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First things first - Hello everyone! And secondly, a million apologies! This chapter took a lot longer to come out than I expected, but I'm glad it's finally done now. I haven't been able to work on it as often as I'd like, but I'm still trying to write with the same quality, so bear with me. I didn't struggle with writer's block that much this chapter, but I did struggle with communicating what I wanted in the right words. I think it's because I need to review some of my writing techniques lol. Thankfully, I think I've got past the hurdle for now. Anyway, this chapter is the longest one yet, so hopefully, that makes up for the delay. Thanks again for all the support you wonderful readers! And to those of you who are following, favoriting, and reviewing, a special thank you! I hope you all enjoy!
The Roguehunter
Sakura lay across her bed with her picture of Team 7 cradled in her hands, remembering a past that seemed to drift farther and farther away. She hadn't been able to face the reality back when she was at Naruto's apartment, but she figured she had to face it sometime, otherwise, it would never become real to her, and it was real. As much as she wished she would wake up and find out she was in some weird genjutsu, she knew she wouldn't. She had even tried disrupting her chakra a few times to no avail. It made her mad in a weird way. How she could be sad and mad at the same time, she had no idea, but what she did know was that both Naruto and Sasuke had left her. And it hurt...a lot.
It was true that there was a part of her that wanted to find them because they were her friends, but there was another part of her that just wanted to find them so she could yell at them and let them know how much they hurt her. Right now she felt abandoned, unwanted, useless... But there was nothing she could do. They were simply out of her reach and this was the reality she was stuck with, for better or for worse. As the tears started to sting the bottom of her eyes, she gently set the picture back on her nightstand. She wiped at her eyes softly then rose from her bed and threw on a jacket. She needed some air.
As Sakura walked through the dimly lit streets of Konoha, she rubbed her hands along her arms again, trying to chase away the bitter chill of the night. She thought the jacket would help, but it didn't. She felt the same as she did earlier, or maybe it was worse now. Either way, she wished she could find some type of warmth. That had been hard to find recently. Maybe she needed a better jacket.
"Or a better life." her inner self suggested.
Sakura's eyes widened momentarily at the sound of her inner self speaking once more, but she soon brushed it off and kept walking.
"You can't just ignore me." her inner self said. "I'm you."
Sakura didn't seem to get the memo because she never replied. She just kept walking through the streets with her head held low. It was night now, so the crowds were growing in size and the village was starting to transition into that busy night phase again. Normally she'd feel claustrophobic with the constant thrashing of bodies all around, but she couldn't deny feeling a strange sense of comfort. She was significantly shorter than everyone else so it felt like they were hiding her from the outside world, sheltering her even. It felt nice. And as a bonus, it brought the slightest bit of warmth back to her body. She needed that. She was content to walk the streets with nothing but her thoughts, but the familiar voice she heard calling out her name drew her attention.
"Sakura! Sakura!"
Sakura turned around to see Ino making her way towards her, forcefully pushing through the evening crowds. When she finally arrived, she was heaving slightly.
"I heard what happened," she said, a persistent frown on her face. "…I'm so sorry."
Sakura kept her eyes trained on the ground but didn't respond. There wasn't really much to say anyway. After a while, she just shrugged, wasting no time in retreating back into her jacket as she turned away.
"Well, wait!" Ino yelled running up to her side. "You wanna grab something to eat?"
"I'm not hungry," Sakura said lowly.
"Funny you should say that," Ino replied meekly. "I stopped by your place first and your mom said you left without eating."
"Leave me alone."
"Starving yourself isn't gonna help Sakura."
"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!"
All eyes in the crowd turned towards the two, and it was only then that Sakura realized what she had done. She quickly retreated back into her jacket, looking away sadly. "Sorry..." she whispered. "I'm not really in a good mood right now."
"It's ok." Ino shrugged. "I get it... I was shocked when I heard too. I can't even imagine what you're going through."
Sakura dropped her head and kept walking, not all that surprised when Ino fell into step beside her. Despite their rocky relationship over the past few years, she knew that if any of them were ever going through something serious, they'd be there for each other. They were rivals, not enemies.
The two walked in silence for a bit longer before Sakura spoke up. "I ran into the team that's going after Sasuke earlier, and Tsunade says Jiraiya is going after Naruto."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Ino asked.
