Different
Different
Hey everyone, I'm back! Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"Hi"- talking
Hi- Inner Sakura
Hi- Outer Sakura
Hi-Wireless Radio
Recap: "Ja ne, Sakura-chan."
I stared at his back as he walked away from me. What an interesting guy.
Chapter 9: Squad Seven Meets Takeo
Sakura's POV
They say everything happens for a reason. Well what about the incident that just happened right now? This feeling, It's a feeling I haven't felt since I was twelve. The feeling of wanting to be by someone's side 24/7. I missed it.
What the hell are you thinking about, Outer? We're supposed to be crushing on Sasuke-kun!
We're over him, remember, besides, he doesn't feel the same way, so why not move on?
No we're not! Besides, we just met him.
Well, I know that! What do you take me for? I'm not gonna just throw myself against him. It's just that, he's different from all my fanboys. It won't hurt to get to know him.
…Well, I guess he does seem nice. And he's a total HOTTIE! Just…be careful. We don't know this guy, and, we're on a mission.
Don't worry, I know better than to develop a relationship with a client.
I hope so.
Inner was right. I can't crush on this guy. I'm on a mission. Besides, like I said before, I have better things to do with my life at this point than go into dating.
Hello, Sakura…are you there? Come in.
That was Kakashi-sensei contacting on my wireless radio! I pressed the button to respond.
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei, is something wrong?"
No, but I found something interesting. Meet me back at the feudal lord's mansion ASAP.
"Okay, but what about the others?"
Don't worry about that, I've taken care of it.
"Okay, see you in a bit then.
Ja, ne.
I jogged my way to a dark alley, looked both ways, and teleported myself to the feudal lord's mansion, unaware that someone was watching my every move.
When I got there, both Naruto and Sasuke were currently standing in front of the building, looking bored.
"Hey guys, how was the search?"
"Oh, hi Sakura-chan. It was pretty boring. I didn't really find out anything."
"Hn."
"I wonder what Kakashi-sensei found out. It must be important since he called us back immediately."
"Hn, he probably found an important clue that needs to be discussed immediately."
"…Yeah, I guess you're right Sasuke."
We waited for about another five minute. Then, Kakashi-sensei finally appeared before us in a puff of smoke.
"Yo, how's everybody doing today?"
"Fine, I guess."
"Hn."
"So so, so why did you call us here, Kakashi-sensei?"
"I found out something that's important. Let's go in to my room. It's not safe to talk about here out in the open."
We followed after him through many hallways. The walk was silent. The three of us were probably thinking the exact same thing: What's going on?
When we reached his room, he motioned us inside and took a seat. The three of us sat down as well. Naruto on an armchair, Sasuke on the couch, and I sat down on the edge of his bed.
It was quiet for a while. Kakashi-sensei looked as if he were in deep thought, probably pondering about something. Naruto was the first to break it.
"So, why did you call us here, Sensei?"
"…I found out something very important about the thieves. It could probably lead us one step closer to finishing the mission."
We all seemed a little happier about the news. After all, none of us liked this place (mostly because of the feudal lord). Naruto grinned from ear-to-ear, Sasuke looked a little more relaxed, and I allowed a small smile to show through my serious attitude (I was always serious on missions). However, Kakashi-sensei didn't seem too happy. I took notice of this, and it looks like Sasuke did as well. Naruto was too caught up in his own little world to notice anything.
"Well, Kakashi, what did you find out?"
Wow, Sasuke actually spoke in a complete sentence.
"…While I was investigating one of the houses that were robbed, I found something hidden under the carpet."
He drew out a small card and showed it to us. We all gathered around to see. It had a white background with a thin, gold border. On it, it read 'Entry Pass To The Feaudal Lord's Mansion.' I knew immediately what why Kakashi-sensei seemed so grave. I gasped.
"Wait, you don't meam…"
"Yes, there is a spy among this mansion that works with the rouge ninja."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Naruto frowned as well. Even he became serious due to the information. I clenched my fist. Could it be a traitor, or an impersonator?
"Are you sure about this, Kakashi-sense? What if it belonged to a family member. One of them might've worked for the feudal lord."
"I'm 99 sure, Sakura. I thought of this as well, so I asked the people who lived there. They said that no one in the family worked directly for the feudal lord, so there was no way they could've gotten hold of an entry pass. One of the thieves must've dropped it while they were robbing the house."
We were all silent. Just a minute ago, we were basically jumping up and down because we thought that we almost finished the mission. Turns out, it only made the mission more difficult. Then, an idea popped into my mind.
"Why don't you have Pakkun, or another one of your ninja hounds sniff the scent from the card? They could probably help us find out who the spy is. Then, we can capture him and interrogate him about the other thieves."
"That's a good idea, but there's one other factor. To do that, we would cause a good amount of commotion, since there will be dogs running around the place. We'd have to let the feudal lord know that there's a spy amongst him, and he's not the kind of guy to take this stuff lightly. He'll probably have too much ego to admit that there was someone close to him who's a spy and he didn't know about it. That would result to us losing more of his trust than we've already had. Or, if he did believe us, he'd act rashly, like firing all of his servants, or arresting anyone who shows the slightest sort of suspicion."
