A/N: Thank you so much for those of you who left such amazing heartfelt comments on my fic. You have no idea how much they move me - they always make my whole day and make feel all fuzzy inside. Nothing makes me happier than hearing that one of my very own fanfics affected someone so strongly. Your comments always motivate me to kick my butt into gear and write more - because I don't want my fic to be one of those uncompleted abandoned fics that you sadly wonder how it was going to end.
Chapter 23
A Dangerous Game
Once Sakura finished fastening her kunai holster she slid open her bedroom door, holding all their genjutsu key tags in her hands. When she stepped out she bumped right into Lee, colliding into his side and scattering the tags everywhere.
"Oh...!" she called out in surprise as she stumbled back.
Having barely budged, Lee turned towards her, eyes as wide as hers. His hand whipped forward and grabbed her forearm for a moment to make sure she kept her balance, before letting go after she steadied. "S-Sakura! I am sincerely sorry! Are you okay?" he fretted.
"Y-Yeah! But you don't need to apologize, I was the one who bumped into you. I'm so sorry," Sakura said sheepishly.
A beat of silence passed as they looked at each other, Sakura not sure what to say next. Sakura was very conscious of how close they were standing near one another. She felt heat rise to her face upon noticing the way the morning sunlight brought out a certain handsomeness in his face.
Lee's eyes darted from her to the scattered genjutsu tags at their feet. "Let me get those for you!"
"Oh, don't worry, I got it. It's my fault after all!"
Lee and Sakura both dropped to their knees at the same time, quickly picking up the scattered tags. On the last tag Sakura and Lee reached for it at the same time, and Sakura accidentally grabbed part of his hand. Her heart skipped a beat as a spark shot up her arm. She pulled her hand away quickly.
"S-Sorry!" Sakura stuttered, her hand still tingling from the touch.
Lee had blinked in surprise at the touch, but he then grinned at her. "It is okay!" He took the last tag, along with the others he collected, and held them out to her. "Here."
"Thank you," she said, taking the tags, struggling not to avert her eyes from his warm gaze.
What has gotten into her?
When Sakura thought back to the night she had with Lee, she knew why. They had shared such an intimate, tender moment together, full of raw emotions and feelings. With the start of a new day, it reminded her of how vulnerable she had been in front of him.
Her nerves just needed to settle from the moment they had last night. That was all this was. It meant nothing more than that.
The two of them stood up.
"Did you sleep well?" Lee asked.
"Yeah! I slept well. Um, what about you?"
"Wonderfully. I slept better than I had in weeks, I think."
"That's good." Feeling the urge to do something with her hands to alleviate this sudden nervousness, she brushed a stray hair behind her ear.
Lee's brow wrinkled as he studied her with concern. "Sakura, you seem... different this morning. Are you feeling unwell?"
"No! Perfectly fine, I promise. It's just... thank you. For everything last night."
Lee's eyes softened. He opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly Akamaru came bounding towards them barking in greeting, Kiba following behind.
"Mornin'!" Kiba called.
Shino appeared from his room soon after.
After their morning greetings, Sakura handed out the genjutsu tags to each one of her teammates. They would need them to confront the other genjutsu barriers for today's mission. Kiba excitedly chattered away, pumped for today's mission and eager for his moment of glory that was denied to him yesterday fighting Baisho. Shino chided him, wanting him to be more careful today.
While Kiba and Shino bantered with one another, Sakura glanced at Lee. He was looking at her. He smiled gently at her with the unspoken words that were interrupted by Kiba earlier. Sakura tilted her head towards Kiba and rolled her eyes with a smile. Lee's smile turned into a silly smirk in reply. Shino and Kiba didn't notice - it remained a hidden moment between them.
They left not too soon after to the Yukage's building. They were led by the guards into the planning room. Goda entered shortly after, wiping off her hands in a bloody cloth. After brief greetings, Goda went straight to business.
"Now let me begin by telling you what we've learned from our... interrogations of the twin prisoners," Goda said. She unrolled a large map on the meeting table which was marked with red circles. "We learned of additional hidden bases that were not listed on the map we recovered. Additionally, we gained the names of several key Sound-nin leaders in the area and their abilities - but there is surprisingly little known about the genjutsu expert. I will brief you on each of them later. What we must discuss first of all is what is going on within the Sound's borders." She eyed every one of the Leaf-nin, her brow low. "The new Sound Kage - the Otokage - appears to be a familiar face. A man with the face of a snake."
"Orochimaru," Sakura hissed.
Goda nodded. "The twins could not identify his name, but with that description, it seems to be the most likely suspect. As far as we are aware, the Otokage is trying to expand his territory, and he decided the Steam would be his first target," Goda continued. "The twins know the location of one hidden base in the Sound's territory, but it seems like they don't know much else unfortunately. It seems like the Sound has been limiting the information its agents have to keep their plans secret."
