Sasuke's Cherry Blossom

Part 4

A/N: - Chapter Four already! I feel so proud. In the first instalment of this story, I said that it would only be five chapters long, but that's unlikely now, as I have big plans for this fic. More likely, now it'll be ten or fifteen chapters long.

Thanks to XxRyuuMegamiXx, who picked up on my not-so-subtle hint, and offered to beta the fic for me. It's much appreciated.

Warning: - There's some language in this one (from Naruto and Sasuke, who else?).

Oh yeah, it's more or less common knowledge now that Naruto is the Kyuubi vessel. At least among those close to him.

Well…..enjoy!

Disclaimer: - What! I don't own Naruto? My God, you're a heinous liar. I really could have sworn that I did.

It was a sombre group of Jounin that met two hours later in ANBU Headquarters. Sakura sat hunched over in a chair, weeping softly. Sasuke stood behind her, one hand on her shoulder while barely controlling his rage. He was visibly tense, and the inaction was killing him.

Ino knelt by her friend's side, comforting her as best as she could. Neji was dispassionate as usual as he helped his wife in, who looked at Sakura pityingly while rubbing her swelling belly. Shino, Chouji and Kiba were solemn and quiet. Shikamaru clapped Sasuke on the back before advancing to his own seat. Lee stood stony-faced with fury at Sasuke's side. Hinata was trying to calm down Naruto, who was making enough noise for them all.

"What are we still doing here?" he growled. "Let's go out and hunt down that asshole! We don't need to have a meeting to decide that. That bastard's gone way too far. First he kills his whole clan, then he tries to kidnap me, messes with Sasuke, and now he kidnaps my godson!" He ended on a roar. "I say we form a few platoons, go out, get Kisho, and get rid of that son of a bitch once and for all!"

Sasuke glanced briefly at Naruto, but otherwise ignored the slander on his mother.

Shikamaru sighed wearily.

"Naruto, sit down. Don't get so worked up. Acting this rashly isn't going to help us at all. Now, does anyone know if Tsunade-sama and the other Jounin will be in attendance?"

Hinata spoke up softly.

"Yes, they'll be here, but a little late."

Tenten had a question.

"How come this meeting isn't being held in the Hokage's office?"

Hinata answered her.

"Tsunade-sama has a very important meeting with some foreign shinobi right now; she thought it would be best to give us all some time to assemble, and then get here. She shouldn't be too long in coming."

No sooner than the words were out of her mouth, than the Godaime Hokage, The Copy ninja, the Genjutsu specialist and the chain-smoking Jounin came in through the door. Good mornings were said and small words of condolence exchanged.

Tsunade took a seat, and wasted no time in beginning. She regarded the assembled shinobi seriously, and flung a chamois braid over her shoulder.

"Ohayou, everyone. I'm sure by now everybody has been briefed on the situation, but I'll go through it shortly just in case. Sometime early this morning, little Uchiha Kisho, one and a half year old son of Uchiha Sasuke and Sakura was kidnapped, presumably by the missing-nin Uchiha Itachi."

Sasuke swung his head from side to side.

"Not presumably..…definitely. I'm sure of it."

"Okay, Sasuke, I'll take your word for it. Now, this meeting of fellow ANBU, ninja and close friends has been called to get our information together, decide what we're going to do and how we're going to go about retrieving Kisho.

"Firstly, Sasuke and Sakura, I need to ask you some questions."

Sakura raised her head and gave a mournful hiccough. Drying her face with a proffered handkerchief from her husband, she nodded.

"Okay. How and when did you discover Kisho was gone?"

Sasuke spoke up, his voice dry and raw.

"A little after we got up this morning, which was around seven. I had a dull ache in my neck – probably where he struck me to keep me from awakening – and after, I remembered grabbing a kunai during the night because I had sensed danger. I immediately went and checked the crib. It was empty. I knew it was him. I could feel it."

Tsunade nodded once.

"And this kidnapping, do you think it is Akatsuki related, or otherwise?"

Sasuke drew a deep, ragged breath.

"I'm pretty sure this is personal for him."

"Okay," began Tsunade again, surveying them all. "Normally, recovering a kidnapped person would be classed as a B-rank mission. But since this one involves the S-class criminal Uchiha Itachi, who is extremely clever and dangerous, it is elevated to an S-rank.

"We will need three platoons. One to search Konoha, ask questions and make enquires, just in case Itachi was here for a prolonged period of time, or is still here, which I highly doubt. The other two will venture to the north and the east in search."

The Hokage took out a piece of paper and started scribbling as she spoke.

"These platoons will consist of…..ah…..let's see…..Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, Naruto, Hinata, Lee, Tenten, Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai."

