Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…or Kakashi /sobs/ waaaahhhhh!
A/N: Warning…a small Temeki/Sakura scene coming up…just a little one, I swear!
Chapter 6: Late Nights
May 7
Sakura, Shikamaru, and Naruto stood in front of Tsunade and waited.
It was late, almost 1 o'clock in the morning, when the pink haired healer received the Hokage's summons. The 20-year-old jounin quickly dressed and made her way to her sensei's office, only to find Shikamaru and Naruto already there and the office in darkness.
"I apologize for the sudden summons," the blonde Godaime apologized. "But something has come to the attention of our spy network that must be handled right away."
Before she could elaborate further, a gust of wind blew through the room and two masked hunter nin stood next to Naruto. Sakura went into a battle stance, but the others simply stood still. Naruto even went so far as to clap one of the hunter's on the shoulder in greeting.
"Sakura," Tsunade said. "I am aware that you have not had the pleasure of meeting two of Suna's best hunter nin. They are Aitou and Zannen." The two hunter's raised their hands, but in the darkness, Sakura could barely make out which name went with which person. "They've already met Shikamaru and Naruto on previous missions."
"I want you all to know that this mission is an S-class one," Tsunade continued. "Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, your mission is to accompany the Suna hunter nin to the location specified on this scroll and stand guard while they apprehend their target."
Shikamaru took the scroll from Tsunade and nodded.
"You three are more familiar with the terrain than the Suna nin," she explained. "And the target will require both of them to subdue him. You three will stand as look outs and escort the hunters with their target to the safe area. That's also on the scroll, by the way. That is the extent of Konoha's involvement, is that clear, Naruto? You will not interfere with the Suna nin and you will forget the face of the target once this mission is over."
Sakura was surprised by the intensity and secrecy involved in this mission. If it's so important, why not give it to ANBU? Sakura wondered.
"Nara Shikamaru will be the Konoha team leader since he's worked with Aitou and Zannen before," Tsunade said. Sakura looked at the brunette from the corner of her eye. She wasn't surprised to hear that he'd worked with the two hunter nin. After all, he'd lived in Suna for half of the year for the past six years.
And he's been promoted to jounin for his work there, Sakura remembered.
The news of his promotion and his marraige to Temari was much talked about in the village. But not as talked about as Temeki's arguement her sister Kina.
"Sakura, you're the medic. Your, ah, special skills will be helpful tonight," she said, jerking the green-eyed girl from her thoughts. Tsunade's smile in the darkness of the room held a menacing quality that was quite foreign to the Konoha ninja.
"If I remember correctly, Aitou and Zannen's work is geared more toward assassination than capture and your ability to paralyze muscles may be needed. Naruto, you will follow the others and you're not to believe everything you see or hear, you got that, brat?"
The three nodded and Tsunade waved her hand.
"Dismissed!"
00000000000000000
Aitou and Zannen followed the three Konoha ninja through the forest. They communicated with each other using hand signs while the others were oblivious to their conversation.
'How are you holding up?' Zannen asked.
'The beginning of the second trimester sucks, but I'm fine,' Aitou said, briefly resting her hand on her stomach. 'Junior's being nice tonight.'
'Just remember to leave the heavy fighting to me,' Zannen reminded. 'Stick to your genjutsus and everything will be fine.'
Aitou nodded and kept her thoughts silent. She couldn't help but sign an additional comment to her partner.
'As long as you keep your composure everything will be fine.'
Zannen sighed and smiled sadly behind her mask. 'I've missed you terribly, you know,' she admitted.
'Same here,' Aitou replied. 'Suna's not the same. Those kids in your third year taijutsu class are a hoot. Especially Ryouken, Touken, and Korena. Those three remind me of a certain team from a long time ago.'
'I bet.'
'But we've got the mission to do now,' Aitou reminded Zannen as the Konoha ninja stopped. 'And there'll be others.'
'Gaara and Tsunade will make sure of that.' Zannen signed back.
Sakura noticed the hand signs the two hunters were using, but didn't recognize them. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and focused on what Shikamaru was saying.
"The house should be about 20 meters ahead," he said to the group. "The hunters will go in and do their thing while we position ourselves in a triangle formation around the house. Sakura, Naruto, and I will act as lookouts and prevent anyone from getting to the house. Once Aitou and Zannen are done, you'll hear an eagle scream. That's the signal to head for the safe area."
