neji slipped a last few weapons into the pocket of his kunai holster, Kakashi cleared his throat to direct everyone's attention towards a new concern.

"We need a spokesperson, someone who can easily outline our case to the other side."

"I nominate Sakura-chan," Lee exclaimed with a wide grin, "she knows the most about these things!"

"Huh?! I can't do that." The kunoichi, who was still in the process of towel-drying her hair, poked her head into the room, "I assumed Kakashi would automatically fill that role." She shot an almost pleading glance to the Jounin.

"Actually I'm pretty awful with talks," the other admitted in a near regretful tone.

"I nominate Sakura as well."

Neji added his two cents for the first time, while shooting his disbelieving teammate a look that said: Don't you dare get cold feet now.

"Done," Kakashi announced simply, before turning to Sakura who seemed on the verge of erupting at the men who unjustly ganged up on her. "Relax, you know enough about the situation to do this with ease. We all have faith in you."

She clung to those last words as their party entered the elongated reception room, where the sable-tinted walls appeared to be gradually closing in on them. The high collar of her shirt suddenly felt abnormally confining as she turned her focus to the three awaiting figures that stood in the centre of the room.

Much to her surprise, the Kazekage turned out to be a disappointingly unremarkable-looking man. Though dressed in the traditional robes befitting a Kage, his presence just didn't draw the due amount of respect and awe that it should have. His un-magnetic quality could also have been attributed to the fact that his shorter-than-average stature was dwarfed by the two imposing figures beside him. Both of the men donned uniforms belying their Sand Jounin rank, and stood just far enough behind their leader to provide him with the perfect backing.

The bulky man on the left was familiar to Sakura, who remembered him as Baki, with the identifiable tattooing on his half-hidden face. She remembered him as the sensei for Gaara and his siblings from watching them during the third round preliminaries at the Chuunin exam. Now that she thought about it, the Leaf kunoichi wondered whether she'd be encountering those three again since their last encounter had been enough to leave her with a lasting impression.

The other Sand Jounin was a taller, dark-skinned man of slighter build who wore the plain white head covering common to most Sand shinobi, along with a pair of dark, reflective shades that caught the minimal light streaming into the poorly lit room.

Weirdo, Sakura mused to herself before a politely cultured voice broke through her thoughts.

"Our guests from Konoha. . .please seat yourselves."

The Kazekage's voice gave away his identity as a fairly young man beneath the cloth covering that shielded his face from much scrutiny. As they all settled themselves around a grand circular table, Sakura secretly wondered how such a less than formidable character had managed to obtain the coveted position of Kazekage. As though sensing her silent appraisal of him, the young man swung his curious hazel gaze in her direction. Discomfited, the kunoichi quickly returned her gaze to the obsidian surface of the table.

"We have been anticipating your arrival since a letter from Hokage-sama was received. I trust that you are here for the singular purpose of 'improving inter-village relations', as she called it?"

Three of the Leaf shinobi silently took the opportunity to defer to their roseate-haired teammate.

"Yes Kagekage-sama," Sakura replied respectfully, while slipping seamlessly into her assigned role, much to the elation of her team, "we bring you greetings from our Godaime. You are right, we are here to promote better relations between our hidden villages."

Kakashi noted with interest how the Kazekage's gaze traveled over Sakura, near brimming with pleasant surprise that the spokesperson for the group was arguably this docile-looking creature. The inspecting eyes went from curious to warm in a matter of seconds before he spread his arms in a clear gesture of salutation.

"I see that Tsunade has evidently selected among her best to meet with me. I naturally must return the deed. . .hence Baki and Yasu here will be joining me."

After curt nods from both men, Sakura went ahead and introduced her party.

"You flatter us, Kazekage-sama. I am Haruno Sakura, and this here is Hyuga Neji and Rock Lee. I'm sure you know or have heard of Hatake Kakashi, so I think that's pretty much all we need in the way of introductions."

"Ah yes, Hatake Kakashi," the Kazekage repeated with something akin to respect, "I have heard much about the infamous Copy Ninja from Konoha. This is truly a pleasure."

The Head of the Sand Village settled against the firm back of his chair, and leisurely began to tap his slender white fingers together in a thoughtful manner. Sakura thought that it served to make him appear infinitely worldlier.

"Shall we begin then?" he asked mildly, as he glanced at each of the Leaf shinobi in turn. "I realize that our two villages have had, ah, minor 'misgivings' in the past, but it truly gladdens me to see that you are taking the initiative for increased cooperation between us. As you will see, our village has made countless great improvements in the last few years."