"Well then," Kiba said. "It sounds like we're gonna need to capture more Sound-nin then. The more we capture, the more information we can piece together. And I bet those Sound-nin leaders know way more than these small fry do."
"Exactly," Goda said. "Now let's discuss today's mission... first we'll ambush the remaining camps in our borders with my team of Steam-nin, and then I have a separate mission I would like you four Leaf-nin to take part in."
Lee peered through the leaves down at the small village, Nagiso, below. It was a dead silent night - not a stir from any villagers. Nagiso was located on the edge of the Steam, uncomfortably close to the Sound's borders. The Sound had captured the village and claimed it as their own. The four Leaf-nin had all already spend energy helping Goda and her team of Steam-nin ambush and eliminate the remaining hidden Sound camps within the Steam's borders during the daytime. In the evening Lee and his teammates had branched off from Goda and her Steam-nin so they could complete their biggest mission - recapturing Nagiso. Goda and her Steam-nin would spend that time bringing back prisoners to Yu.
Sakura was located close by in the trees northeast of him, while Shino and Kiba were located farther north and northwest of him. They had the village surrounded.
The genjutsu expert who created the unique tags was reportedly resting somewhere within the village.
Lee touched the genjutsu key tag that was tucked under his flak jacket, reassuring himself it was still there.
When Shino proposed they surround the village rather than moving together as a unit, Sakura had immediately protested. If they were going up against a genjutsu expert, she wanted to be nearby to watch out for them.
"Come on," Kiba had retorted with a cocky grin. "Have you forgotten who our sensei is? Me and Shino may have been unable to learn genjutsu like you, but Kurenai-sensei taught us all about defendin' ourselves against it. Don't think because you got our sensei to teach you some fancy genjutsu that we're weak and defenseless."
Lee felt troubled by this. He did not want to be a liability to his team. Sakura only had the chance to teach him a little of genjutsu dispelling - he had only just dispelled his first genjutsu over a week ago, and that was not during an active training scenario. He had been fully prepared and expecting the genjutsu from Sakura - and it was a harmless one at that. Now he would soon be finding himself in an active combat scenario where he would have to protect not only his mind from genjutsu, but his life.
The signal beetle hovering near Lee suddenly flashed.
It was time.
Lee leapt off the branch and dashed low through the thick brush towards the village. With a single jump he cleared the protective stakewall and landed within the village border. Several houses were spread apart in front of him and the shutters on their windows were firmly locked shut. A few moments later five Sound-nin surrounded him from around the houses. Lee dropped into his typical fighting stance, hand pointed out as an invitation to whoever wanted to approach him first.
Lee heard the shouts of combat further into the village - his teammates had entered combat too.
"You're outnumbered, bowl cut!" The pale, dark-haired Sound-nin smirked. His headband was loosely around his neck. His clothing was made of thick material, lined with fur. Lee assumed this man to be the strongest based on the way he carried himself. "Give up now and I, Funai of Clan Yuki, promise to give you a quick death."
Yuki?
Lee remembered that name from the war. Was that the clan Haku of the Mist was from?
"I am sorry, but I cannot do that," Lee replied.
"Then you've chosen death," Funai said.
The four Sound-nin beside Funai charged at Lee with murderous intent clear in their eyes. Lee fluidly weaved and flipped around all four of their blows and took them all out one-by-one in under a minute. Lee calmly turned back to Funai, having not even broken a sweat as his defeated enemies laid still on the ground around him.
"Impressive," Funai laughed. "But I would hardly call these worthless trash shinobi - they don't even have a bloodline limit to call their own. I will defeat you myself."
"Your bloodline limit will not help you against me," Lee said, charging at Funai.
A column of ice sprouted under Funai's feet with a hand sign, rising him twenty feet above Lee. Lee leapt back as ice spiked out at him from the column of ice.
Funai pointed down at Lee. "Spoken like someone ignorant of the true power of a bloodline limit. That makes you trash like the rest of them."
Lee could not help but smirk as dark delight stirred within him. He would enjoy this fight. Lee had never lost his love in taking down arrogant shinobi with bloodline abilities or secret clan techniques and putting them in their place. So many of those shinobi saw those without clan talents as lesser than them, which made their absolute shock and humiliation at their defeat by his hands all the more satisfying.
Funai launched ice spikes at Lee. Lee circled around Funai's pillar of ice as he studied his opponent, keeping just ahead of the deadly ice spikes as they lodged themselves deep in the sidings of the wooden buildings. Lee suddenly darted towards Funai, picking up speed, confident he could dodge Funai's attacks. Lee weaved around the ice spikes, then wall-ran up the ice pillar.
