"...Mou...I'm tired."
"Hn."
"My legs hurt. Can we take a break? We've been running for two entire days."
"Technically we started last evening and if you forgot, we paused to eat."
"But the sun is going to set! Can we stop?!"
"..."
"Are you listening Kakashi!?"
Kakashi didn't respond, instead burying his nose deep into the perverted novel as he walked on ahead of them. Itachi shot his friend a wary smile. "We have to catch up to Tsunade-Sama as soon as possible. She moves randomly so the moment we get a lead we have to keep going."
"...I still don't get why we're the ones who have to go after her." Sakura scowled, "Damned old man."
"He is the Hokage. You can't question his judgement." Kakashi responded simply as he flicked a page, "Oh and Sakura, I won't have you wandering off on this mission like you did on the other one. Hokage sama told me specifically to keep you close."
"Tch."
"I mean it." his lone eye slid to her direction with a warning look and she bit back with a glare of her own. "You're the only one who knows how to proceed properly with this mission. If something happens to you we will have to go on pure instinct."
The exchange didn't go missed by the ever so observant Shisui who despite feigning exhaustion, was observing Sakura's changes in moods. Despite his attitude, Uchiha Shisui was a meticulous shinobi by nature. She looked pissed. Sounded pissed. And had a deadly murderous streak to her each time Kakashi rebuffed her.
...something had happened between them. This was more than the Hokage and the mission.
"I'm not going to die any time soon. Crazy old man." She grumbled.
"I'm not old."
"Grow yourself a new hair color and then talk to me."
"You're not better. Who in the world has pink hair?"
Pursing his lips together, the master of the body flicker jutsu shuffled closer to his friend. "What do you suppose happened between them?" He whispered, his eyebrows tugging together intently. "You live with her. Did she tell you anything?"
"...She's been like that since the mission briefing." Itachi responded as he recalled how she grumbled on during the packing. "...my best guess is that she doesn't want to go search after Tsunade-Sama."
"Damn straight I don't." the two boys nearly jumped as she snapped in annoyance. "On top of that I have to be assigned a personal baby-sitter who has to keep a watch out for me. I can take care of myself perfectly fine."
"Tsunade Sama is not an easy person to convince."
"Exactly why we should stay away." She grumbled in annoyance. "Shisou is a difficult person. Before Naruto she had an extremely stubborn attitude towards everything." her fists slackened as she remembered her teachers past. During the time period where Naruto had left to train, she had let her known exactly why she agreed to take the pinkette under her wing. "...she doesn't care about Konoha right now."
"Why?" Shisui asked out of curiosity. "Isn't it her home?"
"...not any more. She had lost too much to call it a home. And then Naruto came and beat that stubborness out of her." A small smile ticked at her lips, "She won't return to Konohakagure before him. Naruto is the only one who can convince someone like her."
"..Why? You can try too." Shisui rested his arms behind his head with a questionable look. "You're Naruto's teammate aren't you?"
"Aa. But I'm not like him. I'm stubborn alright...but I'm not as determined as he is."
"All the same you have to try to bring her back. All we need to do is get her to agree to pose as your teacher." Kakashi interrupted and she glared up at him yet again. "...the council wants proof. Hokage sama is at risk right now. If we don't find her before Danzo's men..."
"I hear you. Man I should've just kept my mouth shut..." she groaned as she rubbed her neck.
"Maa...like I said."
"Shut up."
"...The council didn't look happy when the Hokage told them that we were going to search for her." Shisui recalled. "...I guess you're really in deep trouble Sakura chan."
"Which is why we can't stop until we find her. The matter won't rest until we get Tsunade sama to side by us. Until it settles we can kiss normal missions and research away." The copy ninja retorted, glancing at Sakura. "The sooner we get this done the better."
"...There's the village." Sakura muttered, ignoring him. The trio came to a standstill behind their captain as the settlement appeared by the horizon. "...Thats the place she was last spotted right?"
Kakashi nodded curtly. "Let's go."
To scour more information, they split up separately -each taking a direction to search. As a step of caution, Kakashi assigned the younger Uchiha to keep an eye on the pinkette, much to her chagrin. Shisui, being the compulsive one of the two was obviously not considered to accompany her.
"Its for your own protection my ass." she grumbled as she walked through the paved streets.
"...Just play along." Itachi attempted to calm the fiery girl, "...Considering you're the only lead we have against this war..."
"I can protect myself." she snapped, turning around to face him. "Why does everyone keep treating me like a kid?! Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I can't defend myself! For your information I defeated an Akatsuki member and played a prominent role in the war just like everyone else! I fought on par with you didn't I!?"
Itachi listened quietly as she chastised him angrily. "...I never said you couldn't." He said quietly once she was done and she faltered. "...You're a remarkable kunoichi, Sakura San."
"...Save it." she grumbled as she turned around and he followed her close behind.