A faint sound that may have been on par with a derisive snort escaped from Neji, who was seated to Sakura's left. Kakashi, who was finding himself immensely put off by the Kazekage's grand attitude and flowery mannerism, couldn't help but agree with Neji's disdainful sentiments. In his experience, only shinobi who had seen very little of real live combat spoke so high-handedly. It peeved him just a tad that this man would essentially dismiss an event that had cost numerous shinobi lives as a simple "misgiving".

"Good for you," he couldn't help but comment nonchalantly, "you guys have moved beyond acting as lapdogs for psychotic missing nins."

There was a stunned silence that followed, as shinobi from both sides collected their jaws and rampant emotions.

"We were duped," came the growl from Baki, who recovered first to aim a death glare at Kakashi, "and Konoha was not exactly generous with help during the ensuing crisis. And as a side note, one of our Jounins has disappeared while on duty in around the Fire Country's perimeter. Do you know anything that could help us solve this mystery?"

"We know nothing, and regarding the post-invasion period, I'm pretty sure we were pretty lenient in our treatment of the ones who attempted to destroy our village and murder our Hokage."

Neji's fiercely cutting remark was sufficient to incite a whole new round of flying glares around the table. Lee, who had always regarded the Sand shinobi as a potential enemy, looked seconds from leaping across the table and doing to Baki what Gaara had done to him five years prior.

Only Sakura and the Kazekage appeared genuinely worried that the discussion looked ready to fall apart before it even began. Casting a "you know better" glower at her former sensei, the kunoichi wracked her brains for a way to save the mission that was quickly coming undone before her very eyes.

Guys, remember who was the one you all nominated as your goddamn spokesperson? Now kindly shut the hell up.

In her mounting agitation, Sakura's roving eyes stopped on Yasu, whom she fully expected to be glowering in a hearty mixture of fury and outrage. Much to her surprise, the other shinobi turned out to be the least expressive person present. Other than an occasional tightening of his fisted hand on the table, he remained as stone-faced as before.

Frustrated, Sakura settled for venting her annoyance by kicking Neji and Lee sharply under the table. Both winced surreptitiously, and Kakashi would have been her next victim had the Jounin not opened his mouth and saved himself from a timely assault.

"Well, now that that's all out and done with, can we get down to business? No sense starting something unless we commence on a fresh page."

She could have sworn he then winked at her.

"My feelings exactly," the Kazekage exclaimed, hurriedly grasping onto Kakashi's every word before shooting Baki a warning look, "shall we bury the past? No sense in bringing all that up since it has no place in the future,"

When all that met his statement were stony silence and a single grunt of accord, he gave a falsely cheerful laugh.

"Good, good. Now our guests all look like they were deprived of a good night's rest. Desert climate not to your tastes, I assume? I recommend we close today's discussion and continue tomorrow."

There was no argument hence both groups rose, though still retaining a measure of subdued hostility. On their way to the exit, the Leaf squad was stopped by the Kazekage, who produced a card-sized plaque in the shape of an inverted triangle.

"This is a specially issued pass," he explained to them, after passing the gold piece to Sakura, "it will permit you to leave this building and travel freely around the village. Please do not hesitate to explore around as you wish."

Just as Sakura was about to tuck the item into her vest, Kakashi deftly snatched the object from her grasp while pointedly ignoring her questioning glare.

"We will have little time to meander about, as charming as the village is. And we will be sure to inform Kazekage-sama if there is someplace we would happen to want to see."

He tossed the pass back expertly, and noticed how the object slipped from the Kazekage's grasp when he barely caught it. Thankfully Baki was there to snatch it up before it impacted with the ground.

We won't need a pass for the exploring we intend to do.

Kakashi discovered that his step was much lighter upon exiting the conference room than it was when entering. He always did hate the little necessities that were put on for show.


Ah. . .that's better.

Rotating his right shoulder to work out a few kinks he had accumulated from a night of restless sleep, Kakashi found himself pacing about the common room while errant thoughts plagued his peace of mind. Years of honed gut instinct told him that something was off about the whole situation at hand, and it was bothering the Jounin to know that the trouble spot couldn't be exactly pinpointed. Nagging doubts had kept him awake and resulted in his early rise, since he was hoping to freshen his mind with a light jog around the compound.

Neji and Lee had been up fairly early as well, and Kakashi had sent the two energetic young men out to "explore the village". Those had been his exact words, and he had made it pretty clear to them that there was much to be gleaned from casual observation of the regular day-to-day activities happening within the village.