Sakura's face fell. "Even if they come back, things won't be the same. I know it."
Ino frowned, pausing for a second. "But things could eventually go back to the way they were, right?"
Sakura simply shrugged. "Maybe," she said. "But I'm not counting on it. Sasuke's so hell-bent on getting revenge that he'd probably just find some way to leave again and after finding out how Naruto felt, I don't think things could ever be the same between him and…well, anybody."
Ino looked at her friend with sad eyes and a wrinkled lip before looking away. "Yeah," she agreed. "I guess you're right."
The two fell into a sort of agreed-upon silence after that, but after walking for a while, Ino nudged Sakura and said, "You should really eat something, Forehead. Your skin looks pale, and your hair isn't doing much better. Come on," she urged. "We'll go anywhere you want, my treat."
Sakura thought about it for a moment then decided to indulge in one last reality-denying moment. "Ichiraku's," she said, a sad smile resting on her lips.
Ino paused briefly then beamed in approval. "Ichiraku's it is!"
As the two sat at Ichiraku's, Sakura barely touched her food, although she did try. She couldn't force more than a few spoons down though. Her appetite was lacking, so she spent most of the time enjoying the silence with Ino and imagining it was the old days once more with Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke.
Sasuke was making some weird face at something Naruto had just said, Naruto was holding his stomach with laughter, and Kakashi was stuck in his stupid orange book as usual, although a slight smile tugged at his lips…the good times. Where was she though? Did she ever really fit in with the group as much as she thought she did? Maybe not... In the end, her ruminations didn't help her as much as she thought they would, but they did give her a sense of longing that she didn't mind.
"Sakura."
Sakura lifted her head at the sound of her name to see Ino smiling her way while having risen to her feet. "Sorry, but I gotta get going. I told my parents I wouldn't stay out too late."
"It's ok," Sakura whispered.
Ino smiled and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder as she moved the ramen stand flap out of the way and ducked under it. "See you tomorrow."
"See you."
As Ino disappeared behind the flap, Sakura returned to playing around with her uneaten ramen. The noodles swirled around with her chopsticks, making funny patterns in the broth, and the way the eggs just bounced back to the surface no matter what she did was quite amusing. She was so busy poking at the pork that she didn't even notice Teuchi walk up and lean on the bar in front of her. "It didn't taste good?" he said, smiling sadly.
Sakura's head jerked up as she realized she had been spoken to. "No, it's not that," she said, forcing a small smile. "I'm just not that hungry right now."
"Yeah," Teuchi nodded, placing his elbow on the bar and leaning on his upturned palm. "I understand. Who would've thought, huh?" He flung his chef towel over his shoulder and continued, "Knew him since he was a kid. I guess he never quite got used to how people treated him around here."
"Yeah," Sakura whispered, dropping her head. "Guess not."
"He shouldn't have had to," Ayame said, emerging from the kitchen with a ramen bowl she had prepared for herself. As she sat down, Sakura took note of her body language. Her eyebrows were furrowed and with how she dropped the bowl onto the bar, Sakura was surprised half the ramen didn't just fly out of it. Looks like everyone had been affected in some way...
"Well," Teuchi said, slapping the bar with both hands. "Can I get you anything? Maybe something lighter?"
"No thanks," Sakura said, sliding her bowl up and putting her head down. "I just want to be here."
"No problem," Teuchi said, smiling lightly as he walked away.
As the night lingered on, Sakura let her eyes wander around the familiar layout. There were the condiments, the menu, a cup of chopsticks, and a mini colony of advertising fliers on the bar. Nothing more, nothing less – except for a sad Ayame of course. The place had a different feel to it now. Before, it had been this cheesy hangout place for Team 7, now...now she wasn't sure what it was.
Maybe it was just a normal restaurant now… No, it could never be that, at least not to her, it had too much history. There was a part of her that just wanted to call it an old hangout place for their team, but that didn't seem fitting either. It was more than that. Maybe it was just history… Yeah, that sounded nice. If anything, she could think of a more proper title later.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a steady murmur rising among the evening crowd. There was a mix of gasps, but also a few hushed whispers going around. She had already decided she was going to ignore it since she had bigger problems than some commotion in the streets, but the commotion only grew louder. Eventually, she couldn't help casting a slight glance towards the crowd.
