I very nearly continued to describe Sasuke's eyes as blue, as that seems to get more people to review than four thousand words of storyline. But ultimately it is irrelevant, so I made the shift for greater accuracy.

-

Chapter Four: Clarification

Putting both hands behind his head, Naruto grinned even broader. This grin did not dissipate when Ino and Sakura stared at him with slack jaws or when his hat fell off the back of his head. Despite herself, Hinata almost giggled.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura finally managed to voice. Slightly nervous, Naruto scratched the back of his head with an uncomfortable laugh and then picked up his hat.

"Didn't you get my message?"

"Yeah, but we didn't expect you to come yourself," Ino pointed out.

"Don't you have jobs to do?" Sakura added.

"Well, yes, strictly speaking, but it's all really boring stuff. So I snuck out; if I go back quickly enough no one will ever notice. Being a Kage is really incredibly dull, when nothing's happening like this. Of course," he coughed into one hand, and his eyes narrowed, "that certainly could change."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, one eyebrow rising.

"Something's up, and its something big. Information is pretty scarce. Basically the only people who know are the senior shinobi and all of my special agents."

"You have special agents?" It was Ino's turn to ask.

"Um... I probably shouldn't have mentioned that, but oh well." Naruto grinned at them again, not concerned in the slightest. "I've got a list of our old friends that take the toughest jobs. You know: Neji-kun, Lee-kun, Sasuke-kun -"

"Is that why he was here?" Sakura immediately asked. "Gathering information about this big problem?"

"To make a long story short, yes." Naruto pulled his hat over his eyes. "Is there any other place we could go? This is a bit open, and right now I really can't afford to be handing out information."

"Yeah," Sakura nodded. She turned and vaulted to the nearest building. The rest of them followed her, and again they were flying from rooftop to rooftop, moving back toward the new hotel they had found. Hinata was in the back, and found Naruto side by side with her.

"How's it going?" he asked, grinning sideways at her.

"I-it's alright," she answered. "Not a very relaxing vacation."

"That's true!" he laughed. "I'm afraid it isn't going to get any more relaxing. But really, though, how are you doing?"

For a moment Hinata stumbled, but eventually she managed to tell him she was okay. One moment Naruto's face seemed solemn and contemplative, then he grinned once more.

"Glad to hear it. This your guys' place?"

Indeed, they had reached the balcony, and quickly entered the room. Hinata closed the glass door and pulled the curtains closed behind them. Immediately Naruto slouched back on one of the chairs, at home in an instant.

"Here's the basic rundown. Someone has an awful lot of troops spread out all over Fire Country, and we really don't know who or why. That's why I stationed Sasuke-kun not too far from here, but they attacked before anything important was discovered. Mostly they've been attacking Leaf shinobi on missions, but there were a few visiting from Mist and they nearly got killed.

"Whoever it is, they hire all sorts. I've seen Missing-nin, samurai, shinobi apparently from other villages: the works. To be completely honest with you, I don't know what's going on. Anywho, they're causing a lot of problems, and I've been trying to anticipate their strikes. Kiba-kun got some tip about something going on in Sand, and I need a team to investigate. That's where you all come in."

"What about all those guys you killed?" Ino questioned. Naruto blinked a moment.

"Them? They were more guys coming in your direction. Just punks, really." He frowned and focused on the floor. "It's odd, though. Generally they don't send more than four people after even two shinobi. Why would they send over thirty for the three of you?"

"Maybe they were reinforcements to kill Sasuke-kun," Sakura suggested.

"As if they could do that," Ino muttered scornfully.

"Sasuke is here?" Naruto asked, eyebrows rising in surprise. "Hm; he must have found a reason for moving south. That's good, though. I'll find him and tell him to go with you. Four of you ought to be enough for the job."

At the same moment both Ino and Sakura's inner personalities sniggered evilly, then suspiciously eyed the other. Hinata's inner personality retreated further into a corner, and Naruto's seemed to be looking for something in the fridge.

"It might be best if you guys leave here tomorrow," Naruto told them, rising to his feet. "They don't give up until they lose you, a ton of them die, or you enter a more heavily armed city. You all should heal just fine, and Sasuke-kun'll be there in any case." Abruptly he grinned, wagging his finger at Ino and Sakura. "You two keep away from Sasuke-kun, now. He deserves better." Before they could object he turned to Hinata and gave her a rather forceful hug that left her blushing.

He moved to the door quickly and pushed it aside. When he stepped out onto the balcony, however, he stopped short. Slowly he turned back to face them, his eyes shadowed, his robes fluttering in the night time wind, looking every bit the Hokage. For just a moment his expression was deadly serious.

"Stay focused. Don't trust anyone." His expression became a smirk. "Take care!" With that he vanished entirely, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence.

Ino broke it by crossing her arms and snorting. "The nerve of him. 'He deserves better'? What is that supposed to mean?" Hinata flinched without realizing it. Years ago she would have thought it was really strange for Naruto to say that, but after the massive battle things had changed so much…

"He just has attitude problems," Sakura agreed. "Ever since he became Hokage..."