Noticing that it was close to eight, the Copy Ninja decided to check and see if Sakura was up yet. Strolling casually up to her door, he listened for any signs of the young woman having roused before knocking lightly on the wooden surface. There was a sharp gasp from inside, followed by a muffled protest that sounded suspiciously like "Mo, domegan!" Frowning in confusion, Kakashi called out a somewhat hesitant, "Sakura…?" before opening the door to check on her.

Fwap!

"Argh, listen you two, just because my room's being used for confidential discussions doesn't mean you can intrude whenever you feel like it."

Still marginally perplexed, Kakashi blinked dispassionately down at the day-glow yellow camisole that was adorning his shoulder, then fixed his stare on the coral-haired individual who was kneeling on the floor with her back to him. Too busy rifling through her backpack to turn around, Sakura looked completely immersed in her task as she took intermittent bites from a mochi cake she held in one hand.

As though sensing that neither Lee nor Neji would have stayed silent for so long, the kunoichi suddenly whipped her head around in Kakashi's direction. The Jounin found it immensely endearing when her eyes widened impossibly and her full little mouth stopped mid-chew.

One, two, three. . .

"So, I guess I can expect random objects thrown at me whenever I open a closed door with you on the other side?"

"No, er, ah, I, K-Kakashi. . . "

What was it with her complete inability to not humiliate herself in front of this man?

Kakashi took her silence to be a good thing as opposed to her launching into one of her infamous verbal tirades. After removing the piece of clothing from his person, he gave his usual uncomfortable cough that came naturally during his what the hell do I say now…? moments. This was the first time the two of them had ended up alone ever since their brief little sojourn in Morioka. Though Kakashi knew that he would forever look back on that particular episode with fond remembrance, it had not served to completely break the inherent awkwardness between him and Sakura. But it should have made interaction between them slightly easier. And now here he was, in front of her and at a loss for words.

Much to his relief, Sakura, bless her little heart, relieved him of his trying task when she beckoned him in.

"Don't just stand in the doorway then, Sen-, uh, Kakashi. Come in."

Understandably, the Jounin wasn't entirely ready to do so with perfect confidence. He began warily taking miniscule steps forward.

"Oh for—" If possible, Sakura's face turned a shade redder. "Don't tell me the guy who's probably been targeted by every known type of projectile in existence is scared of my wardrobe?"

"No," Kakashi replied, straight-faced, "but if you start launching pieces of your ANBU apparel at me, then I'll really start panicking."

That broke any residual traces of uncertainty, as they both dissolved into soft laughter. Sakura beckoned him in once again with an impatient wave of her hand.

"Don't mind the mess. . .just trying to find my forehead protector, it's been awhile since I last wore it."

"I'm sure that simultaneously eating your breakfast is helping," the other smiled.

"An amazing feat, I assure you."

Sakura finished off her cake in several hasty bites, and with a triumphant "Ah-ha!", extricated the item from the dark depths of her bag. Carefully, she laid it out in front of her, as though afraid it would wander off as soon as she let go.

Kakashi's focus however, was suddenly diverted to the pretty snatch of pink fabric that Sakura clutched in her other hand.

"What have you got there?"

Before she could protest, he had pulled the fabric away, which turned out to be a rather fancy handkerchief. The square of cloth was pink with delicate white lace edging, while decorative stitches framed the name Sakura in a petal-like flurry.

"Wow, this is really nice,"

"Give it," she commanded with a pout, "it's actually kind of embarrassing. . ."

"How so?" Kakashi queried with a raised eyebrow.

"My mom made this. She used to spend a lot of her time making frilly things for me, and I remember having the lacy things drop out of my bag on missions—it's surprising how you never noticed,"

Sakura noticed that Kakashi'e eye had glazed over just a little, and he didn't appear to be listening to her.

"Must be nice to have such a doting parent,"

"Ha, sure but what about when they keep trying to coddle you like you're seven instead of seventeen—"

Her voice dropped off as she blinked.

"You. . .wouldn't know, would you?"

Kakashi scratched his head absently.

"Yeah, probably not. I'm just one among the many."

The words "I'm sorry" were on the tip of her tongue, but they died almost instantly after she realized how ridiculous they would have sounded. Had she ever said she was sorry to either Sasuke or Naruto? No, not ever.

She had always suspected as much, but it was infinitely different to hear Kakashi's admission in person. But it all made sense really. . .what kind of boy would have found it necessary to push himself to accomplish the incredible feat of reaching Chuunin level by age seven?