Teuchi had already decided to investigate and stood at the front of the bar with one of the flaps lifted over his head.
"What is it?" Ayame asked.
Teuchi's head weaved in various directions as he tried to peer past the crowds and find the answer to that very question. "I'm not sure yet…" he mused.
Sakura frowned and put her head back on the bar. Maybe it was just some nobody. She should've just went with her first instinct and ignored it. It probably didn't concern her anyway.
A full minute hadn't gone by when she heard Teuchi speak once more, his voice carrying an air of solemnness. "Oh no…" he said. "The rumors were true. They did call him."
"Really," Ayame exclaimed, dropping off of her stool to peer out into the crowds as well.
Sakura lifted her head off the table slightly, glancing towards the open flap. There were rumors going around?
"Where is he?" she heard Ayame ask in a whisper.
"There," Teuchi replied, nodding towards the crowds.
Sakura half-turned around on her stool and tried to look through the open flap, but Teuchi and Ayame were blocking her view. Her eyebrows furrowed a bit but she remained seated. She normally didn't consider herself a nosy person, but she was a little surprised that she didn't know about a rumor that was spreading around the village, especially since news usually traveled pretty fast around Konoha. No doubt her being cooped up in her room had something to do with her lack of knowledge. Silently, she asked, "Called who?"
Teuchi and Ayame didn't seem to hear her question though because neither of them responded. They just kept staring and staring.
Sakura frowned then pushed herself off the stool. Maybe she'd just have to find out for herself. She lifted one of the flaps out of the way, but her view was partially obstructed by the crowds. She couldn't see much, but most people seemed to have their attention focused on a man. His body wasn't visible to her, but she could see his black hat moving through the top of the crowds.
His footsteps drew nearer and nearer and she couldn't resist the urge to step forward a bit to get a better look. She waited until he was passing by the ramen stand and it was only then that she got a good look at him. She took note of his trench coat, his hair, his hat, and every other mundane detail about him, but all paled in comparison to his pale blue eyes. They were nearly hidden by the shadow of his hat, but you could just make them out. They were sharp in appearance, and how he constantly glanced around made her wonder if he saw the world differently than most. Her own jade eyes widened when he turned and looked directly at her.
He held eye contact with her for longer than she liked, but eventually, he looked away, refocusing his attention on the path ahead. Sakura, however, kept her eyes fixed on him, watching his every step with intrigue. There seemed to be an aura about him. A sense that there was more to him than met the eye. He gave off a certain vibe if you will - a kind of serious vibe. There was something else there as well, but if she had to describe it she would have to say she had no idea. What she did know, however, was that only one question seemed to matter in that moment: Who was he?
He was halfway past the ramen stand when he stopped on a dime, grinning a bit.
POOF!
The sudden poof of gray smoke sent a few people staggering and elicited a shocked murmur from the crowd, but anyone with proper ninja training wasn't alarmed. Ninja appearing in puffs of smoke was a common sight after all.
Sakura waited for the smoke to clear but couldn't stop a silent gasp when she saw spiky gray hair coming into view. Kakashi? But he wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow.
As the clouds of smoke dissipated, Kakashi's masked face came into view and Sakura swallowed a bit when she saw that his one eye looked more serious than she had ever seen it in all their time as Team 7. It was actually a little unsettling. The fact that Kakashi was this serious about whoever this was meant it was probably someone important, right?
The man in black spun around to face Kakashi and said, "Still popping up in poofs of smoke I see?"
Kakashi stepped forward in response. "I thought I sensed you here."
"And here I am."
Kakashi looked around at the surrounding crowd then back to the man in black. "Let's speak privately."
"Lead the way."
With a flicker, the two disappeared from sight, leaving the crowd staring at the empty space they had been standing in. There was a brief span of silence before the surrounding villagers started returning to their normal business and the murmurs started dying down.
When Teuchi turned away, Sakura noticed him shaking his head disapprovingly. As he stepped back behind the bar, he said, "I haven't seen that man in a very long time."
"Who is he?" Sakura asked.
"He goes by many names, but most know him as the Roguehunter."
"The Roguehunter?" Sakura repeated, eyes questioning.
"Yeah," Ayame replied. "Rumor was he had been called by the council. Looks like they were true."