"I mean it." He kept talking despite her obvious annoyance, "...I for one never looked down at you."
"Coming from someone like you...I suppose I feel at ease. Its just...Kakashi and that damned old man..."
"Sakura." His hand fell upon her shoulder, halting her in place and she turned to stare at him with a blank look. "...they just want to take extra precautions because the council has their glare upon you now. They can be cunning...or so Shisui tells me. If they somehow find a way to evict you out of the village or even the Uchiha clan we're at a huge loss. You're a symbol of trust right now."
Somehow, his straightforward voice and gentle tenor evoked a strange calmness in her and she let her stiff shoulders grow slack. "...I know." she sighed, glancing away. What was she thinking, snapping away like that? Itachi was right. Right now they had to work on giving her a stable footing.
After all...it was a question of keeping his clan safe. If they were to pull her out of the Uchiha's grasp...the mistrust would build up again. The old man took a gamble believing her story outright but it turned to his favor. The Uchiha were starting to settle down slowly.
"...sorry Itachi."
"...No need for apologies." he chuckled, "Its understandable."
"...it is?" she asked curiously.
"I have the slight suspicion that you are someone who is constantly underestimated. Shisui did." he explained, humor lacing his tone. "...I for one didn't."
"...may I ask why?" This boy continued to startle her with his sharp intuition and reasoning.
"Tsunade-sama would never pick you if you weren't competent enough. You were her first and last known official student weren't you?" She raised an eyebrow, "You survived the fall from that height...your injuries healed up at an amazing rate..." He flashed her a warm smile, "And you are right about being completely on par with me. I was and still am impressed by you, Haruno Sakura."
His lengthy compliment made something warm envelop her heart and she felt it rise to her face and the tip of her ears. For the first time in her life, she found herself at a loss for words. "...Uchiha. Are you flirting with me?"
He merely laughed and she quickly averted her gaze. "Iie. I'm just being honest." He reached out and rested his hand on her head, much to her flustered mortification. "If we get attacked I won't interfere if you want to take the lead."
"No kidding?"
"No kidding." He repeated with a smile. "Look. You're someone who didn't even break a sweat while I had to keep my sharingan on to be on par with with you. And you more or less rescued me from the cell back in the Kingdom. Medic nin aren't supposed to fight first thing in battle to make sure they don't get injured in order to heal their teammates. But considering you can punch a castle down and still have enough chakra to patch us up, you're pretty badass."
...this guy was really the epitome of niceness.
She wondered if he was even remotely aware that sooner or later he was going to surpass even the sannin as a shinobi.
'Probably not.' She thought dryly as she stared at his cutesy smile. 'This guy thinks about himself as much as Naruto does about personal hygiene.' And that was saying something.
"You're dangerous you know that?" She said quietly, "I bet girls fall all over at your feet."
Much to her amusement, his expression switched from smiling in encouragement, to confusion and finally red with embarrassment in a matter of seconds. "Uh..." he said awkwardly, removing his hand from the top of her head. "...They tend to avoid me actually."
...with Itachi she learned a new thing every day. It was almost like preschool. Except with a lot less cooties and a lot more inappropriate jokes he didn't get. Yet.
"I tend to be on the quiet side so..girls usually don't approach me. Shisui was the only friend I had until recently." He pursued his lips. "...He's very popular with girls actually. He says if anything a few do observe me..." he paused, "...from the distance."
"...So basically you turned into an exotic zoo animal."
"...basically. But its a good thing." he admitted, rubbing the back of his head with a curt laugh. "I usually feel awkward around people. I'm fine being around just you and Shisui. Occasionally Kakashi-San. In any case, let's go into that cafe'. We might scour something there."
As she watched him walk off quickly, a small smile made its way to her face. The previous anger she had been harboring was now completely gone -she didn't even remember why she was that upset in the first place. 'Uchiha Itachi huh?' she thought as she trailed after him, 'Hard to believe you were the person you were in my future.'
He was a good kid. Despite what people thought of him.
'Hell he even encouraged me back in the Kingdom. The cute shrimp face he is.' She thought with a wide grin.
"MAN. I LOST AGAIN!" A scream caught her ears and she halted in front of the doorway, her eyes averting towards the direction of the voice. Down the road on the opposite side, a wailing man was being comforted by his counterpart. "DAMMIT. THOSE WERE MY LAST SAVINGS!"
A smirk made its way to her face. But of course -where else should they search?
"...They've seen her." Itachi said as he walked out of the cafe. "But they have no idea when she left-"
"Come with me for a sec sweetie." he was cut off as the pinkette tugged him down the road.
"Where are we going?" He blinked as he pulled her through the crowds easily, aware that people were staring at them. "Did you get a lead?"
"Are you good at gambling?" She asked, turning around with a grin.
"...what..."