Shikamaru turned towards Sakura and said calmly, "You have to wait until Aitou and Zannen reach you before heading out. They don't know the location of the safe area. They'll also need you to heal any wounds they might get. If something goes wrong and you hear an eagle scream for the second time, run."
Sakura nodded while Naruto pouted. She knew that he was upset at being demoted to 'lookout' but their jobs were just as important as the hunters'. Any mistakes on their parts could get them all killed.
"All right," the surprisingly soft voice of one of the hunter nins said. "Time to get this show on the road."
"This freak show, you mean," the other one joked.
"Shut up."
And with that startling exchange the hunter nins were gone.
Sakura looked over at Naruto and raised her eyebrows. The blonde just shrugged and headed east while Shikamaru headed west. Sakura stayed where she was and settled in for a spell.
They sounded like sisters for a moment, she thought.
00000000000000000
The house was silent as Aitou and Zannen crept into the building. Although they kept to the shadows, their presence was immediately noticed by the house's one occupant. A large hand grabbed Aitou's throat from behind and squeezed.
Aitou gasped and blinked.
The next moment, she was in the far corner of the house's one bedroom and Zannen stood in front of their target.
Zannen watched as the target's hand stilled in surprise before he reached back over his shoulder for something. Taking her chance, Zannen grabbed his shirt and threw him to the floor. She followed the man down and pressed her knee to his sternum. The weak firelight from the fireplace flickered over the man's face and Zannen froze.
There, in the flesh, and glaring at him with red, red, eyes was Uchiha Itachi.
Zannen felt her body freeze for a moment as rage went through her. She looked down at the man she had spent so much of her life trying to kill and her vision blurred for a moment. In the next, she felt a familiar burning sensation in her eyes and plowed her fist into Itachi's face.
She then proceeded to hit as many of his pressure points as quickly as possible and succeeded in knocking the Akatsuki member unconscious.
Zannen stood over the still form and blinked as the genjutsu dissolved and the features of Kisame revealed themselves. She ripped off her mask and stared at Aitou with red eyes.
"What the hell was that?" she asked furiously.
Aitou landed in front of the angry Zannen from her hiding place in the rafters near the ceiling of the room.
"It was a test," she answered calmly. Aitou quickly bound the shark-like man with ropes and binding jutsus. "It was ordered by the Hokage and the Kazekage."
"To see if I could remember my mission," Zannen finished. She looked at the far wall and absently deactivated her Sharingan. "You didn't come to help me. You came to make me think that Itachi was here."
Aitou grabbed the bound Akatsuki member and stood up. "You passed you know," she said, throwing the heavy man at the former Uchiha. "And you managed to activate your Sharingan in your female body. We've waited almost six years for you to be able to do that."
Zannen raised her free hand to her eyes and blinked. Aitou was right. She had managed to use her Sharingan.
"How…?"
Aitou placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head. "Female or not, you still have Uchiha blood in your veins. We need you to be able to use it for the next phase of the plan," she explained. "C'mon, it's almost morning and we still need to get that walking pile of sushi to the safe area. Junior gets cranky if I don't feed him before seven."
"Still eating that diet of French toast?" Zannen asked, placing her mask back over her face.
Aitou shook her head ruefully and sighed. "All French toast, all the time. I swear, this kid's gonna come out of the womb saying things like 'where are ze ziggarettes?' or 'I am le tired!'"
"Why do you talk like that?" Zannen asked as they left the house.
"You should be used to it by now," she responded.
Aitou threw back her head and the sound of an eagle's scream tore through the forest.
00000000000000000
Sakura jerked as she heard the signal and took out her kunai as the two hunters approached her position with a large man trapped between them. As they neared, she recognized the cloak of an Akatsuki member.
"We need you to paralyze his arms and legs," Zannen whispered to the pink-haired kunoichi. "He's unconscious now, but it won't last more than a few more minutes."
"If his muscles are paralyzed, then we can take him to the safe area without too much trouble," Aitou added.
Sakura nodded and concentrated. Green chakra accumulated at her hands and she placed them on the arms of the shark-like man.
"Is this Kisame?" she asked.
"Yes," Zannen said, watching her movements. "But you will forget that fact when morning comes."
"Hai, Zannen-san," she agreed, moving to his legs and paralyzing the muscles there. When she was done, the two Suna hunters stood back up and waited for her to lead them to the safe zone.
"We have to hurry," Aitou murmured. Her stomach was growling and she knew that her baby wanted food—fast.