"Yep," Teuchi echoed. "No one knows that much about him, but most people know he means trouble."
"He's not a good guy?" Sakura questioned.
Teuchi clenched his jaw. "On paper, maybe. He's supposed to track down rogue-nin, but his methods are...questionable."
"What do you mean?"
Teuchi sighed before leaning against the kitchen counter and crossing his arms. "I've only seen him in action once, but trust me, that was enough... I remember it like it was yesterday."
Sakura leaned forward on the bar, eyes glistening a dark green in the night.
"There were a few ninjas who had deserted the village around that time, a small group of them, all Jonin level. Konoha was short on resources, much like now, so they sent one of their younger, but more promising teams on a mission to retrieve them." Teuchi's frown deepened. "Unfortunately, they took a little longer than the council was willing to wait."
"They sent him instead." Sakura finished.
Teuchi nodded. "Yep. Called the team back home as soon as they did." Teuchi paused, seeming to fall deep into thought. A moment later he sighed and said, "Three days later, he showed up with every single one of them. Not one missing. He barely looked like he had a scratch on him. Them...well, they wished they never ran."
"What did he do?" Sakura asked, eyes alert.
Teuchi shrugged. "Whatever he felt he needed to. The council said he could bring them back dead or alive so he did. Most of them were dead, but the few of them that weren't either had broken bones, permanently damaged chakra systems, or something of the like. Really gruesome stuff..."
"He did all that by himself?" Sakura asked, eyes disbelieving.
"He...has his ways," Teuchi replied lowly.
After that statement came an uncomfortable silence and the only thing that could be heard was the silent bustling of the crowd. It wasn't long before Sakura had retreated into her jacket again, almost shivering. She wasn't hiding from the cold this time, she was hiding from her life. First, all of the craziness happened with Naruto and Sasuke leaving, and now there was some guy who seemed willing to kill people or beat them to within an inch of their life if it meant getting them back. What use would it be getting Naruto or Sasuke back if they were beaten so bad that they were shells of their former selves...or worse...
And that brought up another question: Who was he even after? Naruto? Sasuke? Both? With a sigh, she dropped her head into her hands. She wasn't completely in the dark anymore, but she wasn't really sure she liked the light either. Was it even really light? She seemed to have more questions now than when she started.
"I'm actually surprised they called him," Teuchi said, breaking into her thoughts.
Sakura dragged her hands from her face then sighed. "Why?" she asked.
"Usually, they'll only call him for Jonin level deserters. But Naruto…" His voice trailed off as his face fell pensive. After a short pause, he added, "Well, I guess Naruto is a special case…"
Sakura frowned, dropping her head in thought. So they called him for Naruto then... But wasn't Jiraiya going after Naruto? Why send the Roguehunter too? It seemed a bit excessive, right? Something wasn't adding up. Turning back to Teuchi, she asked, "What do you mean he's a special case?"
Teuchi took a moment to register what she had said, but when he did, he froze, the expression on his face very similar to that look you get when you get caught doing something you shouldn't be doing. He immediately snapped himself out of it, then turned away so quickly that Sakura was left breathless. "Never mind," he said. "I've said too much already."
"Well, wait-" Sakura said.
"Finish up, Ayame. I want to lock up."
Ayame nodded and kept her eyes on her ramen as her dad made his way back to the kitchen, awkward silence coating the atmosphere.
Sakura sat where she was, thoroughly stunned. Never before had she seen Teuchi turn away from someone like that. It was almost like he was running...but why? After a while, she turned to Ayame, voice barely a whisper in the night. "What was that all about?"
Ayame lifted her shoulders slowly. "I don't know… Sometimes he's just like that when he starts talking about Naruto." She lowered her voice a bit more and added, "Like he knows something we don't."
Sakura stared at Ayame for a bit longer before turning away. A special case. What did that even mean?...
Barely audible footsteps echoed across the pavement as Kakashi and the Roguehunter made their way down one of the less-traveled paths in Konoha. The cracked sidewalk was faintly illuminated by the moonlight, but the trees that hung overhead blocked much of the light coming through. Kakashi's lazy eye watched the leafy shadows dancing along the ground as he walked. His hands were deep in his pockets, but his head was somewhere far away.