The sun had set past the horizon for a long time now and Shisui was starting to feel the chills of the night set in. And Kakashi was still intent on searching the village more. They had been travelling nonstop through the entire day -if Tsunade were to even be here they would be too tired to fight should she attack.
"...Where are they?" Kakashi muttered as he crossed his arms over his chest.
...oh and Sakura and Itachi were gone again.
"See this is why I should've gone with her." Shisui grumbled, "At least they're probably having fun instead of hanging around an old man like you."
Kakashi ignored the boy, scanning the crowd in front of him. He hoped that Sakura was on the mission. If there was one thing he found tiresome about her, it was the fact that she refused to take orders as they were given. Instead she preferred to do things her way.
Itachi being the calm one seemed to have some sedative influence over her -which was why he constantly entrusted her with him.
But now they were late again. They were supposed to be in front of the inn an hour ago.
"...I guess we have no choice but to split up and search for them." he finally sighed, frustration lacing his tone. Why did he always get stuck with situations like this? As he started walking however, his lone eye caught a glimpse of pink within the sea of people. "...Finally." he said dryly as the two appeared. "Why did you take so..."
His question trailed off midway as he caught sight of Itachi's face. It was somewhat pale and he looked utterly mortified if not anything else. But there was something else in his eyes he caught -something akin to struck.
"...what did you do?" He asked blandly.
"We got the information." She answered back simply with a coy smile. "Itachi kun here learned a little something along the way."
"Learned?" Shisui parroted, resting his fists on his hips as he stared at the boy. "Oi. What happened? You looked like you've seen a ghost."
"He had a fit of nerves at the gambling bar. I did get our rent for tonights stay though. Plus a nice meal!" She waved a thick envelope into the air, walking into the inn. While Shisui only registered it in a matter of seconds, following after her with a cheerful 'whoop', Kakashi stood stunned for a long time.
"...She pulled you into a gambling bar?" He asked the Uchiha quietly and he nodded, albeit slowly. "...You were afraid of such a place?"
"Iie...not afraid." he mused on his words for a moment before raising his onyx eyes to meet Kakashi's ones, "...Its just...the way the people acted in that place...I was slightly...taken aback. But she handled it with ease..."
But of course...people tended to bring out their nasty's hoarding into places like that. While some tended to be run by wealthy people, those bars within small villages like these were horrorsome to say the least.
"...I keep forgetting that she's an adult from the future."
"...Aa." Rubbing his neck awkwardly, he glanced back into the door of the inn. "...So she got the info...how? And the money?"
"Gambling. I'll explain the rest over dinner." He responded brusquely, brushing past the copy nin. "I think we could all do with a brief rest for now."
"But if you got the information on Tsunade we should move on." He leveled, frowning at the boy whose awkwardness from earlier seemed to be fading away steadily. "Is she nearby?"
"...She left a day ahead after striking it big." The boy answered tiredly, "...they wouldn't reveal the information until we had played against them and proved our worth." He paused as he saw Sakura bargaining with the innkeeper for the prices. She never ceased to intrigue him; despite scoring big she was still stingy. "She's really something else."
"Yeah." Kakashi agreed, "...A great big ache in the ass."
"...I do admire her several skill sets though. I suppose Tsunade-Sama taught her well." Itachi said, to which Kakashi blanched. She probably taught her one too many things about cockiness and stubborness thats for sure. "...We're not sure where she's heading next...but we managed to get hold of this." He reached into his pocket and held up a handkerchief.
"...is that hers?"
"Aa."
"...Why did they have her handkerchief?"
"An admirer and drunken gambler. After scouring for information I happened to land on him..." He scratched his cheek, "...long story short she ended up goading him and she made me steal it. Mostly because she was ticked off that the man would steal it from her teacher."
"...We'll... we can use this." Kakashi looked down at the rag, "I'll send my hunter nin to track her scent down overnight. In the meantime go to your rooms and order some food."
"Hai." As the boy walked towards his teammates, the copy nin attempted to suppress the headache that was building up.
"...That's about three days walk from here. She left a day early correct?"
"Yes."
Kakashi breathed, "...Ja. We rest overnight and tomorrow morning we start running." He was exhausted at this point. Though still slightly ticked off at Sakura, he had to admit that her unconventional methods of scouring information generally worked well. Especially when it came to tracking people. He had to give her some credit.
Besides...it was justifiable how she was acting. The kunoichi seemed to hold a grudge against anyone who underestimated her.
'Maa...it seems Itachi calmed her.' he thought as he exited the inn. Circling around the building until he reached a secluded area, he summoned his pack of ninken. "Pakkun." he acknowledged the pug as he stepped forward. The annoyance was visible on his features.
"You better have a good reason for pulling us out of our sleeping Kakashi." He said in a gruff voice. Behind him a few of the pack yawned loudly as if to back him up.
