After three days of relative solitude aboard the train, Sakura was grateful to finally reach the Snow Country.
She had avoided her traveling companions as much as possible for the duration of the train ride. When Neji or Lee were in their compartment she stayed in their small sleeping quarters. When she was unable to avoid either one of them, she tried to think what was worse – having Neji's cold eyes trained on her or Lee avoiding her altogether.
Sakura shivered as she stepped on to the station platform flanked by her two teammates. Fortunately, Shizune had provided all of them with clothing and outerwear that would not only keep them warm but allow for easy movement. Gone were the sandals Sakura normally wore strapped to her feet. They had been replaced by fitted black boots that crunched in the snow with every step she took.
Without her peripheral vision, she could have sworn she was alone. It was typical of Neji to be silent, but Lee would normally get caught up in the excitement of the mission and would have to be told to shut up. But not this time. Now more than ever it hurt not having him talk to. Lee had made it tradition before they started off every mission, to whisper in her ear I will protect you with my life, Sakura-san. That wasn't going to happen this time.
Reservations had been made in their names at the Ice Palace, the most prominent guest accommodations the Snow Country had to offer. As there was no escort assigned to meet them at the train station, they made the trek to the hotel on foot.
Tsunade had given them each a map, which outlined the major landmarks and buildings, as well as the layout of the city, but they didn't dare pull it out. The last thing they wanted was to draw unnecessary attention to themselves before they had been there less than twenty minutes. Besides, it was unnecessary. Sakura had memorized the route from the train station to the hotel, and she was positive Lee and Neji had done the same.
Once at the doors to the Ice Palace, while Neji was pulling them open, Lee leaned over and whispered in Sakura's ear, "I will protect you with my life, Sakura-san."
She almost forgot she was supposed to be in character when she saw the faint smile on his face.
"Lee, I –"
"This isn't the place," he said gently. "We should talk later."
She gave a quick nod of her head and walked in through the open door he was holding for her.
When they caught up with Neji, he was already at the front reception asking for their rooms. The clerk skimmed through the reservation list before looking back up at the group and smiling apologetically.
"Is there a problem?" Neji asked with a raised eyebrow.
"As you know, many of the respected leaders from the various countries are here for the Snow Country winter gala. Most of them, book their reservations several months in advance. Unfortunately, Konoha was a list minute reservation. The only suite we have available has two rooms."
Neji, staying in character, frowned. "I see."
"Is this going to be a problem?" The desk clerk asked.
"No, no problem," said Lee, eagerly stepping in front of Neji. He grabbed their room keys from the clerk's outstretched hand.
They each grabbed their luggage and headed for the stairs that would take them to their room on the second floor. Lee used his key to unlock the suite. When the door was open, he let out a low whistle.
"Tsuande-sama should have told us what this place would be like," said Lee appreciatively.
"I can't remember the last time we had accommodations like this for a mission," Sakura said, taking in the sight of the grand room.
"That's because we haven't," said Neji, taking care to close the door behind them.
"I think the closet is bigger than my own bedroom back home," said Sakura, staring into one of the rooms.
"I'm comfortable sleeping out here," Neji told them. There was no point in arguing over who got a room, when he was perfectly fine with the couch. "Lee, Sakura, you take the bedrooms."
Sakura wandered into the kitchenette area, finding a note lying on the table there.
"My medical seminar isn't until tomorrow morning at ten," she said glancing over the itinerary they had been given.
"That will give us plenty of opportunity to watch the Sound between now and the Gala Ball," Neji said to them both. "Sakura, while you are at the seminar, Lee and I will find the contact Tsunade-sama instructed us to meet with."
Sakura was grateful Neji didn't want to begin things that night. She felt a bit out of sorts from the days of traveling on a train, but was positive a good night's sleep on a real bed would change that.
Much later when the others had retired for the night, Neji had found himself unable to fall asleep, as he had for many nights recently. Eventually he gave up on sleep altogether and brought himself into the meditation posture his father had taught him when he was a child.
He was aware of one of the bedroom doors sliding open and the faint patter of feet against the bare floor.
"Looking for something?" He said, his eyes still shut. He took satisfaction in hearing the hitch in her breathing, knowing he had quite effectively startled her.