What the heck was the Roguehunter doing here? In all honesty, it was a question he already half knew the answer to. The Roguehunter only ever did one thing – he hunted rogues. The name kind of gave him away. But if he had been summoned, that meant someone had to have deserted recently. The question on the floor was who?
Kakashi's mask hid a pensive frown as he recalled his former conversation with Orochimaru. The Snake Sannin had said something about Sasuke seeking him out in time. Could this be it? Did Sasuke really leave Konoha? The sinking feeling in his stomach gave him a bad feeling he already knew the answer…
As he pondered the looming possibility, he chanced a glance at the man walking next to him. Most people knew him as the Roguehunter, but Kakashi knew him by another name – Ryōshi Kasegi. He had aged slightly from the last time Kakashi saw him, but it was barely noticeable. In the past, he had said that the thrill of the hunt kept him young. Kakashi didn't believe him until now. His eyes were still as sharp as ever.
They hadn't known each other for long, but in the short span of time they had known each other, Kakashi gleaned enough to come to a conclusion, a conclusion that was much better constructed than the rumors.
Ryoshi was goal-oriented, focused, always moving forward. The type not to let anything stop him on his "hunts". On the surface, that didn't seem too bad. As a matter of fact, it seemed to be quite good, but the problem was he was an extreme. He was a bit too focused, so much so that ruthless would be a more fitting term for him. He didn't care what he had to do for the hunt as long as he got the desired results. Kakashi knew some things he had done in reality that were worse than the rumors about him. But despite all that, he was the first person the villages called when they had a rogue problem, so he never went out of business.
He was a bonafide bounty hunter and his brutality was actually praised in some villages. They thought it a fitting punishment for anyone who would dare cross them. And since a good number of villages lacked their own hunter-nin, hiring out someone like Ryoshi solved all of their problems. He would simply ask if they wanted the rogue brought back dead or alive, get paid, and get to work.
If the rogue was to be killed, the village would receive a delivery of their head in due time, but if they were to be brought back alive, Ryoshi would return with them personally. He never failed a retrieval/kill mission so he was always in high demand.
Now, Kakashi always tried to be fair towards ninja in their line of work and it was a no brainer that force had to be used to retrieve a rogue-nin of any kind, but there was a difference between using necessary force and being straight up barbaric. Kakashi had seen him bring back some rogues in such a mangled state that he wondered if he forgot they were human while he was capturing them.
These and a variety of other factors were why Kakashi came to label the man as a simple barbarian, which sounded oddly close to scum. As a result, he had come to a conclusion long ago that the two of them would be simple acquaintances, nothing more.
"So," Ryoshi started. "How has the great copy ninja Kakashi been in my absence?"
Kakashi knocked himself free of his thoughts and lifted his head. "I can't complain."
"Still getting by on other people's tricks?" Ryoshi chirped.
Kakashi tensed then said, "That's one way of putting it."
Ryoshi smirked. "Nothing to be ashamed of Kakashi. Everyone knows how you operate by now."
Kakashi remained silent, his face giving nothing away.
"So how are Guy and the others?" Ryoshi continued.
"Alive and well."
"Still babbling on about youth is he?"
"You guessed it."
"Thought so…" Ryoshi said, adjusting his hat slightly. After a long exhale, he lifted his eyes, looking up towards the various trees swaying in the wind. "It feels familiar," he stated. "The feel of this place, although it's a bit more...sinister."
Kakashi squinted sideways. "What does that mean?"
"Oh, nothing," Ryoshi said. After a brief silence, he added, "But can you sense it though?"
"Sense what?"
"Dark oblivion," he said, looking around at some of the surrounding trees. "This village is on the brink of it..."
Kakashi paused briefly before returning his attention to the path ahead. "That's a bit of a dramatic assessment, don't you think?"
"First, a full-scale attack on the village by Orochimaru and now two rogues in one night, one an Uchiha, the other possibly something far more sinister."
There was a stutter in Kakashi's step before he turned to Ryoshi, single eye questioning. "Two rogues?"
"Yes," Ryoshi replied, eyeing Kakashi curiously. "You don't know?"
The echoing footsteps came to a halt as the two stopped under a rather large tree near the path. "Sorry," Kakashi said. "Just got back from a mission for the Daimyo so I'm kinda out of the loop."
"Ah," Ryoshi sighed, cracking his neck. "That makes sense. Kakashi Hatake is a lot of things, uninformed isn't one of them."