"We are tracking Tsunade Sama." The copy nin explained curtly, bending down on one knee. "...it's an emergency. I shall explain the full situation to you later but..." He paused to etch the rest of the words down in the sand. To speak of this matter was dangerous -especially after what he noted today.
-We are protecting a timetraveller-
Pakkun's eyes widened and the copy nin quickly erased the words. "...so why are you trying to find the slug princess? Who are we up against?"
His fingers etched in the sand again and the pug quickly skimmed the words.
-The council-
"...Taichou." One of the ninken barked in a low voice and the two averted their attention to him. The greyhound sniffed the air lightly before his gleaming hazel eyes focused upon his master. "We're not alone."
Kakashi's eye narrowed imperceptibly. A spy? He quickly erased the words upon the sand.
A long time ago, they had been summoned to hunt down for Orochimaru and again when they pursued into the residence of the Iburi clan to save the only survivor -both of the times they had come into contact with the Root.
"There's definitely someone nearby." He bristled, his teeth baring in a snarl and Kakashi's hand quickly drew to his kunai pouch.
Before he could sit up, a muffled thud sounded and a groan followed. Kakashi blinked as a heavier sound followed -one that signaled that he had fallen. Was the spy ambushed?
Confirming his thoughts, a familiar presence made itself known and a pair of glistening crimson eyes peered out of the shadows. "...What are you doing? Letting your guard down like that..." Shisui spoke and the copy nin let out a sigh, tucking the weapon away. His lone eye glanced at the unconscious man in civilian gear who was being held by his collar by the Uchiha.
"Search him." Kakashi ordered and Shisui quickly complied. His suspicions were proven when the boy found a small scroll hidden within his robe. "Intel?"
"...ANBU Root." Shisui confirmed as he scanned it. "...he's been tracking our movements."
"Anything on Sakura?"
"...It's all on her." he muttered and Kakashi breathed in annoyance. "...Says here that she sidetracked from the mission and dragged Uchiha Itachi into a bar." He added, a grin making its way to his face. "...she's smart."
"Or lucky." he grabbed the scroll, his eyes running over it. "Kuso...this is bad."
"...should we leave?" The smile faded from his face, the sharingan fading away. "If they reach her before us..."
"They won't." He rolled it up, tucking it back into the mans robe. "...They don't know where she is and the fastest way to track her down is through us. Tsunade Sama won't listen to the ANBU Root -Danzou knows that. If there are more spies around here they'll keep it down." he turned to his ninken. "Please hurry." he pulled out a small scroll. "When you get to her, entrust her with this and advise her to burn it once its been read through."
"What's in it?" Pakkun asked as Kakashi tied it around his neck.
"Basics of what we want to discuss with her."
"So we stay for the night?" He asked as Pakkun and his pack streaked into the night and the copy nin shook his head. "What about this one?"
"Leave him. We'll camp in the woods tonight. Get the two." He glanced at the Uchiha curiously, "Why are you out here anyway?"
The boy stared at him for a few seconds before a wide smile pulled at his cheeks. "Sakura Chan sent me to ask you if you wanted chicken or beef for dinner. Itachi isn't much of a beef person so we thought of ordering chicken but then the availability for seafood came up and-"
Did she know about the possibility of being trailed?
'Unlikely.' he thought as he followed the chattering chuunin inside the inn. 'If she had found out she'd come out herself...or would've thrown a hissy fit the least.'
"Taichou, I'll go get the two. Why don't you go buy us some food for the night?" Shisui asked and he nodded absentmindedly. Only after the Uchiha had run up the stairs did he realize that he had been addressed respectfully.
As the first streak of sunlight broke through the blue black sky, Kakashi found himself slowly prying his visible eye open. He sat up blearily, the blanket shifting off him. Hearing movement, he glanced to the left to see the pink haired time traveller was already awake -her back resting against the bark of a tree and her bright emerald eyes fixed on him.
"Morning' Kakashi."
"...morning." he greeted back, glancing at the other two. Shisui was still knocked out cold, snoring audibly while his more silent companion seemed to show signs of awakening soon. "When did you wake?"
"An hour ago. Seems like they didn't attempt following us now that they are aware we know." Sakura responded.
"Aa." he stood up, grabbing his bag. "Would you wake up the other two please? We have to get moving soon and Shisui won't go anywhere without food in his stomach." he asked as he began stuffing his sleeping gear back into his backpack.
"Ossu." She beamed as she crawled over to Itachi first, more than happy to carry out his command. "Itachi kun. Please wake up." she asked politely. That was enough to have him stir lightly. "Itachi. Wake up. We have to move." she repeated, poking his soft cheek and he hummed in response.
"...I'm up." He yawned lightly, sitting up -just as bleary eyed as Kakashi was. Satisfied, she moved onto her next target.