Sakura and Zannen nodded and quickened their pace. They looked over as a groan came from the slowly waking Kisame.
"You!" the missing nin growled. "What did you do to me, you bitch? I'll kill you slowly and painfully, trust me."
"Oh, shut up!" Aitou snarled, punching him in the face and knocking him out for the second time that night.
The other two just looked at her. Sakura's jaw gaped in surprise, while Zannen simply shook her head and laughed softly.
"You get scary when you're in your 'hunter mode,' Aitou," Zannen confided.
"I hav to get ze French back into ze zyztem," Aitou explained.
"What?" Sakura asked, confused.
"Why do you talk like that?" Zannen asked.
The hunter was silent for a few moments, but then she replied:
"You know you love it."
June 23
Sakura was exhausted.
She had just spent the day shopping with Temari, Temeki, and Shikamaru's mother for the newlywed's new home.
What made Temari so certain that she wanted her living room in shades of green? Sakura wondered. And why does Shikamaru's mother always insist on the color pink? God, that woman is bossy
She'd also noticed that Temeki had been quieter and more brooding than usual.
A messenger arrived the day before to tell the two Suna kunoichi that Kina's pregnancy wasn't going that well. The messenger also mentioned that both the Kazekage and his wife would be in seclusion for the next month and that the couple had requested not only Tsunade, but Shizune and Sakura to attend to the woman's labor when the time came.
The newly married Nara Temari worried. Temeki simply shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "And I should care because…?"
Sakura wondered what had happened to make the normally good-natured Temeki argue with her normally kind-hearted sister. Even though they weren't related by blood, the two were closer than any sisters that Sakura had ever seen. She couldn't even begin to guess at the rift between the two.
Kina and Temari were being extremely tight-lipped about it.
Temeki's reaction was always to murmur the word "Bitch" and walk off in the other direction.
No one seemed to know who exactly the "bitch" Temeki was talking about, but almost everyone believed that the remark was directed towards a certain purple-eyed kunoichi from Suna.
It also didn't help that Sakura felt a certain amount of coldness coming from the other girl.
Not that Temeki is ever out-right rude to me, Sakura thought. Not the way Sasuke was. She didn't know exactly when it started, but over the years, Sakura unconsciously began comparing Temeki to her long-lost love.
Sakura wasn't attracted to her in a sexual or romantic way—much.
It wasn't in the same way she was attracted to Sasuke. But there were times when the Suna kunoichi would move in that easy, silent, sexy way that only the Uchiha used to move. There were also times when Temeki had the same look of irritation/contempt in her pale blue eyes that Sasuke often had whenever he would look at her.
Then there was that incident at Temari and Shikamaru's wedding reception.
FLASHBACKIt was during the reception for Temari and Shikamaru's wedding that the pink-haired jounin faced the combined wrath of Kina and Gaara for exposing their daughter to the word "virgin" a full ten years too early.
To hear Gaara talk about it, his daughter shouldn't know what sex is until she's forty, Inner Sakura snorted.
The other Sand siblings told her the same thing the couple did—although at a much softer volume and without the threats of dismemberment. Even Shikamaru went through the "troublesome" task of scolding both Sakura and Tenten.
Temeki remained silent during the exchanges and simply looked at Sakura with her ice blue eyes. The look in them was eerily similar to the look Sakura remembered Sasuke giving her before he left Konoha. The other woman simply gave off an aura of annoyance, contempt, amusement, and disappointment all coated by a thin layer of excitement.
When the others left to rejoin the party, Temeki was the only one who remained with the thoroughly chastised Haruno Sakura.
"Was he any good?" Temeki asked, suddenly.
Sakura jerked from her seat on the couch. She looked up at the beautifully dressed kunoichi and swallowed slowly. She stood up and ran her hands down the mint green skirt of her bridesmaid's dress and walked over to the door. She was almost out of the room before Temeki asked the question again.
"Was Aburame Shino good enough for your first time?"
That is ENOUGH! Inner Sakura screamed.
Sakura turned around. The backless dress caused goose bumps to rise on her skin as she stared at the equally bare back of Temeki in her ice blue version of the bridesmaid's dress. The Suna kunoichi looked stunning in the gown whereas Sakura just felt uncomfortable. But then again, since Yawa Temeki was Kina's sister, she was used to wearing clothes that were backless. (1)
"That's none of your business!" Sakura softly, but sternly, said.
"I thought that you would save yourself for that Uchiha boy," Temeki said, not looking at the other woman.