"I do like staying on top of things."
"Yes," Ryoshi mused. "Even if you hide it behind that little book of yours."
Kakashi's single visible eye narrowed before he continued, "You said one of the rogues was an Uchiha."
"I did."
Kakashi crossed his arms, exhaling. "That means Sasuke deserted."
"You're smarter than you look."
Kakashi lifted his head, eyebrow furrowed deeper than usual. "They're sending you after him, aren't they?"
Ryoshi smirked. "No."
Kakashi's single eye narrowed as his wrinkled brow lifted slightly. "No?" he awkwardly repeated.
"Yes," Ryoshi replied. "From what I understand, my target is one Naruto Uzumaki."
"What?!"
Ryoshi watched him for a bit then asked, "This surprises you?"
Kakashi stood where he was, paralyzed from the neck down. Naruto had deserted?... No matter how many ways he tried to spin it in his head, it didn't make sense...at all. That little ramen loving fool couldn't be gone. Something was off, very off. There was no way he would just up and leave by himself...would he? He had to have been taken or something...
After thinking for a bit longer, he mumbled, "No, that can't be right..."
"I guess it does." Ryoshi finished, looking away. "In any case, I'm glad I've run into someone who gets it. You had the exact same reaction I did."
Kakashi's single eye darted back to him.
"You see," he continued. "I'm sure you know that someone like me has connections in various places. As a result, I knew about the desertion of the Uchiha before most. Now, I was sure when I received the messenger hawk from this village, I would be sent after him, but lo and behold, I've been sent after some nobody named Naruto Uzumaki."
In an instant, all semblance of him being relaxed evaporated and he turned to Kakashi, voice grave. "Do you have any idea why that's the case?"
Kakashi held his gaze briefly, then looked away as he pondered the question (or rather how to respond since he already knew the answer). Naruto was the Nine-tails jinchuriki and that alone made him one of the most valuable ninja in the village. And that wasn't even taking into account the fact that he was the son of the fourth Hokage. It would be crazy for the village not to send someone after him. Next thing you know, word would get out to the other villages that Konoha had lost its jinchuriki (who was coincidentally the vessel of the most powerful tailed beast). There was no telling what would happen then.
"I'm waiting," Ryoshi said, arms now crossed.
Kakashi turned his attention back to Ryoshi, his single eye narrowing slightly. Yeah, he had the answers, but that didn't mean he was planning on giving any of them away. Naruto's jinchuriki status and parentage were classified pieces of information, so there was no way he was gonna give up any of that information. And if he was honest with himself, he wouldn't have given any of it up anyway, but that's neither here nor there. The fact of the matter was he wasn't going to tell Ryoshi a damn thing. He may have been absent while his team was imploding, but it was still his team, and he'd be damned if he was gonna help someone he considered to be just short of scum go after any one of them.
With an exhale, he looked away and said, "I have no idea."
Ryoshi scoffed. "Hm, so that's how it is?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Ryoshi paused, studying Kakashi for a while before turning away. "Well, I guess this is just another one of those rare times when you're uninformed."
"I guess it is," Kakashi replied.
The two stood in silence after that, engaging in some form of unspoken warfare as the wind curled between them. When all was said and done, Ryoshi turned away and said, "I'll find out one way or the other, Kakashi. With or without you."
"Once again, I don't know what you're talking about..."
The two of them were interrupted when they heard a pair of footsteps echoing from a ways away. The darkness hid the person's identity in a blackened silhouette, but as they drew nearer, it became obvious that it was the Lady Tsunade, green coattails swaying in the wind. With how fast she was walking, Kakashi assumed she was in a rush. It was the most logical explanation with everything that was going on. Two rogues meant she was probably facing pressure from the council and the fact that Orochimaru had attacked recently only made it worse. As she neared, he found his suspicion to be correct. Her face had morphed into a pale white and her eyes now had several bags lining their bottoms. And what was that smell? He hoped not Sake... As he looked at her closer, he found himself wondering if she was getting any sleep, but then he thought maybe that was the wrong question. Was she even alive?
Walking up to them, she looked at Ryoshi and said, "I almost couldn't believe it when they told me you'd already arrived."
"I don't like wasting time."
