Sasuke's Cherry Blossom
Part 7
A/N:- Woo hoo! Chapter Seven! Hmm…. I said I'd get it up in a week, and here it is, eleven days later. Not bad. I think this is my fastest update yet, ne? I'll try my best to keep it up.
Celira:- Tee hee! Had to giggle at that mental image. Yeah, you were right. :grimaces:
Disclaimer:- If I owned Naruto, Sasuke would have never left, Orochimaru would fall off the face of the earth (maybe taking Baki, Temari and Sasame with him) and Tenten would have a clan name.
Splashes of golden sunlight cavorted on the verdant green of the forest floor. Birds chirped a canorous, nonsensical tune, only to cut off abruptly and flit away as human presence made itself known.
The dark-haired man that settled himself against a tree clasped a small, unmoving bundle with purple-tipped fingers. Occasionally, he shifted the tiny weight from one shoulder to the next. Itachi looked to the east, studying the rising sun. It was probably a little after eight. He still had some time to wait.
The minutes slid by slowly, like a feather's descent. The man closed his eyes, thinking. Everything was going smoothly so far; the pieces were in place. All he had to do was wait for Sasuke to make his move. And knowing his foolish, impetuous little brother, that would be very soon indeed.
The bundle made a sound, and Itachi's lids slid open to reveal a narrowed, black-eyed gaze. Some time during the evening yesterday, the child had finally realised that the person holding him certainly was not his father. That, coupled with its apparent hunger, had caused it to start crying; a loud, incessant wailing that was more grating on the ears than its lilting laughter. The baby would not be appeased with the berries that he had force-fed it. Eventually, the Uchiha had been forced to cast a sleep jutsu on it. The effects would wear off almost two hours from now. Itachi hoped his companion would arrive by then.
The baby fell silent. Its captor leant back against the tree, closing his eyes once again. Fifteen minutes later, he was slightly alarmed and very annoyed to feel a dampness against his arm. Gritting his teeth, he promptly deposited the child into a brush, glaring at the tiny reposing form.
Cleaning the leakage off his arm with a cloth, he thought of the man who was on his way to meet him. He better get here soon.
"Miss?"
"…"
"Miss?"
"…"
"Miss? Are you ignoring me, girl?"
Tenten squeezed her eyes shut, and fought hard to find that rigid, all-encompassing self-control that all Hyuugas seemed to possess, and turned to face the crotchety old shop-keeper. The woman was staring at her belligerently, fists planted on thick hips.
"Yes ma'am?" the weapons specialist asked pseudo-sweetly.
"What's your name?"
The kunoichi cocked her head in confusion.
"Er….Hyuuga Tenten." She really didn't have time for this. "Look ma'am, I…."
"You're a shinobi, aren't you?" she cut her off.
Tenten looked down at her Jounin-vest, cargo pants, kunai holster and weapons pouch. She flicked her forehead. Yup, her hitai-ate was there, alright.
"Yes?" she tried.
"Good." The solid woman nodded firmly. "Come on, I've got a job for you."
Tenten blinked at the woman's back as she bustled her way through the market crowd. She couldn't be serious.
Apparently, she was, as the kunoichi soon found out. The shop-keeper turned, patent annoyance etched onto her features.
"Come on, don't lag. You've got a lot of work to do."
The recent addition to the Hyuuga clan shook her honey-brown head, and hurried to catch up.
"You don't understand, ma'am. I'm in the middle of a very important investigation here." For the better part of the morning, she had been haunting the market, looking out for anything suspicious, asking questions, making enquiries. She hadn't made much leeway. Asuma and the others were somewhere in the vicinity, and they were all connected by walkie-talkie. She couldn't afford to be distracted now. She tried to communicate that to the store-lady.
"A very important investigation," she reiterated. "I can't…."
"Oh, so you're saying that this isn't important?" the woman flared, fire in her eyes. "You're saying that this doesn't matter?" She was getting all riled up, reminding Tenten of her often irate grandmother. She hastened to rectify.