Waking up Shisui was no easy task as usual and she chose to slap him in order to earn a reaction. "Ya! Shisui! Up about! We have to move!" If Itachi weren't so sleepy, he would've assisted her -as he knew better ways to kick his best friend out of bed.
"...Five more minutes..." Much to her amusement he rolled over to the other side, clutching his bag to him tightly. In a way, it was extremely Naruto like. Now if it were Naruto, and she were trying to wake him up, what would she do?
The answer was quite simple.
Leaning forward towards his ear calmly, she took in a deep breath.
"SHANNOROOOO!"
Her high pitched shriek sliced through, not only his eardrums, but also through Kakashi and Itachi; effectively knocking out whatever traces of sleep left in them. As Shisui sat up with a frightened scream of his own -whilst clutching his backpack for protection, a satisfied smile tugged at her lips and she looked around.
Kakashi was gaping at her, his eyes bulging with the previous shock that stroke him. Itachi was attempting to come to terms with what just happened. And Shisui seemed to be trying to recover from a heart attack while reevaluating his existence. "...S-Sakura chan...so mean..." He finally managed to utter out, frightened tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.
"Are you awake?" She asked sweetly to which he responded with a loud wail.
"We all are. Now." Kakashi finally let out the breath he didn't know was holding in. That was utterly terrifying. It sure did knock out all traces of sleep he had in a heartbeat though and he was mildly grateful about that. Last night was nothing short of hectic and he barely managed to get sleep -to be walking through that weariness would've been troublesome.
"...Is there any food?" Shisui asked in a quiet voice. "Please tell me we're eating first."
Shisui Uchiha was a great shinobi and a child prodigy. It was hard to believe this whiny kid who got startled out of bed by a screech was also the same one who easily took down a Root ninja last night with a dangerous look etched over his face.
"...Maa...I suppose we need the energy." Kakashi agreed. The three hadn't slept well throughout the night; they should at least get something to eat. Besides, with the way Sakura was glaring at him, he wasn't really in any position to disagree despite the fact that they lost quite a lot of area. "...Aa. We'll eat first. We still have some riceballs left over from last night so we'll have that for now."
"...I wonder if Pakkun found her yet." Sakura mused out loud.
"They'd teleport back if they did. Until then we're stranded in place." Itachi murmured as he began rolling his sleeping bag up. "Either that or we cover some more ground."
"Well as long as we're sitting here we could do with a proper breakfast." The pinkette stood up straight, dusting herself off. Turning to Shisui, she frowned. The shock had now worn off the boy and his eyes were starting to close again. "Shisui." Her tone made his eyes snap wide open again. "Be a dear and help your senior catch some fish at the stream."
Itachi's lips twitched into a smile as his friend trudged after the girl, his lips pulled into a petulant pout. Stuffing his gear back in his bag, he headed out as well. If they were going to catch fish, he might as well gather firewood while Kakashi checked with his ninken.
The team didn't wait for long; Sakura and Shisui were fairly quick with catching their breakfast and Itachi ensured a fire was roaring by the time they got back. Breakfast was rather uneventful, save for one major event.
Kakashi's mask.
In all of Sakura's years of living, never once it ever occurred to her that one day she would be bestowed with the honor of glimpsing at the copy ninja's face. While Kakashi slowly ate away at the fish, her eyes were fixed. She was unaware that Itachi and Shisui were doing the same -until Kakashi himself looked up to ask Sakura a question.
"...is something the matter?"
"Ya Kakashi...please don't tell me that the reason why you wear a mask is to hide that goddamn mole on your chin!" Shisui said incredulously, pointing at his face.
The Hatake shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "...Well..." he answered hesitantly, "Not really."
"Then why the mask?" Itachi joined in, his own curiosity piqued.
"...I'd rather not talk about it." Kakashi ducked his head, taking another bite of the fish.
"But you're good looking!" Sakura protested, excitement lacing her voice. She had finally gotten to see Kakashi's face -without even trying at that. Oh if only Sasuke and Naruto could see her now, she thought with a gloat. 'Then again...' she glanced at the two Uchiha, 'These two substitutes are fun enough."
"I don't care." Kakashi muttered with a full mouth. "It's irritating."
"Well he is Hatake Kakashi." Shisui mused, rubbing his chin in a mock mark of a scholar. "Perhaps he's doing us boys a favor by hiding his face." He glanced at the very confused Itachi and Sakura, "Imagine what would happen if we didn't! I wouldn't have a girlfriend!"
"Shisui. You don't have a girlfriend regardless of the fact that he hides his face." Itachi blurted out an unintentional burn and Sakura leveled over laughing. Even more so when Itachi realized his mistake over accidentally teasing his now very embarrassed best friend.
"O-OH YEAH?! YOU SHOULDN'T BE SAYING THAT! YOU'RE SO AWKWARD WITH GIRLS!" Shisui screamed in flustered retaliation, unaware that Itachi did not purposefully goad him.