"Wait," a foreign thought suddenly entered Ino's mind. She glanced over her shoulder. "Hinata-chan, do you still have a crush on him?"

"N-n-no," Hinata managed to answer. It was the truth, but she was vaguely disturbed. Had they been able to tell that easily? Had everyone known but Naruto? "He's still r-really nice, and I think the way he acts is funny, but it isn't... like that." She didn't mention the reason that he was still one of her best friends: he was one of the few people that ever noticed her, one of the few that wasn't cruel to her without realizing it. But she wouldn't dare to say that in front of them.

"Good," Sakura nodded. "I was hoping you'd gotten over him by now."

"Now let's get to sleep," Ino interrupted. "I think tomorrow is going to be really busy."

-

When Sakura's eyes flickered open and she saw Sasuke leaning against the wall, she figured that it must be a dream. He was never anywhere vaguely near where she was sleeping except for then, so that was what it had to be. Sleep was just beginning to curl around her again when she remembered Naruto's words.

Abruptly she sat bolt upright in bed, eyes completely open. Sasuke was supposed to be here! Naruto had said something about getting him to come; it wasn't a dream! At the moment Sasuke was looking over his black collar at her intensely. Obviously he had been staring at her in her sleep. She knew there was a romantic side to him somewhere.

-

Yawning, Ino tried to flop back over in her bed. She was a lot more tired than she had thought she was. Standing guard so many nights combined with battles and Naruto's appearance left her fairly drained.

Speaking of Naruto... hadn't he mentioned finding Sasuke? That's right, he was supposed to rejoin them. They were going to be a team, just her and Sasuke... not counting Sakura or Hinata, of course. Almost in her sleep, she smiled slightly; at the moment she loved Naruto for that. This was going to be very interesting.

At that moment a loud noise startled her from her sleep. Ino managed to sit up in time to see Sakura bolt upright in bed. The reason was fairly obvious: Sasuke was casually leaning against the opposite wall, looking as calm and cool as always. He cast a disparaging look at Sakura and then glanced toward Ino. That was a smile! She was sure of it!

-

Two noises broke Hinata from her sleep quite abruptly. For just a moment her muscles tensed and she was about to try and reach for a weapon, but then she remembered where she was and realized the noises weren't dangerous ones. Turning around to sit up, she realized what was going on.

Opposite to the row of beds, Sasuke was against the wall, probably waiting for them to wake up. Sakura and Ino were both sitting up in bed, having apparently just observed his presence. Partially masked by his collar, Sasuke's expression seemed to be a cross between vaguely amused and partially disgusted. Briefly his eyes flickered to Hinata, a mere acknowledgement that she was awake.

Despite getting up second, Ino was the first to attempt to glomp Sasuke. He evaded the effort gracefully, seeming to glide toward the balcony as if he had been intending to do so all along. Sakura was on her feet an instant after, and she and Ino were glaring at each other. Both seemed more focused on keeping the other away from Sasuke than following him.

Nervously Hinata pushed aside the sheets on her bed and stepped out. She refitted her shuriken and kunai cases as quickly as possible and tightened them. Other than that she had taken to sleeping in her uniform, just in case they were attacked during the night. Ino and Sakura hadn't made much progress against each other.

"It's great to see you here!" Sakura beamed.

"Just had to see me again, didn't you?" Ino shoved Sakura slightly.

"The only reason I am here," Sasuke growled, "is because Naruto-san asked me." He still hadn't looked at them, and waited until they stopped trying to speak.

"I've arranged a transport to Wind," Sasuke went on, just barely glancing over his shoulder. The instant he spoke both Ino and Sakura were fixated upon him. "If we run we'll attract attention. Check out of the hotel without drawing any undue attention to yourselves."

"I think Hinata-chan should do it," Sakura suggested. "She doesn't draw very much attention to herself."

"That's a good idea," Ino chimed. "Maybe you should go with her just to make sure everything goes okay."

"Actually," Sakura answered sweetly, "maybe it would be best if you went along instead. This room is in your name, after all."

"I said so first!"

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Hinata-san will go alone," Sasuke snapped, efficiently cutting off their argument. His gaze brooked no argument, and Hinata merely nodded and scurried to find the room keys. Just before she left the door Sasuke caught her eye. For just a moment his eyes said, so clearly she almost heard it, hurry!

Key in hand, Hinata shuffled down the corridor. There was an elevator, but she could probably take the stairs faster by herself. It was still very early, and no one else seemed to be wandering the corridors. Reaching the stairs, she moved down them as quickly as possible without attracting undue attention to herself.

It was very odd that he had "arranged a transport." Her mind kept coming back to that. Ordinarily, shinobi were their own transportation, but this situation obviously seemed different. What could it be that would make traditional movement more stealthy than what a shinobi could normally do? He probably had information that she didn't; she shouldn't have tried to question his decision.