Funai grinned wickedly as suddenly Lee's feet stuck to the side of the pillar, ice rapidly growing around his legs, stopping him in his tracks. Spikes suddenly grew out of the ice pillar, launching towards Lee. Lee twisted his body around the spikes, and smashed the others with well-placed punches. The ice started to grow further up his legs. Lee focused his mind and punched the side of the ice pillar with all his strength. A massive crack spread throughout the pillar, causing it to cleave and fall.
Funai struggled with his footing as Lee burst out of the ice. Lee leapt off the collapsing pillar, launching himself at Funai. Funai raised a wall of ice between them. Lee's fist connected with the wall, cracking it. With a handhold in the ice, Lee threw himself over the wall, careful to not touch the ice for long. On the other side Funai had stopped his ice slab from falling by sending out ice pillars out from under it and connecting it to the nearby building. Funai launched a thick wall of ice at Lee which crashed into him, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Lee stood up, wiping away the blood from the side of his mouth.
Funai looked down at him from his platform of ice. "Ha! You can't even touch me, bowl cut. You won't be able to defeat my bloodline limit with mere taijutsu."
A cocky grin spread across Lee's face. "Allow me to prove you wrong!" Lee sprinted towards Funai.
Funai send multiple pillars of ice towards Lee. Lee weaved and leapt around them. Lee bounded off the side of a building and threw himself towards Funai again. Another wall of ice raised between them. Lee threw an explosive kunai at it and burst through the smoke and ice shards to the other side, and landed a flying punch right in Funai's face. Funai went flying with a yell, falling off of his ice platform. Lee dove after Funai and spiked him into the ground below with a heavy kick.
Funai rolled away and stumbled to his feet, still recovering from the shock of being hit. Lee pursued him, punching and kicking Funai who was too slow to block.
Suddenly ice sprouted from Funai's skin, blocking Lee's fist. Ice encroached across Funai's body like armor. Lee leapt back defensively.
"Behold! My ultimate defensive technique! Your taijutsu can do nothing to me now!"
"Just armor? That is all? I will show you how wrong you are to underestimate me!"
Lee closed the distance between them, throwing punches and kicks at Funai. Lee's attacks cracked Funai's armor for a mere moment before it reformed. Funai did not even attempt to block, he instead went straight for attacking with the blade of ice he formed in his hand.
Lee backed off after dodging a swipe of Funai's blade. If Funai wasn't going to try and block, that left Lee vulnerable while attacking.
"See?" Funai growled. "Your taijutsu can't do a thing. You can't beat me."
Lee rapidly circled around Funai, nothing but a blur, waiting for an opening.
There!
Lee kicked Funai up into the air, then leapt above him and kicked him back into the ground, hitting him in the same spot on his chest. Cracks spread across Funai's armor as the breath was knocked out of him. Lee followed him down with another kick to the chest, directing all the weight of his legs into the center of the spreading crack in his armor. The armor collapsed in from the power of his kick, exposing Funai's chest. Funai swiped at him. Lee leapt back as Funai stumbled to his feet, the armor slowly encroaching back over his chest.
"Why you..." Funai hissed.
"I will not let your armor recover!" Lee declared.
Lee charged at Funai, grabbed his swinging sword arm, and punched him as hard as he could in the hole in his armor. Funai flew back and crashed against a massive tree, splintering it in half, and causing the tree to collapse down on him. The sharp sound of ice shattering echoed in the village. Lee darted in, not wanting to give Funai a chance to recover.
Lee found Funai crushed under the weight of the mighty tree, struggling for breath, his ice armor completely shattered. The battle was already over.
"I... don't understand," Funai wheezed out. "But my bloodline limit... You're nothing compared to me..."
"You underestimated your opponent and you use your bloodline limit as a crutch," Lee replied. "Now tell me... Why is a former Mist-nin allying himself with the Sound?"
"A home. The Mist nearly eradicated my clan because they feared my clan's bloodline limit, the cowardly weaklings," Funai coughed up blood.
"But the Sound is evil!" Lee protested. "If you had come to the Leaf instead, we would have accepted you."
Funai let out a wheezing laugh. "You're serious? Have you forgotten what the Leaf did to the Uchiha? Mark my words - the Hyuga will be next. The Sound is the only one that doesn't fear power."
Before Lee could protest, Funai's eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp, leaving Lee feeling troubled by his words.
Lee ran towards the center of the village, looking for his teammates or another opponent. He did not see any other enemy-nin, so he assumed they were all preoccupied with his teammates. When Lee heard Kiba's sharp battle cry and the snarl of Akamaru, Lee ran towards it.
A feminine voice suddenly echoed around Lee. "Impressive work, Rock Lee," it said with amusement.
Lee stopped in his tracks, eyes darting around the buildings for the source of the voice. It sounded like it came from all around him.
"Show yourself," he called out firmly.
"Where's the fun in that?" the voice said, playful yet with a dangerous edge.