"Just getting a glass of water," Sakura said as calmly as she could.
Neji remained in his meditative posture as she made her way to the kitchenette. Grabbing a cup and filling it up with tap water, Sakura decided to put her pride aside – for the sake of the mission.
"I was out of line on the train. I shouldn't have said those things to you," she apologized.
"Just as you do not want me to make assumptions about you, perhaps you should not assume you know everything about me," he said from his spot on the couch.
"I didn't know you followed meditation discipline," she said, coming around to where she could see his face.
Neji finally opened his eyes, an unreadable expression on his face. "I simply do it to clear my head, that is all."
Sakura wondered just what kinds of things Hyuuga Neji needed to clear from his mind. He wasn't the type of person to dwell on things unnecessarily.
"You sleep with your head wrappings on," she stated, noticing it for the first time.
Jaw clenched, Neji said, "my heritage is not something to be flaunted."
"It's not flaunting," she told him. "But I don't see why you feel the need to hide it from your friends."
Their eyes met and it was hard to tell who was more surprised – Sakura for blurting out that she thought of Neji as a friend, or Neji for being told she considered him a friend.
"It is a mark of shame and duty to the Head Family," he said, keeping his tone impassive. "It is not something I wish others to see."
"No one judges you by that mark, Neji," she said, heading back to her room and letting the door slide shut behind her.
That night Neji slept without his forehead wrappings on.
At precisely noon, Neji and Lee stepped into the gaming house Tsunade had instructed them to go to. With all the visitors in Snow Country the gaming house was packed, much more than it should have been in the middle of the day.
Neji did not like the unwelcome stares being sent in their direction because of their age. Fortunately, for the purpose of his alias Lee had donned a dark, nondescript brown jumpsuit instead of the green one he favoured to wear. If someone remembered them there, it would be much more difficult to recall a person if there was nothing unique about them.
Neji walked over to the bar and dropped several large bills onto it in front of the bartender. Lee kept an eye out from beside him for any signs of trouble.
"We want a private gaming room – one with a view," Neji spoke to the man.
"None of our rooms have windows," the bartender responded.
"I was told that they did. I know you won't disappoint us," Neji said and dropped another large bill onto the table.
The bartender scooped up the money into his fist and said, "there's one room you may like."
Tucking the money away into one of the many pockets in his apron, the bartender stepped out from the bar and began leading them towards a long, darkened hallway. He unlocked the last door without any markings on it.
"Everything you need is already inside," he told them and began walking back to the main area.
Before going in, Neji used his Byakugan to scan the room for any hidden traps or ambushes. There was nothing he could detect. The room was empty except for a sole occupant sitting at a table who Neji recognized instantly. He nodded at Lee, who pushed the door open.
"This room's taken," the voice growled, not looking up from his drink.
"We were told this room had the best view," Neji said, though clearly there were no windows or scenery of any kind.
The man looked up and ran a hand over the rough stubble under his chin. "What was Tsunade thinking sending anyone other than ANBU to complete such an important covert mission," said Genma.
Neji forced himself not to show anger at the other Jounin's words. "Lady Hokage had us retrieve vital information from the Hidden Rain village ninjas. We were told Asuma would be here as well. Is he still coming?"
Genma smirked. "Rain ninjas have nothing to do with our purpose here and you know Asuma's on a long term mission in the Lightning Country. Your suspicious nature makes you sound like an ANBU," Genma commented. "Of course if you hadn't done that, I probably would have reported you for trusting a source before being sure of their identity."
Genma was one of the cockiest shinobi Neji had come to know. He disliked having to deal with the man on any occasion.
"Who's the other person Tsunade sent with you?" Genma asked them.
"Haruno Sakura. She's attending the conference at the science academy," Lee answered.
"I see," Genma muttered, unimpressed.
"What information do you have for us?" Neji asked impatiently, unwilling to listen to Genma go on again about the inability of his team to handle such an important mission.
"I've been in the Snow Country for almost two months now," Genma began, slouching back in his chair. "I was sent here after the rumours started that the Sound were looking around for forbidden medical techniques."