Sasuke gave something of a roar, and slammed his fist against the back of the chair. The incredulity of his voice was evident. Sakura sat straight up, surprise embedded into her features as she stared open-mouthed at the Godaime. Tsunade turned to face them, lifting a delicate eyebrow.

"Tsunade-sama, you cannot be serious. Sakura and I..…"

"Are too personally involved for my taste," the Hokage finished coolly.

Sasuke looked ready to explode, and explode he did.

"Of course we're personally fucking involved!" he yelled. "He is our son!"

"Sasuke..…" Kakashi said in warning.

Tsunade's brows knitted together as she glared.

"That," she said, hazel eyes cold, "is exactly why I deigned to leave you out of this. When it comes to Itachi, you let your rage control you. You move blindly, thinking only of revenge, and this could potentially endanger the welfare of your son." She then turned to the pink-haired kunoichi. "And you are wont to let your tumultuous emotions govern you. That could be disastrous in a situation like this that requires composure and level-headedness at all times."

"Tsunade-sama, I will be…..I assure you! Please, you have to understand," implored Sakura, eyes pleading. "This isn't about Itachi. It's about our son. Sasuke-kun knows that." She twisted in her seat. "Don't you, honey?"

Sasuke, face hard as granite, only folded his arms across his chest and said nothing.

Tsunade turned to Sakura.

"You must understand. No matter which way you take it, for Sasuke, this is about Itachi. Of course, Kisho too, no doubt; but his hatred of his brother will cloud his mind to that."

Kakashi spoke up solemnly.

"Tsunade-sama is right, Sasuke. You become unstable where Itachi is concerned. Deciding to give up your quest to kill your brother was one of the best decisions you've ever made. Don't spoil it now."

"The best decision!" Sasuke raved, eyes morphing vermilion. "The best fucking decision! Look where it's gotten me. He's kidnapped my son and you say it was the best decision I've made!" He made to take a step forward, but Lee grasped his wrist and whispered something unintelligible at the side of his mouth.

"Tsunade no baa-chan(1)," Naruto said uneasily, sidling his eyes between the Hokage and his comrade, "I think Sasuke and Sakura-chan should be allowed to….."

"Naruto, stay out of this," she said curtly. "My decision is final. Sasuke, Sakura, I do not deny that you are excellent shinobi, but Sasuke, you are liable to become impulsive and a risk to the mission. The same for you, Sakura, with your emotional state."

Sakura stared at her mentor in sheer disbelief. She could not be made to stay at home, doing nothing but grieving for Kisho, wondering where he was, if he was alive; she could not, would not. Frantically, she wracked her brains for something. Behind her, Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Tsunade-sama, you will need a medic!" Sakura said suddenly in a near shout.

"We have Hinata," the Godaime shot back, unfazed.

"You will need two!" countered Sakura, beginning to sound hysterical.

Tsunade was becoming more frustrated and indignant by the moment. A vein bulged in the middle of her forehead as her notorious short-tempered nature threatened to unleash itself.

"Uchiha Sakura, I said that….."

"Tsunade-sama?" A new voice joined the argument; a calm, cool drawl that was somehow also bored.

"What is it, Shikamaru?" she snapped.

"With all due respect, Tsunade-sama, no matter how personally involved they are, we need Sasuke and Sakura. They are two of Konoha's finest; there's no denying it. They both have expertise in fields that we will find imperative. We will need Sharingan to beat Sharingan, and Kakashi's left eye is not enough. And as a medic, Sakura is surpassed only by you."

Tsunade scowled, and closed her eyes. The genius was right, of course, but…..

"Hokage-sama, I agree with Shika," Ino spoke up. "I'd gladly give up my position in this mission for Sakura."

"Yeah, me too," said Kiba, nodding. "Sasuke deserves to be here way more than I do."

Tsunade looked round at the faces in the room, most of which seemed to be silently imploring to her. She heaved a sigh. She couldn't forgo the fact that they were right; Sasuke and Sakura deserved to be on the teams, and they were both valuable assets. But Sasuke was a disaster waiting to happen and Sakura could turn out to be an emotional wreckage.

Tsunade weighed both factors in her mind for about two minutes. Every eye was on her as she mulled over it. Finally, she made a decision. She exhaled, and shook her head, frowning. She was probably going to regret this.

"Alright, alright. You two can go."

Sakura squealed her delight and relief, and Sasuke unclenched his fists and gave an appreciative nod.

The Godaime wasn't finished though.

"But if I get word that either of you, or any of you, for that matter," she amended, casting a glower around the room, "are endangering the success of the mission in any way, you will be sent home and replaced immediately. Got it?"

A murmur of assent echoed throughout the room.

