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The Link

Chapter X: Turning Points

Itachi was silent as he sat on the floor of Naruto's room, Heion sleeping in his arms. The ex-prodigy of the Uchiha clan was frowning contemplatively as he sat there. This morning Heion had been depressed. She did not want to play and cried easily. Naruto and Sasuke tried to amuse her, but she only cried and cried. She only shut up when Itachi took her from the crazy Jounins and rocked her gently until she fell asleep. There was something wrong with the baby. She was hotter than normal. Itachi mentioned this nervously, but Naruto said they should observe the baby's condition first before panicking.

And then somewhere around nine in the morning Heion pooped. Sasuke and Naruto were the ones who did the cleaning, but Sasuke expressed his worry that the girl's poo was wet. Naruto immediately suggested that they should make sure she had enough water or she'd dehydrate. But Heion bawled and struggled superbly whenever Sasuke tried to make her drink water. She won't drink her milk either. Naruto said that if she grew worse by tomorrow, they should take her to Sakura or Shizune. Sasuke paled at the suggestion.

"Sakura?" The younger Uchiha blurted out in scandalized tones. "Do you know what that chatter box will do once she finds out I do have a baby with me? It'll only be a matter of time before Tsunade will kill us all here!"

Naruto frowned at his teammate. "Sasuke, you idiot, I didn't say tell Sakura the truth. You have to lie to her."

"What? And what if she asks me who the mother is?"

"Well, give her a name of some random girl. And tell her the mother's dead."

"WHAT?"

Itachi heard the fox-boy sigh. "Look, I don't have time for this."

"But Naruto -!"

There was a clacking sound as Naruto slid his window open. Itachi wetted his lips briefly with a flick of his pink tongue.

"Why do you always keep your window open?" he inquired quietly.

"Because I will have a visitor -!"

There was a loud thud from Sasuke's corner, and Itachi could hear a kunai being pulled out. Itachi's body grew tense as he recognized the smell and aura in the air. That same aura radiated shocked surprise.

"YOU!" came Sasuke's angry voice.

"Oh hello, Sasuke-kun, nice seeing you here." came Orochimaru's strained voice. "And...well...why, hello to you as well, Itachi! Having a nice little reunion, I suppose?"

It was Naruto who answered the question. "Oh, sensei, you wouldn't believe how the two of them got here."

There was some more clanks and thud as Orochimaru went inside the cramped apartment and slid the window shut behind him. Itachi could feel tension rising quickly in the room and going so thick he could almost touch it.

"What is that kunai for, if I might ask, Sasuke-kun?" said Orochimaru, trying to be cheerful.

"I'm going to shove it up your brains -!" Sasuke hissed, but now there was a loud crack as someone's fist (probably Naruto's) smashed into Sasuke's face. "What the! Why did you hit me, Naruto?"

The fox-boy's voice brooked no nonsense. "You are staying in my house. My house, my rules. There will be no slandering my sensei here."

"Naruto, do you still consider -!"

Now, Itachi was the one who restored calm. "Enough, Sasuke." Heion, shaken out of her precarious sleep, started to cry yet again. Itachi glared blindly at his stupid brother before rocking Heion once more. Orochimaru's surprise thickened in the air, blending well into the tension.

"A...a baby!" the Serpent said in wonder.

"Don't tell me you haven't had one of your own, bastard." Sasuke said, trying to be sarcastic.

Orochimaru let the acidic comment slide. "Oh, I never had the chance and time to make a child of my own, sadly. Though I must say I have the perfect person in mind who I really want to have a child with...but enough of that, that is beside the point. Goodness, I'm blabbering. Can I hold her, Itachi?"

"HELL NO!" Sasuke shouted, and there was another crack as Naruto hit him smartly at the back of the head.

Itachi frowned. The baby kept rampaging in his arms, and there was one frightening second in which she very nearly eased herself out of his grip to land hard on the floor.

"Oh, I suppose that means a no?" said Orochimaru.

Itachi blinked. "No, take her."

Sasuke made a scandalized snort. Itachi held Heion out with much effort because she kept screaming and kicking, and then her weight left his hands. Her cries got louder at the sight of a frightening and extremely pale new face.

"Dear, dear, she has a fever!" Orochimaru said calmly. It was as if the baby wasn't scratching his face at the moment. "Ooh, and quite strong too! She will make a good ninja when the day comes, I am sure. Quite possibly an ANBU at that...now, now, child...ssh..."