"No, no, no. I…."
"I was robbed, missy. Robbed." She nodded her head vehemently and poked the shinobi's chest with a gnarled finger for good measure. "My shop was robbed. Rob…."
"Okay, okay, I get it," Tenten interrupted, fighting not to roll her eyes as she held her hands out. "You were robbed. I'm sorry. That's very unfortunate. But don't you think you should take this to the police?" There was no lack of sarcasm in her voice.
"You think I haven't called the police?" the woman cried, looking at Tenten as if she were touched in the head. "Of course I've called the police! I was robbed around mid-afternoon yesterday. I've made numerous calls since, and nobody's come!" She sniffed, and gave a long-suffering sigh. "This is what our village of Konoha has come to. Plaintive pleas go unheard, no one cares for the old, and justice is doled out selectively. The word shinobi no longer means what it used to. Now, back in the day, when the Yondaime reigned; those were the days. The police force was a fine, upstanding institution; integrity was integral, and the cries of an old woman…."
"Alright, alright, alright!" Tenten said in a near shout before the woman could progress into a lengthy harangue. The Hyuuga control, she repeated to herself. The Hyuuga control. She rubbed her belly in frustration, a habit she had picked up in her third month. "I will help you."
"Why, thank you, Hyuuga-dono(1)." The woman smiled toothily and bowed. She looked very pleased with herself, almost triumphant.
The kunoichi scowled discreetly and clicked on her walkie-talkie.
"Asuma, I might be a little late in meeting you guys later."
The lady (Tohomiko Nami, she introduced herself as) led her to her store, a block or two away. It was a small, quaint little building, in good condition. It looked like your average convenience store. Once inside, Nami wasted no time in getting Tenten a pad and a pen – which were met with an arched brow and a muffled sigh – and beginning to speak.
"Every afternoon at around two o'clock, I take an hour's break. Yesterday was no different. I locked the place up, and went down the road to have a chat with Suki, and some lunch. When I came back around three, the burglar had come and gone. The funny thing about it is, the store was locked up as tightly as I'd left it."
Tenten 'hmm'-ed. She stepped outside and inspected the locks. They showed no signs of being tampered with. She poked her head back inside.
"Windows? Back door?"
"The windows were sealed shut years ago, and as you can see, none of them have been broken. I don't have a back door."
Tenten re-entered the store, chewing on her lip.
"Okay….er….let's see. What was stolen, Tohomiko-san? Did you make a list?"
"Of course."
Nami delved beneath the counter and came up with a piece of paper.
"Alright. Four packs of diapers, lots of milk – I've still got to check the inventory to find out exactly how much – a baby bottle, two packets of wipes, and a pacifier."
Tenten stared at the old woman in dumbfounded bewilderment for a long minute before choking out,
"What did you just say?"
Nami repeated the list slowly, looking at the Hyuuga strangely.
Tenten wondered if she would seem at all untoward if she were to pick up the old woman, swing her around a few times and plant kisses all over her round, chubby face. She settled for giving her a firm hug, and just one kiss. The store-owner seemed to be warring between surprise, amusement and indignation.
The kunoichi took out the walkie-talkie, all but jumping about in exhilaration.
"I assure you, Tohomiko-san, at this moment, several competent shinobi are working on apprehending your burglar."
Seemingly appeased, Nami nodded, not sure of what to think.
Tenten put the device to her mouth.
"Asuma? Get the others and meet me at #2 Katsu Street, near the market. They were here, all right. I've got a lead."
While they waited, Tenten took a few more notes, to completely satisfy the old woman. The bearded Jounin, along with the Aburame heir were not long in arriving; dropping from the roof onto their feet in front of the store. They headed in, nodding in acknowledgement to Nami. The chestnut-haired kunoichi wasted no time in informing them of what she'd learnt.
"Hmm," Asuma mused after she'd finished, exhaling smoke in a long, thin stream. "A child is kidnapped in the early hours of the morning. Around two o'clock on that same day, baby supplies are stolen. No way that's a coincidence."