Heavy fog suddenly rolled in around Lee, so thick that he could no longer see the buildings around him. Complete and utter silence followed - he could only hear the sound of his own breath. Lee stood defensively, eyes straining to make out any sudden movements in the deep fog.
"Lee..." the voice echoed all around him in a taunting, sing-song voice. "Lee..."
Lee swung himself around to try and face the direction of the voice. With this poor level of visibility he was vulnerable. He had to do something.
With a sharp pain, a shallow cut suddenly appeared on his cheek. He darted away, turning towards the direction of the attack. Was it a shuriken? A kunai? A needle? He didn't see anything flash by him, nor the sound of the weapon clattering to the ground. What did she attack him with?
A giggle sounded right behind his right ear. Lee whipped around with a kick, hitting nothing but air.
Suddenly he was shoved to the ground. He rolled upright and immediately faced his attacker, but he saw nothing.
Lee sweated. Was she invisible? What kind of ninjutsu was this?
Another sharp cut appeared on his shoulder. He winced and leapt away. Still no trace of where the attack came from.
He had to get out of this fog.
Lee ran. Before he could get far, another painful cut appeared on his thigh. Lee tried weaving and jumping as he ran, desperate to dodge the invisible attacks, but more and more cuts appeared across his body, each one cutting deeper.
He found a building and put his back to it, panting, eyes darting around the endless fog for any sign of movement. He grunted in pain as he clutched at the cut on his side. It was the deepest one yet. While none of the wounds were lethal, he was losing blood out of every cut. He couldn't afford to feel faint from blood loss now.
"Where do you think you're going, hmm? I'm not done with you."
Lee grimaced. He had to get out of here before she decided to stop toying with him.
Something suddenly choked Lee from behind. Lee shot out an elbow and hit the building behind him. As Lee struggled to free himself, shadowy limbs sprouted from the building behind him and wrapped themselves tightly around his body, locking him in place. He strained against them with all his strength, but they held fast.
A shadowy creature grew from the ground in front of him with a cackle. It was grotesque, with proportions that were all wrong, and had a grinning white mask on its face. It reached out a clawed hand and caressed the side of his face, turning Lee's blood cold at its slimy touch.
"You don't have the eyes of a killer - yours are so soft and round," the monster said in the voice of the woman. "I like seeing them so full of fear." It licked Lee's blood off its hand with a slithering tongue that appeared from the maw under its mask. "Tell me, Lee, how you and your allies discovered all our camps," it purred.
"Sorry, but I cannot answer that," Lee choked out, straining against the shadowy limbs.
The monster chuckled. "You speak so polite and formally even to your opponents. What a sweet boy you are." Lee could do nothing as more shadowy hands sprouted from behind him, opened all of his pockets and hostlers and dumped out the contents. The monster hummed as if it were all a game. Its claw unzipped Lee's flak jacket and pulled out the genjutsu key tag they had stolen from the Sound camps. "Ah, here it is." It crumpled it in its hands before leaning in close, its face mere inches from Lee's. "Then tell me this, Lee," it said, its voice a gentle whisper. "One of your Leaf-nin friends was able to discover my genjutsu - now who was it? Aburame? Don't lie to me, I know who his teacher was."
Lee said nothing as the monster studied him, sweating. This was the genjutsu expert that they were pursuing. How much of what he was seeing was even real? How could he even have the power to counter it?
The monster hummed in thought at his silence. "Not Aburame? Inuzuka then?" It paused again, watching him. "No? Then it was Haruno?" It then pulled back and laughed. "I can tell by your face that it was Haruno. I did not know the medic-nin was ever trained in genjutsu."
"Who are you? How do you know about us?" Lee demanded desperately, trying to distract it as he focused on his chakra stream. The only way out would be to break out of the genjutsu. It was so hard to locate his chakra stream with his bleeding wounds throbbing, and the strangling grip of the shadowy hands around his body.
The monster ignored his question. He felt an invasive probing feeling in the back of his mind. "Lee, does my form disgust you? Is that why you look so uncomfortable? Is there someone else you would rather see?"
Lee fought off the presence in his mind with all of his willpower. He was losing.
"Oh, I see her," the monster said. With a shift the monster was suddenly Sakura. It smiled sweetly at him, but the expression was foreign to Sakura's face and the eyes were all wrong. The fake Sakura playfully tilted up Lee's chin. "Naughty boy, having feelings for a married woman," it said, low and sultry. "You dream about kissing her, don't you?"
Lee lost focus on his chakra stream as his breath caught in his throat.
"You spent a rather long time in her room last night. You savored her every fleeting touch. My, my. What would her husband think?"
"Stop it," Lee pleaded, turning his face away from her.
Concentrate!