"I'm not awkward with Sakura San. And she's the one who drags me around. Meanwhile you're the one who has to drag girls around to like you." Itachi shot back again, only to bite his tongue as he realized it was yet another arrow to his head.
"Y-YOU..."
"Maa Shisui, give it a rest." Kakashi laughed, glad that the topic had been diverted from him. "It's pretty clear that he has a sharper wit than you."
"Sharper wit and better looks." Sakura added teasingly to which he blinked.
"SHUT IT! I HATE YOU ALL GODDAMMIT!"
The pinkette didn't remember the last time she had laughed like this. Years probably -they seemed so far away. For a moment her own worrying goal was forgotten and she was stuck in a carefree world. The feeling of the early morning sunlight in her hair, the scent of freshly roasted fish and around her chatters of laughter and teasing remarks.
For a second, she thought she saw her team again.
'Naruto.' she thought as she saw specks of blue and whiskers on the Uchiha who was trying to gain his dignity back by screaming at his best friend, only to get slammed back down repeatedly. And then he turned to her with a petulant pout.
"SAKURA CHAAAAN!"
He was Shisui yet again, she thought as her smile faltered minutely. She did miss her old teammates dearly and being with this trio made memories sweep over her like a tidal wave. But they were good memories aside the new ones she was forming right now. "Yes Shisui?" she beamed at him.
"WILL YOU BACK ME UP PLEASE. ITACHI WON'T STOP SLAMMING ME!"
"It's not his fault that you're pathetic." Kakashi retorted, amused. At this point he had forgotten about that fact that his mask was still hanging loosely from his neck; he was having much too fun to care right now. Bullying Shisui was amusing to say the least.
"You poor thing. You've taken things past the point of no return." Sakura snickered at the younger Uchiha who was now at a loss for words. "...I have to say; your comeback points are commendable. Remind me to not get into a verbal argument with you."
"...Hearing that doesn't make me feel any better..." Itachi muttered, internally agonized over the fact that Shisui would most definitely bring this up again sometime near future. And was most likely to sulk over this for the rest of the mission. If it was one thing, Shisui disdained, it was having the underhand in an argument.
"You got some nerve kicking your senior in the rear Itachi. Is this the thanks I get for teaching you shit!?"
"In all honesty you did start it..."
"Why you..."
Shisui's warning tone was cut off when they heard the audible sound of a dogs bark came into hearing range. "...They've arrived." Kakashi stood up quickly and the trio followed suit. Sure enough, the pack of ninken came into view. "Where's Pakkun?" He asked as he noticed the pug was missing.
"Stayed behind. We conveyed the mission message to Tsunade Sama." The second in command, Aburo reported, "She agreed to wait. She's currently situated at a small settlement near the Stream Village."
"...Yosh." The copy nin slid his mask back into place, "...let's go." He turned to his team who now stood rigid -all signs of their previous mirth gone. With somewhat reluctance, they sprang after Kakashi, their shoes kicking dirt off at impact.
Tapping a painted, well manicured finger upon the wooden table, Tsunade glanced out of the window of the bar. She was restless. And the pug next to her was snoring his head away after helping himself to her chicken.
The pug named Pakkun had found her while she was in the midst of another gambling session in a casino. She had struck big yet again; over the course of the past few days she was earning in hundred thousands and winning every lottery ticket she scratched. For someone like her who always lost...it was something to fear. For it always signaled impending doom.
And there he arrived, cloaked in dust and with a crushing piece of news.
There was a timetraveler stuck in Konoha. And the timetraveler was her student in the distant future whom her future self sent.
'And to think I got a few years of peace...' She thought tiredly as she rubbed her aching temples. She had a splitting headache from the night before, owing to both the explanation and the copious amounts of sake consumed. For some reason the horrifying tale turned amusing when she fell into a drunken stupor and she just kept drinking until he stopped blathering.
"They're on their way here at the moment. The rest of the information is much too confidential to be delivered over like this." Pakkun had relayed Kakashi's message to her.
And so she waited.
The thought of running away occurred to her thrice by now. After all, it didn't really concern her. Not really. It was her future self's problem and now, Konoha's. But she didn't get up despite her inner self rationalizing against it. She was curious about the student she took on; as far as Pakkun's words extended, it seemed she was the only student she took on besides Shizune.
But that was something she had to confirm from her said apprentice.
'Interesting...' She thought as she folded her hands across her face, her hazel eyes narrowing. 'I did vow to stay away from Konohakagure and yet I seemingly ended up going back. And to top that I sent that child back in time for Konohakagure's sake.'
...the future seemed bleak.
At least if she got a glimpse of this apprentice of hers she could avoid making the mistakes her future self did.
She glanced up at the clock.
What was taking them so long?