The clerks at the desk were very polite, though they seemed pretty distracted. It was a simple matter to officially check the group out, and Hinata was moving back up the stairs the next instant. She winced imperceptibly each time someone passed her on the stairs. Hopefully she hadn't messed up Sasuke's plans by drawing too much attention to herself.

Entering their room again, Hinata discovered Sasuke leaning against the balcony window. Sakura and Ino were a great deal closer than before, dividing their time between talking to Sasuke and trying to get closer to him without being noticed. The instant Hinata entered, however, Sasuke straightened.

"The coach is out back. We'll jump the balcony, but after that don't do anything unusual or say anything until you get inside," Sasuke ordered. "Take off any armor or weapon cases."

"We're fine," Ino answered, glancing at herself and brushing back a lock of blond hair in the same motion.

"I-I'm sorry," Hinata mumbled, hastily moving to untie the forehead protector from around her neck.

"Geez, Hinata-chan, weren't you thinking?" Sakura asked.

"We're trying to be undercover here," Ino said, sighing and throwing up her hands. Hinata flinched at the criticism.

"How could you go dow-"

"Shut up," Sasuke interrupted sharply. All three of them flinched slightly, but did as he said. By that point Hinata was ready to go, and Sasuke turned.

Like a shifting shadow the four of them were on the balcony. Closing the door behind them, Sasuke then leaped off the edge, the others following closely. They landed silently, Sasuke's cloak shifting back to its normal position. In that instant, Hinata realized how much he looked like Itachi now. His face was different, but the cloak was of the same type, though entirely black. Had he done that on purpose? Why?

In any case, now was not the time to ask such questions, if there ever was such a time. They circled the hotel to where a coach was waiting, as Sasuke had said. Four large furry beasts Hinata wasn't familiar with were yoked at the front of it, stamping and pawing the ground impatiently. Sasuke said something softly into the window of the driver's compartment, and then they all entered the back of the vehicle.

"As soon as we're out of sight of the hotel, draw the curtains," Sasuke ordered. He sat on one side of the coach, his arms crossed. As Ino and Sakura hastened to obey, Hinata sank down on the opposite side as quietly as she could.

When they finished, Sakura and Ino moved to sit on either side of Sasuke, but he glared at them so fiercely that they retreated to the opposite side. Between them, Hinata shrank slightly against herself. There was enough room on the side for all three of them, but she still felt cramped.

Closing his eyes, Sasuke seemed to focus. For a long moment chakra built around him dangerously, but then it subsided. Apparently satisfied, he opened his eyes briefly but then closed them and remained against his own side. The silence that followed was incredibly uncomfortable. Sasuke seemed unaffected, but Ino and Sakura were getting nervous, which made Hinata fidget.

"Are we going to Sand?" Ino finally asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"There is no need. Our destination's name is not important, and I would prefer not to repeat it unnecessarily. It will suffice to say it is a village of little importance."

"Then why are we going there?" Sakura demanded.

"The village does not matter on its own. However, I have reason to believe we will discover something important there."

"What reasons?" Ino asked, not to be out-questioned.

"I have not been idle on my own mission," Sasuke answered simply. His eyes still hadn't opened. "Once there, we will wait to be contacted."

Conversation about the mission over, the coach lapsed into silence once more. Ino began tapping the armrest on her side, eyes fixed on the shut window.

"So what have you been doing?" Sakura broke the silence fairly quickly.

"What would I be doing?" Sasuke asked back.

"Yeah, what would he be doing?" Ino echoed. "Silly Sakura-chan. So much forehead, so little brains."

"You know what I meant! What missions have you been on?"

They continued to argue, but Hinata had stopped listening. Something wasn't right, though she wasn't sure quite what. Subconsciously her hand moved closer to where her kunai pouch should have been. She started thinking about telling Sasuke, but when she looked him he was already sitting stiffly, focused elsewhere. His unusual silence made the others' conversation peter out.

"We're slowing," his voice was taut and barely audible, his eyes now open and intense. "This course is slowly turning... we've been going in a circle for nearly a minute." The others glanced at each other, and Hinata gulped. So that was what it had been. This couldn't be good... "There's chakra outside, being used to enhance speed. Someone is following us.

"Hinata-san," Sasuke addressed her quickly. "Look into the driver's cab. Is there anything unusual going on?"

Nodding meekly, Hinata focused and looked through Sasuke, through the wall and into the space opposite it. The driver was sitting up close to the front, reins held tightly in his fingers. He seemed very tense, but otherwise everything seemed normal.

"Just the driver," she answered, voice even softer than normal. Sasuke nodded.

"Ino-san: take over his body and keep driving along the path without changing speed." She nodded and moved to do so, but he was already moving on. "Sakura-san: when I give the signal, break through into the cab and kill anyone there when Ino has returned to her body." There was a soft tap on the roof, and Sasuke's eyes instantly snapped in its direction. "Now!"

-

When I was originally writing this story, I wrote it without chapter breaks. Hence, I did not intentionally write it so that every chapter would end on a cliffhanger, though in retrospect I find it odd that the first set does so uniformly. Rest assured, however, that I do not intend to do so every single chapter of this story.