"Good." The blonde looked down at her hastily scribbled notes. "I think we can find a use for every person in this room.

"Asuma, Shino, Lee and Tenten will be the platoon assigned to duty in Konoha." Lee looked slightly disappointed, but said nothing. "Tenten, are you sure you want to do this on your maternity leave, or are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Tsunade-sama," she said hastily, before her husband could say otherwise. She turned to face him. "Don't worry, Neji, I'm going to be okay. I can take care of myself, and you know it. I'm only going to be making enquires after all." She patted his hand soothingly, but this failed to placate him, and he only scowled at her. Undaunted, she gave him a brilliant smile. "Anyway, I'm only four months pregnant. I wouldn't even be on maternity leave this early if it wasn't for you. Don't worry; I won't let anyone know about your surreptitious over-protectiveness." She gave him a grin and a wink, and was rewarded with the slightest suggestion of a smile.

She turned back to the meeting, where Tsunade was moving on.

"Chouji, Kiba and Ino, I need you to do some desk work for me." Kiba and Chouji groaned, but Ino seemed happy to help in whatever way she could. "I want you to go through the records, files, old mission reports; everything, and compile as much information on Uchiha Itachi as you can find. I need it by tomorrow morning to give to our next two platoons before they head out. The Sandaime's library resources will be available to you, as well as mine. And if Shizune is free, I'm sure she'll be glad to help you."

The three shinobi digested their instructions and nodded.

"Now, I know that putting off leaving until tomorrow will set you all back quite a while, but it cannot be helped. I will not have any of you face Uchiha Itachi without a complete and intricate knowledge of his skills, abilities and capacity. To do otherwise would be sending you to your deaths."

Everyone nodded, though Sasuke looked a tad bit peeved, and Sakura seemed disappointed.

Tsunade continued.

"Neji, Sakura and Sasuke will be in a platoon with Kakashi….."

The young Sharingan user narrowed his eyes.

"Hokage-sama, I know what you're trying to do, and let me tell you, I don't need a chaperone."

She ignored him and went right ahead.

"…..and Kurenai, Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru will make up the last squad.

"Anonymity will do us well, so the last two platoons will don their ANBU uniforms and masks. Kakashi, Kurenai, Shikamaru, Hinata and Sakura, uniforms will be provided for you and fake tattoos doled out where necessary."

Her golden-brown almond eyes surveyed them all.

"Konoha-nin, I know that all of you are familiar with little Uchiha Kisho, and he didn't fail to irreversibly charm each of you. I myself am enamoured of the little sweetheart. But you must not let anything prevent you from exercising anything less than extreme caution. I cannot stress enough how powerful, crafty and dangerous a shinobi Uchiha Itachi is. And if his partner Hoshigaki Kisame is somehow also involved, there will be even more trouble." She paused, and relaxed her grave demeanour to give them an encouraging smile.

"But I have faith in you, your growths and strengths. Shikamaru was right; assembled here are Konoha's finest. How could we go wrong with an Uchiha prodigy, wielder of the Sharingan; a Hyuuga prodigy, wielder of the Byakugan; the infamous Copy Ninja; a well-rounded, brawling Jounin; a genjutsu specialist; a taijutsu specialist; a weapons specialist; a genius; a mind manipulator; the best two medics in all of Konoha; a beast master; a clever bug-controller; a truly brave shinobi whose stoutness of body is rivalled only by the stoutness of his heart; and the Kyuubi?

"I have no doubts that this mission can and will be successful. I myself would have liked to accompany you all. If only the Chuunin Exams weren't taking place in Konoha this year….."

"Don't worry, Hokage-sama," Kakashi interjected. "Your trust is well founded. We'll be fine."

She gave a quick nod.

"Alright everyone, see you tomorrow morning at five thirty." She got up from her seat. "I have to be going now. The examinees for the Chuunin Selection should be arriving any time now. Meeting adjourned."

Tsunade strode to the door, where a dark-haired figure clutching a pink, squealing bundle met her, and started speaking rapidly as they walked away.

In the room, the remaining shinobi sat uneasily. Glances were shared, and a few awkward coughs sounded. Then, one by one, they all filed out of the room.

……………

A/N: - (1) – Granny; old lady; things to that effect.

My exams started not too long ago, and they'll last for about a week and a half. I'm not too sure when I'll next be able to get to an Internet café, so y'all will be in for a bit a longer wait than usual for Chapter Five. (Yep, not having Internet at home sucks ass.) Sorry. And after that, well…..the block hasn't lifted, but I'll try my best to get Chapter Six done in no more than two weeks. The good news is, by that time, I'll be on vacation, and I'll have all my time to devote to this fic.

See y'all later!