The monster grabbed his chin and forced his head up to look at her. "Aww, poor boy. If you want, I can make your dream come true, if for only a moment," it teased, leaning in close, lips pouted.
Lee froze, mind blank.
"Get off him!" Sakura's voice snarled.
The ground burst open between Lee and the fake Sakura. The fake Sakura leapt back and morphed back into a monster, attention on Sakura. The fog dispersed, revealing Sakura fifteen feet away, pulling her fist up from the fissure she created, a fierce expression on her face that was wholly her own.
"Sakura!" Lee called out, relief filling him instantly.
Skeletal hands burst from the ground under Sakura, reaching for her legs. She did not even react and just passed through them untouched, as though she was on a different plane of existence from them. The monster phased from existence. Sakura threw kunai at a random point and Lee saw one of them deflect off of something invisible.
When Sakura reached Lee her eyes quickly assessed him for damage, touched his shoulder, and dissipated the genjutsu from his body. The shadowy limbs holding him to the building were no more, and he could now see a woman standing across the street from them clutching a kunai, wearing the same grinning mask the monster had. She wore no headband, but had a strand of feathers tied in her violet hair.
"She is a member of the Talons," Lee said as he stood defensively at Sakura's side.
"The Talons and the Sound are working together then," Sakura concluded as she eyed the woman. "Have you been poisoned?"
"No. I would have noticed by now," Lee responded.
"Good. Let's make sure she doesn't escape. I have some pressing questions for her," Sakura said, cracking her knuckles.
"It's rude to whisper among yourselves like that while I'm right here," the masked woman tutted.
"Don't pretend we're here to be civil," Sakura retorted. "Lee, let's go!"
"Right!"
Sakura and Lee charged at the woman together. The woman stood ready for them. Suddenly the ground underneath them started to twist wildly, and Lee almost lost his balance. Sakura touched his shoulder and the illusion vanished. The two of them ducked under the needles the woman threw at them. Lee leapt at the woman with a flying kick, but a wall of tortured souls rose in front of her. Lee twisted away from it, landing in front of it, while Sakura passed through it. The wall dissipated, and he saw Sakura locked in combat with the woman. She summoned a flock of flying crows at Sakura's feet, obscuring Sakura's vision enough before she could dissipate it for the woman to leap back and create distance.
Lee charged after the woman. Her mask turned towards him and she held up a hand sign. Shadowy limbs flew up from the ground and grabbed at him. Lee leapt over them, but the limbs just grew longer, and snatched his feet and slammed him to the ground. They wrapped around his body and squeezed the life out of him. Lee let out a shout of pain.
This is not real. It is just all in my mind. Concentrate!
But he could not find his focus. Lee could do nothing as the woman threw another set of needles at him.
Sakura stopped her pursuit of the woman and smashed the ground towards Lee. A fissure spread towards Lee and the rubble burst up right in front of his face. He heard the needles clang uselessly against the rocks. Sakura was there a moment later with a touch, dissipating the shadowy limbs that squeezed the life from him. Lee leapt to his feet.
"Damn her," Sakura growled. "How does she have the focus and chakra to do all of these rapid-fire genjutsus while also in close-range?"
"I am sorry, Sakura," Lee said. He felt so useless and vulnerable.
"It's okay," Sakura smiled reassuringly at him. "Just stay very close to me."
The woman was gone. But her voice soon echoed around them. "You would have caught me, Haruno, if you weren't so focused on saving him," she taunted.
While Lee could not tell the direction of the voice, Sakura clearly could. She motioned for him to follow her towards the entrance of the village. When she suddenly halted he did too, and her eyes searched the area.
The ground suddenly began to crumble under their feet as the dead moaned and reached for their feet. Lee tried to pull away in shock but Sakura grabbed his upper arm and dissipated the genjutsu.
"I got you," Sakura said, holding onto him.
More and more genjutsu appeared - flying monsters, them falling into pits of pitch blackness, fake versions of Kiba and Shino trying to kill them, the wailing pleas of lost spirits, reality twisting around them, and so many other horrible things. Each and every one Sakura dispelled. At one point Sakura simply disappeared beside him and he panicked, only for her to reappear again after she dissipated the genjutsu for both of them once again. With each illusion, Sakura pulled and twisted Lee away, dragging him out of danger from the needles the genjutsu expert was throwing at them. Lee's senses were lost, he could barely make sense of what was happening around him, and so he had to put all of his trust in Sakura to keep him safe - his only comfort was her steady grip on his arm. He felt so nauseous and dizzy from having his chakra stream shifted back and forth that he could barely keep his balance or make sense of what was up or down.
They had to get out of this nightmare, but they were stuck. Sakura was so focused on defending him so they could barely move from their spot. They could only react.
Suddenly all the genjutsu stopped, and Sakura held him steady in place. Lee tried to regain his senses and footing as the two waited tensely for the next wave of genjutsu.