The tension in the room quivered slightly, and then faded into outright shock as Heion stopped crying and rampaging like magic. Itachi did not need to see how Sasuke was gaping at Orochimaru at the moment – somehow in his mind a very accurate image already surfaced. Heion was making soft crooning sounds as she touched Orochimaru's face.

"Kekekeke...you are a cute little angel, aren't you?" the Serpent murmured. "And what breathtaking eyes! And you smell good, too!" Heion gave a shrill laugh as Orochimaru sniffed her neck.

"H-how...how did you do that?" came Sasuke's awestruck voice.

"Yeah, how?" Naruto seconded.

Orochimaru laughed. "Kekeke...let's just say that I had my share of baby-sitting in my earlier days." There was a faint creak as the Serpent rose. "Here, take your daughter, Itachi." Itachi held out his hands and felt Heion's weight settle comfortably into him. "If I may suggest, do persist in trying to get her to drink more fluid. Have ice water ready in case her fever increases – and I am sure it will."

"What are you, a baby manual?" Sasuke piped up.

"Unlike you, I know a lot in terms of baby care. I would be happy to impart more of my knowledge on the matter, but time runs fast and Naruto and I still have a long way to go. Naruto-kun?"

"Ready, sensei!"

"Where are you going?" Sasuke pushed on.

"Somewhere in Konoha." Orochimaru answered as he opened the window again. "Well, I suppose I will see you two again!"

"Hey, don't blow up my house, okay? Ja, matane!"

"Naruto, wait-!"

Itachi let out the breath he had been holding. "Did you notice it?"

Sasuke was confused. "Huh? What?"

"Orochimaru." Itachi continued. "He feels wrong...he feels like..."

"What?"

"His aura...his aura was empty. Cold. He feels like someone who's going to die at any moment now."

Tsunade was smiling proudly as she surveyed the completed nomination form for the next Hokage after her. Thoughts running, the Godaime steepled her fine fingers together before resting her chin on them. In the next four or five years or so, she would step down for the next Hokage and take the place of Utatane Koharu in the Konoha council. Her late sensei's teammates were had reached the end of their days, and it was time to think of Konoha's future. Traditionally an S-ranked ninja filled for the council positions, but the only S-ranked ninjas available for Homura and Koharu's replacements were herself and Jiraiya.

She and Jiraiya had discussed these things over sake a few days ago, and it took the toad hermit at least two hours of hard thinking before finally acquiescing, saying that things would have to move on sooner or later. They also discussed a myriad of other things. Shizune was to be made Head of the Medical Team and Sakura her assistant before Tsunade stepped down, just so the Rokudaime Hokage would have lesser things to worry about. They also talked of giving Hatake Kakashi the position Morino Ibiki was going to vacate. There was also the issue of the next Ninja Academy Head, and she was still choosing between Nara Shikamaru and Uchiha Sasuke. But very probably she would let the Rokudaime handle this instead.

"So many changes, so little time..." Tsunade murmured as she lowered her gaze to the name she had written on the nomination form. Her smile inched wider. She was sure this Hokage would be by far the greatest Konoha would ever see, outshining even her sensei and Jiraiya's student. Outshining even herself. She wondered vaguely what Dan and Nawaki would say were they alive. She was sure they'd approve too.

A knock on her door shook the Godaime unwillingly from her thoughts. She blinked several times before saying a rather annoyed "Enter!" She did hate it when someone inconveniently barged in on her private thinking sessions.

Sakura entered, followed by a regal, purple-eyed woman who bore the head protector of Kirigakure. Tsunade raised an eyebrow. The purple-eyed woman looked very excited about something.

"Godaime-sama," said Sakura. "Murasaki Koyuki, Head of the Medical Team of Kirigakure, wishes to speak to you." The purple-eyed woman bowed so deep her long hair touched the floor. Tsunade's other eyebrow rose.

"From the Hidden Mist?" Tsunade repeated. "You may go, Sakura."

Sakura bowed one last time before leaving, closing the door gently behind her. She gestured toward the empty chairs before her, and purple-eyed medic approached and sat down very slowly. Her eyes were very wide. Tsunade snorted. She recognized fangirls and fanboys when she saw them.

"And what may I do for you?" she said politely as she rose herself. "Can I offer you some tea?"

"Yes, please," the woman nodded hurriedly and replied in an accent tempered with authority. "I-I came here out of a suggestion by the Godaime Kazekage."