"Everyone told me about how you begged for him to stay and how hard you worked to find him and become strong for him. For close to six years I've seen you follow lead after lead trying to find your so-called love. But I guess, your love wasn't as strong as everyone led me to believe. It wasn't as strong as you led me to believe."
Sakura stiffened at the sound of disappointment in Temeki's voice and guilt swept through her. But the emotion was swiftly followed by anger.
Anger towards this woman who didn't know the agony of not knowing, not seeing, not hearing anything about her beloved.
Anger towards the wasted years she spent searching for someone who obviously didn't want to be found.
Anger towards her own weakness and need for human companionship.
Anger towards herself for being stupid enough to love Uchiha Sasuke.
Anger towards herself for loving him still while she slept in the arms of another man.
"I was lonely," Sakura whispered, looking at the creamy expanse of Temeki's back. It looked so much like the skin of another person she knew and wondered if it would be as soft as his.
Even the way the light shines off of her hair is the same…"Lonliness can make people to crazy things. I'll always love Sasuke, but things change; people change. Until I can talk to him and hold him, this is what I need to keep me sane. I need to be able to physically hold onto someone. I can't hold onto the past…it'll make me crazy. It's been more than six years of waiting, of wondering. Temeki," she pleaded with the other woman. "Please tell me you understand."
"Hn."
The pink-haired leaf nin startled at the familiar syllable and stared at Temeki. The other woman looked over her shoulder and pierced Sakura with her ice blue eyes. She was surprised by the intensity in them. She was frozen in place as Temeki turned and strutted—yes, strutted—to her side.
That walk is so familiar…Sakura thought.
"If Sasuke is anything like what you've told me, then he's pretty possessive," Temeki whispered, brushing her bangs off of her face with the back of her hand.
"Huh?" she asked, mesmerized again by the eerily familiar gesture. Sasuke used to do that…
"When the mighty Uchiha returns to Konoha, he might not like it when he hears what you've been up to."
Sakura backed up against the doorframe and watched a strange light enter Temeki's eyes.
"Aburame might make you feel good, but I'm pretty damn sure that Sasuke wouldn't mind at all if it was me fulfilling your needs," Temeki smirked as if she knew an amusing secret. She stood close to Sakura and ran her hand slowly down the leaf nin's shoulder and back.
"W-what?" Sakura stammered, shivering at the touch. Temeki's smirk grew and warmth invaded her light blue eyes.
"Next time you get the need to hold someone, try calling me, Sakura-chan," Temeki said before covering Sakura's lips with her own.
It was pure shock that had Sakura responding to the kiss. That and the fact that the other woman's lips were petal soft. Hands that were lightly callused from constantly handling weapons gripped the leaf nin's back and her body was crushed to Temeki's as the kiss deepened.
It wasn't until she felt Temeki's hands in her hair that she pulled back and stared at the Suna kunoichi in wonder and not a little bit of shock. Sakura felt the heavy weight of her hair fall down and cover her back. She'd let it grow since she cut it so long ago and now the strands fell to the middle of her back.
Temeki stepped back and pulled the pins out of her own upswept hair as she let the long black locks fall around her shoulders.
"Keep your hair down for the rest of the night, Sakura-chan," Temeki commanded silkily.
Sakura couldn't do anything other than nod as she practically ran out of the room.
What the HELL just happened? Sakura asked herself.
You were kissed by a girl, Inner Sakura answered. And you liked it.
Crap.
END FLASHBACKNow whenever Sakura saw Temeki, there was an awkwardness around them. They didn't joke the way they used to and whenever someone brought up the subject of Sakura's sex life, the Suna nin became strangely quiet and brooding.
An almost Sasuke type of brooding.
Sakura also noticed that whenever she saw the Suna kunoichi, she either wore clothing that covered her back or—if she was wearing one of her backless tops—her long strands of black hair covered as much of the exposed skin as possible. Since most of her clothing consisted of backless kimonos and shirts, the sight of Temeki walking around Konoha with her hair floating in the wind was now a commonplace occurrence.
Sakura found the sight of Temeki's hair loose around her knees and the occasional glimpse of pale skin through the long locks strangely erotic.
Crap, Inner Sakura swore, discreetly wiping the blood from her upper lip.
Everyone saw the change in Temeki's style and wondered at the significance of it.
Sakura didn't have to wonder…she already knew what it meant.