"Kakashi. . .I don't know what to say," she whispered honestly.

"There's nothing to say really,"

He was able to shrug it all off, but Sakura remained silent. As though sensing her dampening spirits, Kakashi quickly switched tracks in an attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

"Er, the handkerchief really matches well with, um, your hair,"

Tell me I did not just say that. . .

But Sakura hadn't heard a word. Instead, she looked horrified at her own actions, all the while staring unwaveringly at the gift from her mother.

"I can't imagine. . ."

She tried to envision an existence without her parents, a life without the doting attentions of her mother and the steadfast support from her father. They may not have been able to empathize with most of their daughter's experiences, but they had always encouraged and inspired her with an infinite supply of love and trust. And thought they knew nothing of Sasuke, Sakura knew they would be the type to accept him with open arms. For the longest time, she believed that she could provide him with a family by welcoming him into hers. It would surely be a first step to mending his scarred heart.

When Sakura finally did turn her pretty face back to Kakashi, he could see that her emerald orbs shone even brighter with the watery residue of accumulated tears. It shouldn't have made his chest tighten the way it did.

"You must think I'm such a selfish, ungrateful bitch,"

"No," he responded instantly, and repeated it with more conviction at her scoff, "really, I don't. I'm sure that we'd have the same feelings if our positions were reversed. Sakura, look at me."

He crouched down till he was eye-level with her, and close enough that he could feel the steady warmth of her breath against his skin.

Sakura was a little distraught by his sudden proximity, especially when the man had the unnerving ability of having his one exposed eye observe others with the intensity of two. And the way he went about his quiet scrutiny made it seem like he could pick up on every last speck of her thoughts. This conception had most likely started with Team 7's survival training, when after less than twenty-four of having met her, Kakashi had seen where she was most vulnerable, and was able to use it against her in the most devastating of ways.

It made her want to hide from him, or at the very least, run very far away.

Why do I care so much about his opinion of me?

But the truth was, whether she was readily aware of it or not, but she had always cared about what Kakashi thought of her. And because of that, it had hurt her pride when she thought he considered her the weakest one of their original team. She had believed herself to be free of his judgment at one point, but that belief was quickly shattered when he had waltzed back, uninvited, into her life. Only she still couldn't make up her mind on whether that had primarily been a good or bad thing. On one hand, she had been given a small but precious window into the enigma known as Kakashi, and the more she saw the more fascinated she became. But he was now a daily reminder of a past that was forever lost to her.

"Sakura,"

Kakashi had watched the myriad of emotions flicker across her face, each moment keeping him spellbound with enthrallment.

Sakura, Sakura…why are we behaving like awkward strangers?

He almost wanted her to confide in him, to see him as the stalwart protector and guide she had once regarded him as. Everything had been so simple back then, for the both of them. She could pursue her girlish fantasies in a carefree manner, and he was given the opportunity to foster the young talent of his team just as his own sensei had done before him.

But Kakashi of all people knew that the way to survival was in looking forward and not back. Only now he had to transmit that idea to the emotional young woman facing him, and convince her that you couldn't always derive comfort from visions of the past.

"Hey," he nudged her with uncharacteristic gentleness, "I almost don't know how to cheer you up. That used to be Naruto's department."

"Yeah," she smiled crookedly.

"Miss him?"

"Uh huh, I wish he was here," came the faint whisper. The ghosts of the past were still too vivid, and not yet purged from her memory because one crucial link was missing.

"I bet you anything he wishes he were here too."

But both of them knew that even if the blonde extrovert were present, Sakura would not be entirely content.


"Are those notes for the meeting?"

Neji took in the disconcerting picture of Sakura, who was seated next to him at the meeting table, furiously scribbling out line after line of text onto a sheet of paper. A silly sort of grin was decorating her attractive face, and it was just a little alarming.

"No, it's just a list."

"Of…?"

"Things I should be telling Naruto about our little adventure here in the Wind Country. I bet the guy would so wish he was here."

Her teammate arched a perfect eyebrow at the less than satisfactory response. He honestly couldn't believe that she was concerning herself with Naruto, of all people, at this moment. Not when they were minutes away from another round of talks with the Kazekage who was due to arrive any minute now. He and Sakura were also waiting for the rest of their squad to show up.

Perturbed, the Hyuga dared to chance a glance over at what the other was writing. The first line read Golden grains of sand, followed by more sand, sand buildings, sand sculptures, sandwiches in fridge. . .