"I can imagine," she replied. "I see you've already run into Kakashi." she continued, glancing towards him.
"Yes," Ryoshi replied. "A pleasure as always."
"Glad to hear it," Tsunade replied. "And I trust your mission went well?" she continued, turning to Kakashi.
Kakashi stood where he was with his arms crossed. "Yeah, everything was fine."
Tsunade nodded, then turned back to Ryoshi. "So is there anything we can help you with?"
"I'm actually glad you asked. I'll be doing a short investigation tonight before leaving tomorrow morning and I have one question I want to start with."
"Go ahead," Tsunade replied.
He pulled a small black pocketbook and pencil out of his coat then asked, "I was wondering if you could tell me why I'm being sent after a random genin instead of one of the last surviving Uchiha."
Go figure, Kakashi thought.
Tsunade's face remained pensive for a while, but she eventually shook her head no. "I'm sorry, but it was the council that summoned you. I have no idea why they do half the things they do."
"You don't support me being here?"
"It's not that," Tsunade replied. "It's just that we've already sent one of our best ninjas after him. I'm sure you've heard of Jiraiya the Toad Sage."
"One of the Legendary Sannin?" Ryoshi replied, his face showing genuine shock for once. Kakashi couldn't blame him, he was a little shocked himself.
"Yes," Tsunade nodded.
"Hm..." Ryoshi mused after a pause. "Interesting... That's very interesting."
"What is?" Kakashi asked.
"The fact that one of the Legendary Sannin was sent after this genin as well..."
An awkward silence fell over the three as Ryoshi fell into a world of his own, his pensive stare reflecting how fast his mind was racing towards the endless possibilities. After a spell of silence, he mumbled to himself, "Who is this boy?"
"Well," Kakashi said, breaking the silence. "We appreciate you coming all this way, but I'm afraid you may be wasting your time going after Naruto. Most likely Jiraiya will get to him first."
"If you're implying what I think you're implying, I didn't travel through bandit infested lands just to be told I'm not needed. And besides, you don't know that."
"Are you seriously telling me you think he'll beat Jiraiya?" Kakashi replied.
"Not a chance," Ryoshi said firmly. "But take it from someone who chases people for a living, running is a lot easier than fighting. And my curiosity is piqued anyway so I can't stop now." He turned back to Tsunade with his pocketbook still open. "So you're saying you wouldn't have any inclination as to why I'm being sent after Naruto Uzumaki, correct?"
"Unfortunately, I don't."
He exhaled then started writing in his book. "Well, that's too bad..."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help," Tsunade said. "But if there's anything else you need, our resources are at your disposal."
"That's ok," he said curtly, stashing the book away in his coat. "My methods are more than enough to get the job done, anything else will slow me down. Now if you please, I'd like to see Mr. Uzumaki's living quarters."
Tsunade motioned a hand towards the village and said, "Right this way."
In the crook of a nearby tree, Sakura sat crouched, hidden by the night. She had run into Tsunade on her way home and asked if she could ask her about something, but the Hokage had brushed her off in two seconds flat and walked off like she was on an S-rank mission. She was originally planning on asking about Naruto, but after being so rudely brushed off, she decided to follow the busty Hokage and see what she was up to. For some reason, she was sure that whatever it was was about Naruto, and she also got the feeling that if she wasn't there to witness whatever it was herself, she would never even know about it. Now that she had heard their conversation, she knew she was spot on.
You'd think being someone's teammate would mean you would be in the know, but that obviously wasn't the case. People hid stuff, Tsunade included. They would lie and avoid and compartmentalize and do cartwheels to avoid the truth. Heck, sometimes it felt like the villager's secrets had secrets. Tonight wasn't the first time it felt like someone was hiding something about Naruto and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. For most of the time she'd known him, people avoided him like the plague for no apparent reason. Now the village was sending a rogue hunting ninja after him instead of Sasuke (who had one of the most coveted visual dojutsu in history). She was sick of it. Since everyone seemed so intent on keeping all these secrets from her, she'd just have to find them out on her own. She needed something to take her mind off things anyway.
Author's note: Hope you all enjoyed this update! If so, let me know what you liked! If you didn't like it...then keep your mouth shut then! XD LOL, I'm just kidding. As always, constructive criticism is very welcome. I'll see you all in the next one. Peace.