"Exactly what I was thinking," the Hyuuga girl agreed. This was all making sense.
"Did you say two o'clock?" In Shino's soft monotone, it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"Yeah." A puff of light blue vapour. "Why?"
"I was making enquiries not too far from here. Though I didn't find out anything about our primary suspect, I did learn that around half two yesterday, a woman by the name of Saki Tsunami went missing."
The three shinobi shared a look.
"What are her stats?" Tenten asked.
"Age twenty-two, mother of two children, recently promoted to Chuunin, no special abilities."
"Mother of two," Asuma repeated thoughtfully. He dragged on the cigarette, and its orange tip flared. "Interesting."
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" The pregnant kunoichi grinned, and gave her stomach a triumphant pat. "Okay, first, we need to…."
Tenten cut herself off abruptly, and cocked her head. She looked around, a tad wildly, as if just taking stock of her surroundings.
"Wait a minute…. Where in the hell is Lee!"
Both of her companions shrugged, and Nami, who had long since ceased to pay attention to them, looked up and scowled.
"I'd originally thought he was with you," the smoking Jounin ventured. "When I got here, I was too caught up too notice that he wasn't."
Shino was already on his walkie-talkie.
"He's not responding," he said after a while.
Asuma's shoulders rose and sank.
"Maybe he made one of those bets with himself. 'If I don't gather sufficient information on Kisho's disappearance….', so on and so forth. Check Gai. He's sure to know where he is."
"No." Tenten shook her head. "Gai-sensei is off on a mission." She thought back hard, to twelve years ago, and exhaled noisily. That idiot. "Come on, you all. I think I know where he is….or rather, is heading. Come on, we've got to inform Tsunade-sama."
"Kisame, come out," Itachi deadpanned from his stand at the tree, eyes closed and chest heaving lightly in a parody of sleep. "Stop playing games."
A few moments of silence, a rush of air, and the blue-faced shark materialised in the middle of the clearing. He hefted the Samehada onto his shoulder easily, grinning widely.
"As sharp as ever, Itachi-san."
The ex-Konoha-nin made no move to answer.
Kisame tilted his head, looking up to the trees.
"Come out," he barked harshly.
A slight young woman with short blonde hair jumped down to stand next to him, a sizeable bag on her back and a bovine, uninterested look in her eyes. She clasped her hands in front of her placidly, and proceeded to stare blandly into nothing. Itachi opened his eyes almost lazily to study her.
"The child, Itachi-san?"
The pariah motioned towards the brush, where its briars, brambles and leaves were just barely supporting the resting baby boy. Kisame jerked his head in that direction, and addressed the woman.
"See to the kid." She complied quickly and wordlessly, that dull light glinting in her amethyst eyes. Kisame went to stand next to Itachi, and they watched as she changed and fed the child.
"How strong is the hypnosis technique you cast on her?" the smaller man asked.
"Ah, I suppose it will last for about fifteen hours." The blue-faced man gave his companion a glance. "I suggest that you use your technique before that. It's stronger, and should give us about a day more."
Itachi nodded offhandedly, still observing their two captives.
"She is a shinobi, correct?"
"Hai. A Chuunin. She should be able to keep up with you."
The younger man made a small noise that was up for interpretation and finally turned to face his partner.
"Are the others in place?"
"Hai, Itachi-san."
"Good. My brother will not come alone. His little friends will prove to be a nuisance that I cannot deal with." His tone was flat, cold and void. "And you. You know what you have to do, right?"
"Yes, Itachi-san." The shark grinned, almost cannibalistically. "I am honoured that you would allow me to do this."
The other ninja made a noncommittal sound.
"Not too much blood, though. And don't kill anyone just yet."
Though he looked disappointed, Kisame nodded his acquiescence. He turned to the girl, who was jiggling a sleeping Kisho in her arms, managing to look at the same time very at ease and very stiff.
"Done?" he demanded roughly. He was met with an empty nod.