He wisely put several more feet of distance between them. That proved it. . .obviously being a member of Team 7 had long-reaching psychological effects. It figured that Naruto would be the only one who'd understand what Sakura was driving at.

"If you have the excess energy to think on behalf of Naruto, maybe you could devote some time to helping Kakashi compose a reply for Hokage-sama instead of leaving him to the oh-so-helpful dolt known as Lee."

"We really don't have much to report back to Tsunade on," Sakura murmured as she could only imagine what Kakashi could possibly think of to put on their missive. But what mattered was that communication still happened between them and Konoha, proving that the link was present and they could keep Tsunade updated if needed.

"Let's just hope that this evening's meeting actually gets us somewhere,"

With a hopeful sigh, Sakura folded her "list" up neatly and tucked it precisely into one of her side pockets. While Neji occupied himself with glaring a hole in the opposing plaster wall, she got up to admire one of the hanging canvases that were the only decoration in the somber room. Upon closer examination, the crude depiction was actually a series of roughly drawn brushstrokes on a coarse fabric surface. It was primeval kanji from what Sakura could tell, and she leant forward for a closer look.

"Remarkable, don't you think?"

The ANBU units stood to attention at the traveling lilt that typified the Kazekage, only to see him enter alone. He stepped forward alongside Sakura, and motioned towards the faded canvas.

"A token, I think, from our ancestors. There is a popular legend here in the Wind Country that says we are a people born and molded from the elements of wind and sand."

Sakura looked appreciatively up again at the animated characters brushed onto the ancient scripture. The archaic kanji seemed to form the disconnected phrase of: The wind shapes all, given time.

"If you admire this piece," the Kazekage interrupted her thoughts, "there are two more similar artifacts hanging in another room. Let me show those to you, as they are equally impressive."

Before the following the Kazekage's retreating figure, Sakura shared a moment of silent communication with Neji, who she could tell wanted to protest what a pointless endeavor this would be. As they were led down the fine sable hallways inside the building complex, their host abruptly halted, and made an impatient "tut, tut" sound with his lips.

"How careless…I don't have the map I intended to bring on me. I'm sorry to trouble you both with a detour to the gallery where I must have left it."

The gallery turned out to be a long, narrow stretch of room that more resembled an expansive corridor with doors at opposite north and south ends. The room was lined with picturesque drawings of local landscape. At least it took a decent amount of talent to transform uniform piles of sand into something aesthetically pleasing.

Upon entering, the Kazekage called over a woman who was dressed in attendant robes of pristine white. The veiled attendant approached gracefully after giving a slight customary bow to the shinobi.

"Arisa, could you go to tell Baki and Yasu that we will be meeting tonight in the ceremonies room? Have word sent to the two Leaf shinobi as well."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

While Arisa made her way solemnly to the south door, the Kazekage proceeded to pick up a detailed, sheet-sized map that was lying on a side table.

"Here it is, now shall we join the oth—"

The strident, interrupting bang of a door slamming shut startled all three shinobi, who immediately went on alert. With wild eyes, the Kazekage spun frantically around to stare into the blank, topaz eyes of his attendant, who now stood defiantly in front of the closed door.

"W-what, Arisa, what is the meaning of this?"

Without speaking, the woman reached into her robes and drew out a glistening kunai that she brought into a clearly offensive position beside her hidden face.

"You were never my Kazekage," she bit out coldly, just before the door behind her crashed to the ground, revealing the concerned faces of Kakashi and Lee.

The cry of warning came from both Neji and Lee, while the latter immediately leaped forward, catching the kunai firmly in his grip before it was even halfway across the stretched expanse of chamber. Neji, on the other hand, swiftly moved to place himself directly behind Arisa, and disabled her with a severe strike to the base of the skull.

Kakashi responded by converting to a battle-ready mindset. In one practiced motion, he had lifted his forehead protector away from his Sharingan, and now scanned all dimensions of the wide corridor for signs of attack. He started at the sound of another door being flung open, and saw the Kazekage's customary bodyguards emerge from the entrance at the far end.

Both Baki and Yasu moved themselves defensively in front of the Kazekage, shielding him from any possible attacks. Neji, along with Sakura, chose to uphold their positions at opposite ends of the hall.

Everyone was on full alert when the pair of assassins appeared, dropping gracefully from the high rafters where the shadows combining with their black attire had provided them refuge. They turned their cloth-enveloped faces towards the ill concealed location of the Sand Village leader. With sharpened kunai in their hands, the two raced forward swiftly, fully intent on reaching their target.