"Is that all you got? You done testing me?" Sakura called out, panting. She pulled out a needle lodged in her shoulder and tossed it aside. "Your genjutsu doesn't work on me. And I'm sure your chakra reserves have to be running low by now. How about you stop hiding like a coward and face us?"
The masked woman took the bait, appearing on the roof of the nearby tavern. "Two-vs-one just simply isn't fair," she answered. "I was having so much fun with Lee before you showed up, Haruno. He was telling me all about the intimate night the two of you shared."
A sharp inhale was the only indication of Sakura feeling caught off-guard. She did an excellent job keeping up a serious facade in front of the enemy.
Lee's face burned. "She was able to see into some of my memories somehow."
"Do you feel guilty, Haruno? Seeking an emotional connection from another man while your husband is none the wiser?"
"Have you never had a friend before?" Sakura spat back.
"What I saw was something more than between friends. It seemed more like... lovers reconciling after a fight."
"Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about," Sakura snarled.
The woman simply laughed.
"Lee. I want you to find Shino and Kiba, help them wrap up their battles, and bring them back here," Sakura said with an edge to her voice, eyes locked onto their enemy.
"But, Sakura-"
"Please."
Sakura glanced at Lee, her eyes pleading almost, asking him to trust her in her abilities to defend herself. Lee felt like leaving would be abandoning her and going against his promise to her - but he also promised her last night that he would not presume to know what was best for her. With a nod, Lee took off back towards the village, desperate to return to her side as soon as possible.
Sakura saw the woman's mask turn towards Lee. Before she could form hand signs Sakura formed her own - summoning a genjutsu of storming flower petals to block the woman's sight line on Lee. As expected, the woman dissipated it immediately, but by then Lee was already gone. With the distraction Sakura was able to dart up the tavern roof so that she could face the woman directly.
"You wanted a one-on-one battle, and now you've got it. Keep your eyes on me," Sakura growled.
"Very well, Haruno," the woman said.
"You seem to know our names. Do I get to know yours?"
"You may call me... Yumi, if you'd like."
"Alright, Yumi. You can tell me what the Sound and Talons are plotting together now, or you can tell me later after I beat the crap out of you. You've been getting on my nerves so I'm leaning towards the latter, but I'm kind enough to give you a choice."
"You're right, I have been getting on your nerves," Yumi giggled. "You don't like it when I talk about you and Lee, do you?"
"Don't ignore my question, I'm only warning you once."
Yumi tilted her head. "Tell me, Haruno. Do you have feelings for Lee?"
"Consider your choice made!" Sakura shouted as she charged towards Yumi.
Sakura fist flew phased through Yumi. Sakura cursed herself for her carelessness and dissipated the genjutsu, then whipped around looking for Yumi. She spotted her standing on a nearby tree branch on the other side of the stakewall, watching her. This Yumi was the real one.
"He has feelings for you, but I thought that was obvious."
"You're lying."
Sakura leapt over the stakewall directly at Yumi with her fist full of chakra. Yumi dodged out of the way. Sakura's fist collided with the tree. Splinters flew as the thick trunk caved in, then split with a crack, before falling to the forest floor. Yumi jumped to another tree and Sakura followed, felling trees with her pinpoint explosive chakra. Every illusion Yumi summoned Sakura dissipated or ignored with ease. They were much easier to deal with without also having to worry about protecting Lee from them.
Sakura stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She was starting to feel a little dizzy from altering the direction of her chakra stream back and forth so much. Yumi stood above her in the tree across from her. "You don't know how to fight someone who can dispel your genjutsu, do you?" Sakura taunted.
Yumi played with the needles in her hands, flipping them skillfully between her fingers. "Do you think he's cute?" she asked nonchalantly. "He's no pretty boy but he has a certain... unconventional handsomeness if you look at him right, don't you think? He was probably a gawky-looking boy in his youth, but he's definitely grown into his features. His eyes still carry an endearing boyish innocence despite his manhood. It's a wonder he hasn't lost that yet in this unforgiving profession."
"How about you shut up. You talk too much."
"Oh? You aren't denying anything there? I think I'll consider that a 'yes' - you do find him cute," Yumi giggled. "You do have feelings for him, don't you?"
"This again? Of course I don't. Don't be ridiculous."
"You two were playing a dangerous game last night. I saw your face through his memories - the way you looked at him after you asked him to stay for just a little longer. The half-lidded eyes, the shy smile, the blush, the silly excuses made to touch him - the boy is naive for not seeing it for what it is. If he kissed you last night I think you might have kissed him back."
"That's not what that was."
"And with a bed right there... who knows how far that could have escalated? Men can be so selfish in bed - but I think your Lee is quite eager to please. With how much he trains that body of his, just imagine the stamina. Oh, you're blushing like a virgin! Have you and your husband never...?"