Itachi pushed himself off of the tree, and they made ready to part ways. They waited for the Chuunin to pack all the supplies away and gather Kisho back into her arms.
"Her name is Tsunami," Kisame added as an afterthought as Itachi and the girl propelled themselves onto the nearest branch. He said it with the air of someone who knew his information was not particularly wanted or needed. She was going to die, anyway.
As expected, Itachi simply shrugged, and he and the girl disappeared into the trees, heading north-west. Kisame watched them go before performing a rapid series of hand seals, and vanishing in a cloud of smoke.
"Stay sharp, guys," Kakashi called to the three ninja in his platoon. "We're now within a mile of the first guy we're supposed to meet. Neji, can you confirm that for me?"
The bird-masked nin nodded, and the quartet dropped to the forest floor. They had separated from Kurenai's group a little after day-break that morning, had a very short break, and got going once again, keeping the pace that Kakashi had set. They were faintly fatigued, but had no intentions of stopping on account of that.
Pale hands rose, forming the seals as they went. The porcelain mask hid the thick veins that were creeping to the corners of his narrowed eyes.
"Byakugan!" Neji uttered softly.
Shortly, the hands sank.
"A mile and a half," he amended. "A woman, in non-shinobi attire, sitting in a clearing."
"Just sitting?" queried Sakura.
"Yes," affirmed Neji. "Almost as if she were waiting for something."
A look passed between the four of them.
"Hmm," Kakashi said simply. A full minute passed before he spoke again.
"I think it would be best if we were to take a short rest again before continuing. We don't know if this woman poses a threat to us. For the same reason, we should be on the defensive for now, rather than the offensive. It has yet to be revealed what part this woman, or the other miscellaneous persons posted around the forest, has to play in all of this."
They all agreed. They didn't know if a fight awaited them, and it would be best if they were all well-rested and prepared.
Kakashi took to a tree branch, stretched out his legs and whipped out his hentai book. Neji busied himself with tightening the bandages on his arm. Sakura divested herself of her mask briefly to take a drink of water, then walked over to Sasuke and offered him the bottle. He accepted it, and grunted his thanks.
After he finished, and she put the canteen away, Sakura hooked her arm through her husband's and rest her head on his shoulder. She was a bit dismayed to feel how stiff and tense he was. She squeezed the flesh beneath her fingers. No reaction.
Smiling a bit mischievously under the mask, the medic tip-toed closer until the bunny nose touched his ear, and whispered,
"Wanna sneak off into the woods and make out?"
Sakura was suitably gratified to feel his muscles relax, and hear him stifle what she hoped was a laugh. Grinning, she snuggled closer into his side, and closed her eyes.
Less than a half an hour later, they were on the move again, progressing stealthily through the trees.
A mile and a half away, a woman sensed them coming. She licked her lips, and smiled.
A/N:- (1) – Honorific term for a samurai; here, it obviously refers to a shinobi.
I gave y'all a sliver a fluff there, since there won't be much of that anymore after this.
I was going to draw a little portrait of all my OC's for ya'll, but that's shot to hell, since Tsunami came out looking like a pissed off Austrian woman, instead of a hypnotised, bovineJapanese girl. I've never been particularly creative, and I've always been exceedingly lazy. :pouts: I shall make another attempt presently though.
At Mistress DragonFlame's request, here are the masks that everyone's wearing. It'll probably be mentioned somewhere down the line in conversation or description, but this makes it a whole lot clearer.
Hinata – raccoon
Kakashi – dog
Kurenai – bear
Naruto – fox
Neji – bird
Sakura – rabbit
Sasuke – tiger
Shikamaru – cat
I wrote a humorous little side-fic of sorts, called My Daddy…, and a Team Seven fic called Knights in Shining Armour, if anyone's interested.
I shall now leave you all to ponder what this job of Kisame's is; where in the hell is Lee, and the intentions of that lady sitting in the clearing. Bwaha.
Next update:- Friday 16th September, 2005. I hope. (And so do you, I'm sure.)