Neji, who placed himself directly in the assassins' path, soon halted the shorter, slighter individual of the two.

"Fight me first," he stated coldly, crouching marginally lower in preparation to engage the opponent.

While those two clashed in frenzy of skilled taijutsu, the other assailant made a mad dash for the Kazekage's location with Sakura gaining at his heels. Kakashi and Lee followed closely behind, though the Jounin held off a full burst of speed purposely, wanting to see how the Sand shinobi would respond to this little infraction.

Sakura had flung a pair of shuriken at the assassin, who promptly dodged the projectiles by swerving slightly to the right, but continued towards his objective. The kunoichi was about to launch a ninjutsu attack, when suddenly she saw a tan blur shoot forward into the assassin's course.

Yasu abruptly materialized in front of the assailant, delivering the individual a powerful punch to the gut.

The assassin staggered several steps backwards, but then charged again, this time aiming his weapons for the shinobi who was blocking his way.

Sakura watched in slight awe as the Sand Jounin disarmed the assassin, his movements all performed with a precise measure of finesse as he knocked the kunai out of the other shinobi's hands. He had the assailant in an unyielding headlock that was quickly followed with a critical blow to his victim's lungs

Gurgling through a mouthful of blood, the injured assassin fell onto his back, while managing a choked, "Abort, dammit, run!"

He was effectively silenced when Yasu drew his leg back and executed a swift, downwards kick that crushed the other man's neck.

Catching sight of her partner's gruesome death, the other assassin let out a shriek of outrage, while continuing her heated clash with Neji. Suddenly reaching into her sleeve, the assailant pulled out a smoke bomb, which she hurriedly dashed onto the ground.

The resulting mass of smoke provided the cover for an escape, and the assassin capitalized on the opportunity. Though the gray clouds, Sakura could barely register the assailant's retreating form, and raced after her unhesitatingly. The ANBU operative followed as the other leapt upwards back towards the rafters, and then leaped for one of the high windows.

Charging out into the night after the assassin, Sakura found herself on the rooftop of the building, and made out the escaping black form. She was not alone in her pursuit though, for as she raced along the clattering roof tiles, the kunoichi saw another figure leap out from one of the windows, only to speed past her in a brown blur after the assassin. It was Yasu.

"HEY, wait up!"

She tried calling after him, since it made sense to regroup and go after the assassin who was still armed and judging from her bout with Neji, a more than adequate fighter. Her call went unheeded, as the Sand shinobi soon disappeared completely from her line of vision.


The luminous light reflecting off the pale lines of leveled sand dunes guided him towards the fleeing assailant. Though the assassin traveled fast, she was not fast enough to be able to shake him off, nor did she flee swiftly enough to exorcise the light trail of foot imprints etched into the smooth ground. Those…he was able to follow.

A subtle change in air currents alerted him to the presence coming in from behind that was gaining on him. Only the steps were too heavy to be those of the kunoichi from earlier. Seconds later, the person had caught up to his vigorous pace, and with a hasty explosion of speed, landed firmly beside him as Yasu stopped dead in his tracks.

"I will go after the assassin," came the grave voice of Baki, "you are not as familiar with these lands as I am. One of us should be protecting Kazekage-sama."

"Hm,"

Without even a glance at the other man, Yasu gave a rather contemptuous sniff before spinning on his heel and tearing back towards the residential complex as swiftly as before.

Son of a bitch. . .

Not wasting any more of his own time, Baki pushed away his potent disgust and took off in the opposite direction at a newly set pace.


With tickling beads of sweat trailing down onto the tip of her nose, Sakura continued her stubborn pursuit of the assassin and Yasu, who were both well ahead of her. She may have lost sight of him long ago, but the trail left behind by both of them was still barely discernible. Strangely enough, she felt driven to catch up with the assassin, if for nothing else than to ask why she wanted to claim the life of a man who appeared to have done so much for his village.

Her energy was rapidly dissipating, since she must have given pursuit for a good twenty minutes that had taken her up to the Sand village's border. Looming up ahead was the dilapidated shape of what looked to be a long abandoned outpost. All that remained were the crumbling walls of the roofless building, which probably housed a teeming number of desert critters.

The traveling sounds of voices caused Sakura to revert to stealth mode, as she quickly lightened her steps and once close enough, pressed her torso flat against the grainy surface of a collapsing wall that bit into her left cheek.