"You're sick."
"We're just having girl talk, no need to be a prude." Yumi teased.
"If you're not going to shut up, how about we stop talking about me and start talking about you, huh? How do you have the chakra reserves to do so many genjutsu at once? How can you affect my chakra system again so soon after a genjutsu dissipation?"
Yumi cocked her head. "Oh? You didn't learn anything from Baisho?"
Sakura's jaw tightened. Goda killed Baisho so they were unable to question him. It was a foolish decision on Goda's part, but it was obvious her decision to kill him was personal.
"Sloppy work, Haruno. Why would I tell you anything?"
"Baisho was experimented on, wasn't he? And so were you. Just like the Sound did years ago under Orochimaru. And now you're repeating the same thing under him again. He's just using you all, you know that, right? He wouldn't hesitate to kill you if it meant furthering his own goals for power and immortality!"
Yumi laughed. "You really don't know anything about what's going on, do you?"
Am I wrong?
Sakura ground her teeth. Yumi knew a lot more than the Sound twins they captured did, and probably more than any of the enemy-nin occupying this small village or even any of the Sound-nin they had captured today at the other hidden camps. Sakura had to capture Yumi alive. She would get that information out of her no matter what.
Yumi threw her needles at Sakura. Sakura shifted behind the tree trunk. When she came out the other side of the tree, Yumi had disappeared again. Sakura whipped her head around, looking for her.
There!
Sakura landed on the forest floor, chasing the glimpses of Yumi's white mask in the brush as she fled.
"You're not escaping from me!" Sakura shouted.
"Was I fleeing?"
Sakura froze.
The mechanical whirring of trap sounded around her. Before she could move ropes shot out from all directions, wrapping around her and squeezing tight. She wobbled and dropped to her knees. Her arms were pressed tight against her sides. She tried to struggle, but the ropes held fast, secured tightly to the trees surrounding her. She could not move. She tried to dig her fingers into her kunai pouch, but she could not reach it.
Shit!
Sakura tried to summon a chakra scalpel from her fingers to cut the rope, but nothing happened.
My chakra...!
Yumi appeared before Sakura. "Do you like it? It neutralizes chakra."
Just like Baisho's skin.
Yumi continued. "I am not a one trick pony. I'm quite fond of traps too."
Sakura struggled at her restraints, growling at Yumi as she got closer. Sakura had one more trick up her sleeve.
"Let's see what I can learn from you, Haruno," Yumi said as she grabbed Sakura's head, digging bony fingers into her scalp. Sakura could see the glint of Yumi's eyes through the mask. Sakura shook her head in protest, but Yumi's iron grip did not give. Sakura suddenly felt a creeping presence in her mind, but her chakra was too exhausted to fight against it.
"You hold so much denial in your heart - Sai was right about what he said to you. Oh, Haruno. How can a woman be so intelligent, yet still so blind to herself and those around her? It's like you're walking through an endless fog."
Sakura ground her teeth together, refusing to respond.
"Oh, I see something more. I see-" Yumi's voice trailed off, and her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw.
Now!
At that moment, Sakura painfully twisted her own hand under the cloth around her waist, pulled out the hidden blade stitched within, and in one motion slashed at Yumi's stomach and the rope around her wrist.
Yumi reeled back, clutching her bleeding stomach. In that time Sakura was able to cut through all the ropes restraining her. Sakura launched herself towards Yumi. Yumi smacked a hidden switch against a boulder. Darts shot at Sakura from all directions. As they thudded into her, Sakura transformed into a log.
"When did you...?!"
The real Sakura jumped out from behind the boulder, fist flaring with chakra as it hurtled towards Yumi's face. Yumi barely dodged as she wrenched away. Sakura followed up with a sharp knee to Yumi's stomach. It hit. Yumi gasped in pain, doubling over. Sakura followed up with two focused punches to Yumi's shoulders, shattering the bones there with the blunt force burst of her chakra. Sakura kicked Yumi hard, sending her rolling over towards the chakra-nullifying ropes. Sakura strode towards Yumi as she writhed in pain on the ground. It only took a moment, but Sakura was fully in control now.
Yumi tried to rise to her feet, but Sakura stamped her foot on her back, sending her back down.
"Time to give up," Sakura said. "You can't form signs with your broken shoulders. You can't trigger any more of your traps. This fight is over."
Silent, Yumi stopped struggling as Sakura tied her arms tightly behind her back with the spare chakra-nullifying rope.
"Finally have nothing to say, huh?" Sakura sneered.
Sakura grabbed Yumi's shoulder and ripped off her grinning mask. She was only a little older than Sakura, and her sunset-colored eyes were striking. She grinned at Sakura, an unsettling grin that matched the one on her mask.
"The Steam will be happy to get their hands on you," Sakura said with contempt.