"…I see you're reasoning. Besides, the house I visited said that after the theft, the whole house was covered in a strong perfume that took days to wear off, so the scent may be gone by now anyways."
"I see…it looks like we're not just dealing with amateurs either. These people know what they're doing."
"Hn."
"So…what should we do, Sensei?"
"Well, Naruto, I think the best thing to do at this moment is to keep a low profile with anybody in this town. Don't get too close to them, especially anyone who is in this mansion a lot. Don't get too close to anyone, and report all suspects to each other. Does anyone other than the feudal lord and a couple maids know that you guys are ninja?"
"Hn."
"Nope."
I guess I should tell them about Takeo.
"Well, there was-"
-knock knock-
Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow. I guess that meant he wasn't expecting anyone.
He stood up and approached the door cautiously. We all waited with anticipation. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly turned the door knob and opened it to reveal…Takeo?!
"Oi, Sakura-chan, I've been looking for you all over the place."
"T-t-tak-ka-ahashi-dono!"
Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on me. I quickly explained.
"Oh, everybody, this is Takahashi Takeo-dono. He's Takahashi-sama's son. We met on the street a while ago. He knows about our mission from his father."
They all seemed to understand, but that didn't mean that they trusted him After all, after the information we just discovered, he could be the spy in their eyes.
"So, I guess these are your teammates, Sakura-chan. Care to introduce them for me."
"Oh, right, well this Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hatake Kakashi."
I pointed to each of them as I said their names.
"Hn."
"…Hey."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Takahashi-dono. Forgive me for asking, but why are you here?"
"Oh, yeah, Sakura-chan, I was wondering if we could go on a date sometime."
"Nani? Oh, thank you so much for the offer…"
The team was sending me warning glances, all of them telling me to decline.
"…but, this mission has me all caught up, so I don't really have any time."
"Why are you so serious? I'm just asking for a little date. You've got to have time somewhere in your schedule for that."
"I'm sorry, but I really don't have any time on my hands. Besides, I couldn't possibly date my client."
"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan, you're too tense. Besides, I'm the feudal lord's son, so I'm giving you a once in a lifetime opportunity. It'd be rude to decline."
At this point, I was having a really hard time acting nice and grateful. All of the feelings I supposedly had for him have been blown away. He was purposely using his status to force me into a date. I looked towards my teammates for help. Kakashi-sensei stepped right in.
"Gomenasai, Takahashi-dono, but after some investigation, we've realized that the enemy is tougher than we originally thought. Therefore, the whole team is needed 24/7 for training and planning. I'm afraid Sakura has no choice but to decline. The mission comes first."
Kakashi-sensei's words were polite, but stern. They left no room for negotiation. He basically laid down the law. Takeo looked at us disapprovingly.
"Hmm, well, I guess that makes sense. But don't think that you're off the hook yet…"
He smirked at me.
"I'll get you sooner or later…Sakura-chan.
He then walked away as if nothing had happened.
Kakashi-sensei closed the door. Then we waited until his footsteps faded away. I finally spoke.
"There's suspect number one."
"Hn."
"Sakura-chan's right, he's defiantly suspicious. But why didn't you tell us about him earlier?"
"Our meeting was very brief: We bumped into each other, I apologized, we told each other our names, we said good-bye. That's it."
I looked towards Kakashi-sensei.
"Are you sure you don't want me to go on a date with him? I mean if he really is a spy, then I could become closer to him. Besides, it's not like I'll fall for someone that's so arrogant. And, I'm really good at acting."
"I have no doubt in your abilities, Sakura, but I don't want to risk it. He seems to have a dangerously large interest in you, so a date may be all he needs to trap you if he really is the spy. Anyways, I doubt that the feudal lord's own son would help the enemy of his town."
"…Yeah, I guess you're right. So, what should we do now?"
We all began to ponder about what to do. Maybe the feudal lord was right, we do need more people. But I know that Tsunade-shishou didn't want to risk more ninja for fear of the Akatsuki attacking. I guess we'll just have to mange on our own.
After a couple more minutes of silence, I spoke.
"Well, searching for them won't help. Therefore, we need to make them come to us."
"Uhhh, how do we do that, Sakura-chan?"
"Hn, it's simple, we set up bait and ambush them."
"But, teme, there's so many enemy ninja. Will an ambush work?"
"-sighs- Naruto, you baka, don't you remember what we discussed during the chunin exams? When someone gets ambushed, it doesn't matter what rank or how many there are. As long as we catch the enemy off guard."
"Ohhhh, so what's gonna be the bait."
I thought for a moment. What would be the perfect bait for thieves? Something valuable, irreplaceable. I got it!
"Guys, I have a plan…"
AN: Cliffhanger! Don't ask what Sakura's plan is, since I'm not even 100 sure of myself. I hope you guys liked the chapter. It's going to need at least five reviews to upload the next chapter, so REVIEW!!