There was a sense on uneasiness spreading through her the more she sat in the spot. "Pakkun." Her voice came out in an unintentionally grating sound and the pug looked at her lazily. "...Is there a possibility that ANBU Root could find me before your pack?"
"Doubt it." he yawned, stretching lazily. "Kakashi is fast."
"Kakashi is." She agreed, raising the sake cup to her glossed lips. "...What about his team?"
"As far I know, the grandson of Uchiha Kagami is accompanying him."
She faltered. "...Uchiha Kagami." she repeated slowly. "...His descendant...Uchiha Shisui?"
"Yes."
Shisui Uchiha was well known to most for his efforts in preventing the Kirigakure infiltration led by the shinobi Ao sometime back. He was a child prodigy -having gone through a traumatic past and yet steadily rose ranks after witnessing his parents get slaughtered in front of him. He was on par with the the copy nin and with his sharingan, well outdid him. After Kakashi, he was the youngest Jounin in Konoha.
If he were accompanying Kakashi...
"...Shit...I'm getting a headache." she groaned, rubbing her temples in annoyance.
"Could be the amount of sake you've consumed."
"...I'm going back to my room. Your pack can find me there." She scowled as she gracefully slid out of the chair, her long locks of blond hair falling over her shoulders. Tossing a few notes on the table she made her way out of the bar. Once outside however, she paused in place.
"Something wrong?"
"...No." She said after a while, turning around to walk away. Her eyes narrowed imperceptibly. Those four better arrive soon or she was going to toss them into a world of pain. She was already starting to suspect eyes boring into her back. It could be the paranoia that had built up, but she had a feeling that she was being trailed.
Tsunade was always one to trust her intuitions and she saw no reason to stop now was there?
"...oi?" Pakkun blinked when the blonde turned sharply into the opposite direction from her apartment. But as she did, he sensed it.
...A reserve of chakra behind them switched directions immediately as they did.
'We're definitely being followed.' She thought. 'Kuso...I have to do something.' But she had to get away from the civilians first before she did anything, or there would be unwanted causalities and participants.
Pumping chakra discreetly into her fists, she coolly made her way towards the woods. 'Stay calm. Stay calm Tsunade...' She chanted as she felt the amount increase the more she ventured away from the crowds. She honestly didn't wish to fight anyone but if she stayed within the village she could risk them signalling more to forcefully take her in.
No. They had to be stemmed right now.
'Screw Kakashi and his team. I'm leaving this village.' she thought as she ventured deeper into the trees. She couldn't get involved in this.
And then she stopped.
In a swift blur, three masked shinobi clothed in white robes appeared in front of her. "Tsunade Senju. Under the orders of Lord Danzo Shimura, you are to come with us back to Konohakagure." The one who stood frontmost declared. "Resistance of any kind will be met with dire consequences and you are to submit without a fight."
Her lips twitched. "...Under what conditions am I being forced under arrest?" She asked in an even tone. "I have committed no crimes against Konoha and I haven't stepped foot in the village in years."
"The details shall be shared with you within the safety of the walls of Konohakagure itself. Lord Danzo asks you cooperate on behalf of our villages wellbeing. There is a grave matter at hand, considering a student you apparently took under your wing a few years ago. She has taken residence under Konoha."
Tsunade let her hazel eyes flutter close, irritation twinging inside her. How dare they use her name so loosely like that?
But for that, they must've been desperate, she realized. The fact that they were protecting a time traveler from the council itself meant ill business. "...So what?" She asked quietly, deciding to play along for now. "She's my student. She won't pose any trouble for Konoha."
"Danzo sama requests you to confirm this claim in Konoha itself, considering her sudden appearance makes it suspicious." he paused, "...as you know, there is strain between the Uchiha clan and the village."
"What of it?" The slug princess asked, crossing her arms across her chest. Despite the fact that she was not interested, her teacher constantly kept her up to date with the recent happenings in Konoha. After the nine tailed demon attacked the village, the Uchiha have been treated with nothing but suspicion.
"Your student has been placed under their direct care." The masked shinobi enunciated his words carefully, hoping to provoke a response from the sannin. It worked, but not for the reason he thought.
'The Uchiha's care?! They didn't tell me this!' Her eyes narrowed, '...What's going on? Sensei is suddenly turning against the council itself as to protect a timetraveler. And to entrust someone as important as her with the Uchiha?! Not only that but he refuses to find a way to send her back even though she could potentially change the entire future...!'
Her eyes widened with realization. Perhaps...perhaps that was the plan?
'What they are doing...it suggests that something bad happened in the future and it was likely the councils doing. If thats the case...' her fists tightened as feelings of scorn rushed through her, 'Wait...why should I even care?! Since when had Konoha cared enough for my wellbeing that I had to return it? Nawaki and Dan both fought for Konoha and...and...'