"The Steam? I think the Leaf would be more interested in what I know."
"Is that so? Well, you're going to come with me to Yu and tell me all about it," Sakura retorted.
"Am I?" Yumi implored, mocking.
A shiver ran down Sakura's spine.
With a flash, a kunai was suddenly sticking out of Yumi's jugular. Blood gushed from her mouth before she collapsed on the forest floor, dead.
"No!" Sakura cried.
She whipped around to find Yumi's killer. She heard a rustle, and there was a sudden flash of movement in the trees above. Sakura chased it desperately, but quickly lost sight of it with no way to track it. A sudden terrifying thought struck her, and she ran back to Yumi's corpse. It was still there. It wasn't a genjutsu.
A moment later Lee, Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru found her staring down at Yumi's body. Yumi still had a grin on her face, mocking Sakura's failure even in death.
"Sakura, are you okay?" Lee asked, eyeing her and Yumi.
"Yeah... What's the situation?"
"All Sound-nin have been neutralized in the village," Shino responded. "We've won."
"That's great, but I think we lost the most important piece of intelligence we could have gotten out of this," Sakura said, kneeling down by Yumi's corpse. She pressed her lips tightly together, holding back her disappointment.
"Check the pockets," Shino suggested.
Sakura dug through Yumi's clothing, finding genjutsu tags, a jutsu scroll, throwing weapons, and a letter. Sakura pulled it out and skimmed it. It was written by a lover, and it detailed her lover's peaceful evening lazing by a campfire, surrounded by flowers and fireflies, missing Yumi's presence by his side. It droned on for some time about small nothings before ending with the saying: 'May we all find peace united under the wings of liberation'.
"What does it say?" Kiba asked.
"It's just a love letter," Sakura answered. "But... it just doesn't fit her, I don't know."
"Perhaps it's coded," Shino said.
"Maybe..." Sakura said, thinking.
Lee kneeled down next to her and took the Talons insignia off of Yumi. It had several feathers tied together, connected with several large, intricate beads. "They all have this same symbol on them - the hawk feathers, and the same set of patterned beads. Perhaps it is a stretch, but I wonder if this could be a key?"
"It's certainly possible," Sakura said. "Let's take it with us, along with the jutsu scroll and the letter. We'll look at it closer later."
"Yes, let's head back," Shino agreed.
"Think it's time for this village's liberators to announce their victory to the villagers themselves?" Kiba asked.
They all returned to the town center. Kiba took the liberty of boastfully announcing their victory to the villagers. Slowly, carefully, the villagers first opened their shutters and doors to peer out at the four Leaf-nin, before all coming out of their homes, cheering.
"Leaf! Leaf!" they cheered.
Despite losing out on a valuable prisoner, Sakura felt their victory now more than ever, seeing all the happy faces around them. She swelled with pride at being able to free these innocent villagers from their oppressors. This is what being a shinobi was truly all about. She missed this feeling. She smiled and laughed with the villagers as they patted her on the back, hugged her, and tried to shove tokens of appreciation in her arms that she did her best to refuse.
Sakura's eyes drifted towards Lee. He was also crowded with happy villagers, arms full of unwanted gifts that he had no clue what to do with. He caught her eye and grinned awkwardly at her.
A giggle escaped Sakura's mouth. Her chest felt warm and fuzzy as she grinned back at him.
Yumi's voice echoed in the back of her mind: 'You do have feelings for him, don't you?'
That wasn't true... right?
The thought had come up a few times in recent memory, but those were just silly intrusive thoughts. Sakura disregarded them as immediately as they had come up. They just simply were not true. She loved only Sasuke - her feelings had always remained faithful to him despite how troubled she felt about their relationship. She prided herself on that loyalty. Her strong feelings for Lee were platonic only.
Or... maybe she was she in denial, just like Yumi said she was.
Am I... falling for Rock Lee?
If that were true, and only if it was the slightest bit true... was she being unfaithful to Sasuke?
A/N: I like to imagine that Tenten made Lee that explosive tag he used to defeat Funai.
Now let's all give thanks to evil genjutsu-lady for playing match-maker for Lee and Sakura. Love the trope of the evil character teasing the couple for the feelings they hold for one another and/or psychoanalyzing the hero. Sorry if I leaned into it too much, but I just love that trope so much, guys. Had to get my use out of it while I could.
Please stay safe inside during this pandemic! My husband and I thankfully get to work from home during this time. I sometimes morbidly think of what would happen if I caught it and took a turn for the worse - if that happens check my Tumblr lol. If I get sick I'll write a timed release post (that posts like maybe a few months after my untimely demise) that summarizes the plot points and ending for this fic so ya'll can have something. This fic is probably the only loose end I think about if I die haha. (Though I assure you I feel perfectly healthy right now.)