"What kind of techniques?" Said Lee.
"The kind that involve mutating the cells of the body to achieve the ultimate fighting warrior. One that has the strength of ten ninjas and the inability to feel pain, making it fight until it dies. The Sound have probably reached the point where they've done all they can on their own. The next logical step would be for them to hook up with a country that has the strongest medical program available. With the ball tomorrow and all the top ranking officials of the Snow Country distracted, it would be the perfect time to cut a deal. When you're at the ball tomorrow night you need to find out what that is." Genma glanced down at his watch. "You've been in here long enough to have played a few games, you should go now."
They left without question, heading out into the main gaming room and then out onto the snowy streets. At least Genma's information had shed some light on their secretive mission. Neji hoped that Sakura's time at the science academy would prove to be just as useful.
When Tsunade had preached the mechanics of healing to her, Sakura had always listened eagerly, absorbing every piece of information that she could. She listened to the lecture she was sitting in on in very much the same way. She was learning things about the human body in one day that she had only briefly studied since becoming a medic nin. She understood now why Tsunade had been persistent in her petition to have one class at the Academy for those students that showed a talent for healing. That alone had been a fight to accomplish. Other instructions claimed the additional class would be too much for the younger students to handle. But Tsunade had pushed for it and had come up with a comprise. Initially, the class had been for Genin levels only, but the interest in it had grown so much Tsunade had divided them up to accommodate those on a Genin and Chuunin level, each receiving training twice a week.
When the current lecturer, a professor of biology at the academy, announced they would be wrapping up shortly, Sakura glanced at the clock, astonished to see they had already run almost an hour over.
Being in the last row of the auditorium, she was unaware anyone was behind her until she heard the quiet mutterings of a conversation. She turned around to tell whoever it was to be quiet or else she was going to let Inner Sakura loose on them, but there was no one there. There was just a door partly open. She was sure that door had been closed earlier. It looked almost like someone had wanted to come in, then changed had their mind at the last second without bothering to close it again.
Curious now, she raised her arms as if to stretch, making a show of dropping her pen near the open door. She quietly left her seat to retrieve it, straining her ears as she did so to pick up on any pieces of the conversation.
"This is not everything we agreed upon," a calm voice stated.
Sakura froze. She knew that voice. She looked around her but everyone was so engrossed in the lecture they paid her no attention. She moved closer to the open door. She could see another corridor outside and the shadow of two people standing close together.
"This is all I could get without drawing attention to myself. You will have the rest tomorrow night," said an anxious voice.
"Fortunately for you, I'm a patient person," said the voice Sakura recognized. "Unfortunately, my master isn't."
He stepped into more visible light, his appearance clear to her now – glasses and white hair pulled back into a ponytail. Kabuto. He walked away, pocketing a vial filled with a grayish liquid she didn't recognize.
The sudden sound of applause indicated the lecture was at last over. Sakura pushed her way through the crowds of people heading for the doors, desperate to get back to the hotel so she could tell Lee and Neji what she witnessed.
She entered their hotel room, finding Neji and Lee seated around the kitchen table.
"You're late," Neji stated.
"The seminar ran over," she responded, knowing the information she had to share was far more important than getting into another battle of words with him. "Kabuto was at the academy," she announced.
"Do you know why he was there?" Lee asked instantly.
She shook her head. "I overheard a conversation between him and what looked like another professor there. The professor gave him a vial filled with some kind of liquid. He told Kabuto he wouldn't be able to get more until tomorrow."
Neji turned serious eyes on her. "Did Kabuto see you?"
"No, I don't think so."
"This confirms what Genma told us," Lee said to Neji.
"Genma?" Sakura was confused.
Lee then launched into a quick explanation that Genma was the contact they were supposed to meet with and that he had provided them with what the Sound appeared to be after – forbidden medical techniques to build their own army with.
"The exchange will likely happen at the Gala tomorrow night," said Neji in a calm voice. "With so many people there it would be easier to make an exchange without arousing suspicion. If we knew the layout of the academy, it would be easier to plan a course of action."
Sakura grinned. "There were some floor plans outside one of the office's. I had to memorize it to figure out where I was going. I can map it out for you."