"...Tsunade Sama. Please come with us. Rest assured you will be allowed to leave peacefully after the matter is sorted."
"...Go to hell." She uttered in a low voice, refusing to meet their gaze. "I'm not going back to that wretched village. It doesn't concern me any more."
She would not go with either Kakashi or these clowns. And that was final.
"It does now that your student has taken up residence in Konoha and is placed directly under the Uchiha's care almost immediately following it." He took a step forward. "This is the last time I will ask of you. Follow us back to Konoha."
"Or what?" She spat angrily.
"Or this." he snapped his fingers. In a matter of seconds, she found herself surrounded by a near dozen masked Root ANBU in black cloaks. Her teeth gritted together in annoyance before a cynical smirk spread over her face.
"...Fine." She said dangerously, opening and closing a visibly chakra enhanced fist menacingly. "...but remember this. The title of Sannin wasn't just tossed to me lightly." And then without warning, her heeled foot kicked off dirt and she was in the air, the fist raised above her head. "I'LL SHOW YOU WHO EXACTLY YOU'RE UP AGAINST!"
Authors Notes/ Q&A section:
Well, well, well! It's starting to get interesting again. I realized the last chapter may have ended sounding a little too dark a little too soon. Then again I felt the need to highlight the fact that Sakura really has no intention of just playing around with Konoha and the boys -no matter how fun it is.
That out of the way I decided to whip up a chapter that relates closer to the happenings of an actual chapter in Naruto. I say 'chapter' because in order to keep the storyline as close to the canon, I refer to Kishimoto's original pieces of work and the Naruto databook. Rest assured I am attempting to keep their personalities as close to what databook and manga references (Shisui being an exception since he doesn't appear significantly in the manga).
Anyway,I would like to extend my thanks to Koomahana for his/her regular reviews on my story. Thank you very much for your support! ^w^
lilTykeBob: I am graciously moved by your heartfelt review to the last chapter and I am glad that you agree with Itachi's personality issue.
For the guest and the rest of those PM that requested a special SHISAKU fic, feel free to check my profile as I have uploaded a oneshot.
Anyway, moving on to questions!
~ I'm well aware that I am developing Sakura's personality a bit more and this time, on her flaws. It's apparent that besides her extreme distaste for losing (a trait she grew from Tsunade), she has grown to loathe being underestimated and ironically at the same time, considers herself to be weak.
I sought this trait from Sasuke who developed both an inferiority and superiority complex after his clan was massacred. The reasoning for this trait is mainly because I think it explores her character quite well. The fact that Sasuke and Naruto always outdid her (courtesy of sharingan and bijuu chakra respectively) plunged her into dismay and she had vowed to improve after the latter left.
Come shippuden she had become an excellent medical shinobi and was strong enough to defeat Sasori with the aid of Chiyo. Because of how delicate she looks, many people tend to underestimate her right off the hook, hence I imbued the trait in her. Considering herself weak relates directly to how she was unable to protect her team.
Despite admitting she easily on par with Itachi as of now and that she was powerful enough to take down Sasori, she still believes that if she had been even stronger, she would've been able to protect her teammates.
As I have stressed, this is the reason she no longer follows rules -not just those with medic nin. While she refuses to see her healing the army as a significant contribution, she focuses on the fact that she was not allowed into battle to fulfill her former requirement (despite the fact that without her, they would've worn out much faster). Stubborn as she is, she refuses to back down.
The fact that Itachi is one of the few who genuinely feels that she can both heal and fight on equal grounds puts her at ease.
Sakura was created with many flaws. I intend to keep those flaws with her throughout the series, including stubborness, brashness and more recently, playing around rules/orders and self degrading her own abilities. Rest assured, I intend to have her character develop out of these.
~About which; Itachi seems to have adopted the habit of easily calming a very riled up Sakura where others run. I intend to turn this into comic relief for most and to a lesser extent, more serious discussions as the one above. Its also easily noticeable that from the previous mission, he now talks with both Kakashi and Sakura loosely, signifying he is very comfortable with them.
A bit too soon you ask? If his best friend can laugh with them, so will he.
~ Despite Shisui's happy to go lucky attitude, I intend to keep reminding the audience of his extreme competency. He can be dangerous when he wants to be. Remember -it was Shisui who was truly behind the curtains of the Uchiha massacre with Danzo. He was the one attempting to stop of the coup and he was the one who taught Itachi what it means to sacrifice yourself.
A young Itachi, despite having the reasoning of a Hokage still has yet to fully grasp the meaning of self sacrifice and honor while Shisui has been instilled with the will of fire as a child. If he were alive I would presume that he could easily be on par with Itachi's abilities if not surpassing him.
Please feel free to point out any grammatical/spelling errors within the story. I will be more than happy to correct them. ^w^
Your reviews encourage me to keep writing~
Owari~