"It was poorly planned, Arisa should have predicted the elapsed time would not be enough—"

That was Baki. . .only what in the seven hells was he doing here?

"We were too hasty."

The female voice that replied sounded weary if anything, as though she bore the weight of the whole world on frail shoulders.

Summoning trace amounts of chakra to her fingertips, Sakura dug her fingers firmly into the earthen material of the wall, and pulled herself high enough to peek over the edge. Her breaths came in small pants that further dried her already parched lips.

Baki was indeed there, only he was standing directly beside the darkly garbed figure of the female assassin, who had pulled off the cloth that had previously enveloped her head, revealing lush amounts of golden tresses pulled into collective bunches.

I know this woman. . .

"He killed him. . .he fucking killed him, a boy who hadn't even reached his second decade. . . "

"Temari, you cannot blame yourself for Hiro's death."

"I promised his father that I would take care of him,"

So it was her then, the renowned kunoichi from the Sand; daughter of the previous Kazekage and half-sister to Gaara of the Desert. Sakura noiselessly ducked back down behind the barrier of the wall. The intricacy of the situation at play caused her to tremble involuntarily, as she momentarily lost concentration over her chakra output.

"There is someone else here,"

She started at Baki's cold declaration, before closing her eyes in concentration to summon a last desperate burst of energy. She licked her lips and took off as though demons were chasing her; only the last ditch still wasn't sufficient since Baki intercepted her mere seconds later. His expression was one of a ruthless hunter who had cornered his prey after a long, thrilling hunt when he planted himself boldly before her.

"Is the little bird from Konoha lost?"


Author's Notes:

Wow, that might have been my first actual cliffhanger…Yes, so I was planning to have this chapter out much sooner, but against better judgment I went on vacation. Yeah, so wrong of me to be indulging my glutinous self when my readers have no chapter…okay, feeling really bad here. But the up side to all this is that I've been working on aligning the events of chapters 5, 6, and 7, so the next two chapters are just about ready to go. Expect chap.6 to be out within a week, and 7 soon after that. Reviews are great, so thanks!

Review Responses:

QuasiAngel: Oh, it's great to hear that I haven't botched up by delaying Naruto's entry into this story! All the loads of support you've given me so far have been awesome. Thank you tons!

Sailor Tiamat: Hey again! Gotta love Sakura and the forehead jokes, dontcha? Hope you liked this chapter!

MoonPhoenix: Surprisingly, writing isn't stressful. Working on this fic is a great way to relax for me Thanks for the compliment.

Winds: I'm so glad that reading this story has been an enjoyment to ya. I'll be working on this story for the next while, since I fully intend to finish this lil monster. Hope to see ya around!

Jewel Song: Wow, you realize how happy it makes me to hear someone loves this fic that much? And I got one thing I must say to you: WRITE! You have Naruto fics that you've written? You must post them! And you gotta write a KakaSaku, since we always need more KakaSaku love and support in the fandom. If you need someone to take a look at them, I'd be more than willing to cuz I believe they have to be excellent. Again, thanks for your support!

Bronwen Stx: Lol, yay for the quotes! Your compliments flatter me to no end, and yes, I love working on this fic. Kakashi/Sakura forever, right? Now to steer them away from the river denial…Hope you like this chapter here, and the next chapters will be out soon!

EmptySanity: Thanks for the vote on how the KakaSaku relationship is progressing. I really can't see them jumping right into a relationship, given who they are. But the foundation for a passionate liaison is definitely there! Here's chap. 5 for ya!

Tea Leaf: Mucho thanks for the compliments! I must check out your writings, since it's obvious that you're one of those completely modest people out there .

akasume: Will do! Here's the next chapter for ya.

Fruit-tea1: thump K, that was the sound of me falling over from your onslaught of compliments. Yes, KakaSaku forever! Hope you liked this chapter here!

shimmer: Yes, you gotta love the internal conflict that Kakashi's facing, eh? Thanks for your support!

I Glomp Bishounen: Yes you are, you are very worthy :) Hope ya liked this chapter!

Anime Lance: Whoa, thanks a lot for the vote of confidence! Here's the update, and the next chapters are coming soon!

SailorPenguinz: Oh yeah, another KakaSaku supporter! Your support warms and lights me up like a glow bug, er or something like that. I'll try to keep my chapters long as sanely possible for me. Hope you enjoy the coming chapters!