"Gaara?" Tsunade was puzzled as she pushed a filled teacup toward the woman. "And what does a Mist medic have to do with us? Did the Mizukage send you to bring me a message?"

Koyuki shook her head. "No, Hokage-sama. I came here only with my own goals and the Mizukage's permission."

"Oh?"

"Hokage-sama...I need to meet a Jounin named Uzumaki Naruto. He may have some crucial information for me that might help me find my niece. You see, my niece was taken by the Akatsuki because her late mother sealed a third tailed demon into her."

Tsunade spat out a great quantity of tea that stained the nomination paper. Crying out in panic, Tsunade leapt to her feet and tried to wiggle the paper dry. In shock, Koyuki followed suit and tried to fan the dripping paper dry with her hands.

"That does it; I will have to write it again." Tsunade said in disgust as she crumpled up the nomination paper before throwing it into a trash can under her desk. Koyuki bowed apologetically.

"Please repeat what you have said." Tsunade asked as they both sat down again.

Koyuki swallowed. "I need to speak to one Uzumaki Naruto because I have known from Kazekage-sama that he is a great target for the Akatsuki. You see, my family was destroyed by three of their members not one year ago. My brother was killed in the encounter, and his wife died by sealing a tailed demon into their only daughter. We did not see any trace of my niece, so I am sure the Akatsuki has her. I need some kind of lead on them, which is why I need to speak to the Kyuubi's host."

Tsunade's face became blank. Either the woman before her was very brave – or really very stupid. If her niece had been taken by the Akatsuki as what she said, the girl would be dead by now. Everyone knew that extraction of the demon from its host meant death for that host. And did she honestly think that a lone medic like her could take on the whole of Akatsuki? Other than that, she knew too much she could very well put Naruto in danger. If Jiraiya were here, he would have sent this young lady back to her village with a sound kick in her ass. If he manages to take off his eyes from her breasts first, though. Tsunade thought sourly.

"Give me a moment." Tsunade said as she took out her planner from her desk. She flipped it open on some several pages, tracing down each sheet with a crimson-enameled finger. After a moment she sighed. "I am sorry to disappoint you, but Naruto has left Konoha and won't be back for an undetermined period of time."

Koyuki's hands clenched so much that her knuckles went whiter than paper. "What? Where did he go?"

"He left earlier this day for a special training with Orochimaru, his sensei." Tsunade said dispassionately. This was one of the reasons why she did not like Naruto leaving with Orochimaru. The Akatsuki was hot on both their trails, and Orochimaru wasn't exactly useful what with his dead arms. Besides, she did not even know if the places they went to were exactly safe! Tsunade could not have her successor as Hokage dead even before she stepped down, now could she?

"Surely you must have an idea..."

Tsunade's patience cracked. She slammed her planner shut loudly and glared at the girl before her. Koyuki, thankfully, had the modesty to shut her mouth and blush. For a few moments they were silent.

"If you don't have anything else to say, I suggest leaving." Tsunade said stiffly as she took out a new nomination form. "I have many things to do that I cannot afford to be ruined again."

Koyuki reddened some more. "Well, if I cannot speak with Uzumaki Naruto, may I please see Uchiha Sasuke instead?"

Tsunade eyed her sharply. "And what do you want with him?"

"Kazekage-sama has told me his brother is a member of the Akatsuki. He is a promising lead."

Not for the first time, Tsunade cursed Gaara in her head for being a blabbermouth with such inappropriate people.

Deidara surveyed Konoha silently from under his trademark straw hat. The people in the streets below moved with purpose, save for the occasional aimless wanderer.

"Why are we here again?" he asked.

Kisame shifted the Samehada before answering. "We need to check if Itachi hasn't returned here first."

The blond frowned. "You told me he and his brother hate each other. Itachi killed his clan, so why would he return to this godforsaken pig sty? It isn't like him if he ever did what you said."

"We cannot afford to have failures." Kisame answered simply.

Deidara huffed. "And if he is dead?"

"We find his body or his grave."

"Tch," said Deidara. "This is way too troublesome. More like a wild goose chase that leads to nowhere."

Kisame did not answer.

Once more Deidara shifted his blue gaze to the sprawling city of Konoha. He liked Itachi, but the Leader's orders were much more important. He may not look it, but Deidara loved life. He would always save his neck first when given the choice. And he had no choice except to obey.

And obey he would.