Kenhime: You know, reading your reviews rates right up there with getting a back rub It just makes you feel good, especially after sitting after the computer desk for extended periods :P I'm glad you liked the intervention of Sakura's "tutor". Hope your exam went well for ya. And yes, converting the Naruto fandom into KakaSaku fans is my mission in life. And we have not seen the last of Kakashi's Come Come Paradise collection. Hehe, no need for incense sticks. After this little, er, delay, the chapters will be coming out speedily!

Katsuhito Sage: Lol, I hope I can write kick-butt action! Yes, exams are a dark time, but hopefully those went well for you! And yes, Neji can be adorable :P Hope you liked this chapter!

Demeter1: Your support will be the reserve artillery I pull out on those days when I'm loathe to face my word processor. It's great to know that their relationship is progressing at a believable pace. Neji and Lee are great, aren't they ? It takes a lot to gain a shred of ol' Neji's respect. Thanks again to ya!

Mikazuki1: Always love hearing from ya! And you know…I had the hardest time coming up with just the right mask for Neji. I was leaning towards a fox/otter/badger/rabbit mutation. And then I found the idea of Neji wearing a hamster mask amusing to no end So what can I say…I'll let you decide what you'd want his mask to be, since I'm obviously as confused as the characters :P

La Perle: Thanks so much for the awesome compliments! It's great to know I'm actually engaging the readers to some degree. Kakashi and Neji are just the perfect pair of troopers, aren't they? And yes, there will be more reflection of Sakura's part as the story progresses. Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!

bishonennomiko: Wow, that's really interesting to know about the ellipses. It never even really occurred to me since my comp doesn't point it out, so I skim right by…it probably would have benefited to take first year english :P Kudos to ya for taking the trouble of explaining all that. About Neji's mask, yes, the truth is that I really couldn't decide what to stick him with. It's some combination of a stout/fox/badger/rabbit/hamster. Lol, let your imagination decide. And yes, Sakura's attitude towards Kakashi is indeed conflicting. A part of her wants him to take his old role as team sensei, while the older, more experienced part of her is understandably wary of his potential influence on her. Kakashi is definitely someone who inspires awe from her. Speculation is good! Thanks for all your support, and I loved the KakaSaku pics. I can never seem to find any, even after dragging myself across scripted Japanese sites. So huge thanks there!

Cha-chan: Thank you for your awesome comments! Chapter 2 is appearing on my browser, so maybe you need to have the most update version of your browser? I've uploaded it again just in case tho. Hope that helps!

fanartist: Yes, yay for KakaSaku! And yeah, mental degeneration explains everything!

fo-feah: Thanks a lot! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Amerie: No, thank YOU for the loveable support! It's great to know I've kept them all in-character. Here's the next chapter for ya!

LadyWindElf: Yes, Kakashi and Sakura do make a great pair, don't they? Everything should be explained in time, and yes, here's chap.5!

Girl-chama: Wow, I hope you're enjoying your trip through the Naruto fandom. And thanks for the support! Yes, the plot is really going and I'm cackling the whole way! Yes, Kakashi as a pedophile scares me as well. As for the cloaked figure…seeing as how it's someone that Sakura should never had met before and his face was hidden, technically she wouldn't have been able to recognize him. Hope that helps, and thanks again!

randomEdwarD: Oh man, Neji-jiji is hilarious! It suits the little bugger perfectly, doesn't it? Only the sad thing is, if Neji does ever get up on a soap box to start preaching, I'd probably be there listening to him :P Thanks for the support, and KakaSaku forever!

Dragonflyelj: Ah ha, another Sakura fan! Yeah, Kakashi and Sakura are just such a promising pair, correcto? Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter and the following ones! Thanks for the review!

MaidenInTheMoon: Ack, thanks for the mucho lovely comments! And oh man, what happened to you is absolutely hilarious! I probably should have added as a side-note that gyoza is theoretically a Japanese metamorphosis or potstickers, usually deep-fried. And Sakura's trainer…soon to be revealed! Hope to see ya around for the next chapters!

Y.Seta: Woot, you've written a KakaSaku! Awesome, I'll be checking it out as soon as I can! Thanks for your support there, and KakaSaku kicks!

Magdalena: Wow, totally flushing from your compliment! I will be keeping this rolling, so thanks and I'll see ya next update!

MNK =-=: Oh yeah, meeting more KakaSaku supporters just totally makes my day. Hope you liked this chapter, and yep, the next ones will be coming real soon!

kookey: Thanks for the support! Glad to know that the humor adds to things, other than providing me with amusement. Yep, this will definitely be continued and finished, so I hope you stick around!