When Kina and Temeki were first introduced to everyone during the Welcome Dinner six years ago, Kina had explained their customs concerning Temeki's dress code.
Apparently in their homeland, single women revealed their bare backs to attract potential mates. Once a woman found who she was looking for, she would cover her back so that the only person who saw it was her mate—whoever that person was.
With that knowledge and the memory of what Temeki told her at the wedding, Sakura was sure that the other woman considered her a potential mate.
Holy fucking crap! Inner Sakura yelled, slamming her head against a wall.
You said it, Sakura agreed.
The pink-haired kunoichi thought and wondered and agonized about it until long past midnight and then finally decided to go to sleep.
She was totally unaware of the ice blue eyes that watched her through her bedroom window.
"I'll have you soon, Sakura-chan," Temeki whispered.
You mean I'll have her soon, Sasuke's voice echoed in her head.
"Yeah," she said, making her way to the Nara estate where she was staying. "That's what I meant."
July 17
Sakura woke up to the sound of someone tapping on her bedroom window. She wanted to slip the pillow over her head and ignore the sound. But the tapping continued and Sakura finally got out of bed and opened her window.
It'd better not be Shino…she grumbled to herself. Fun was fun, but it didn't have to lead to marriage. The boy just couldn't take a hint.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered. "Don't hit me, I'm on a mission."
The word 'mission' blasted the sleep from her mind and she stared at the blonde in wonder. Instead of his usual outfit, Naruto wore the black uniform and white vest of an ANBU member. He tossed a bag at Sakura and she caught it, staring at him dumbly.
"The mission is for you too, Sakura," he said. "Tsunade-baachan wants us there, now! Get dressed in those and meet me on your roof."
Sakura opened her mouth to ask what kind of mission, but the 19-year-old was gone. She changed into the ANBU outfit in the bag and put the white and blue porcelain bird mask on her face. She crawled out of her window and met Naruto, who wore a white and black wolf mask, on her roof.
"From now on my name is Nonki," Naruto stated. "You'll be Ikasu." (2)
Sakura nodded and Naruto started jumping from roof to roof, expecting her to follow. After a while, he stopped and the pink haired kunoichi stopped beside him.
"We have to hold hands to get any farther," he said. "I'm not trying anything funny. But that's how the barrier works." Naruto took Sakura's hand and together they jumped onto the street below them.
Sakura didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't the old and crumbled buildings of the Uchiha district.
Naruto took her through the deserted streets and into one of the buildings. Once inside they were met by a tall ANBU with a red and white dog mask and gray hair. Sakura knew immediately who it was, but waited for him to introduce himself.
"Nonki, Ikasu," he said, holding up his hand. "It took you two long enough. Hokage-sama wanted me to tell you that the mission you had with Aitou and Zannen went well and they recommended that she promote at least you two to ANBU. You can call me Taizen, by the way." (3)
Sakura was a bit shocked that the two Suna hunters recommended them. Especially since they only had one previous mission together.
"Ikasu," Taizen, who was really Kakashi, said. "I've no need to tell Nonki this, so this is entirely for your benefit. What you see here will be a shock to you. But remember that as a shinobi you cannot reveal your emotions. You've had trouble with this in the past, but I know that you are able to remain still and silent when you need to be."
"And will I need to be, Taizen?" she asked. It felt strange to address her old sensei in such a manner. But they were all ANBU now—they were equals.
"Yes, Ikasu," Nonki answered, brushing his hand through his blonde hair. "You also have to keep everything tonight secret. Learn to separate what you see and do from your public life. It'll become second nature to you now that you're ANBU."
Sakura narrowed her eyes at Naruto. He was subtly reminding her that now that she had the code name, she was Ikasu. When her mask was in place, Haruno Sakura no longer existed.
Accepting what they told her, Ikasu nodded and straightened her shoulders.
At that moment, Tsunade stepped from the shadows and smiled at the trio before her.
"This mission will be different," she said softly. "Ikasu, your role tonight is solely based on your medical training. Tonight will be difficult for everyone involved, but it will be extremely stressful for one of the participants. Follow me."
The three followed the blonde Hokage down several flights of stairs. Ikasu and Nonki noticed the dank smell of dirt as they continued down a corridor. After a few meters, they stopped and Taizen knocked on a large metal door.
The door slowly swung open to reveal a large room with seals written on the floor and walls. In the center of the room sat the hunter nin, Zannen.
Ikasu badly wanted to gasp in surprise, but remembered the little pep talk Taizen and Nonki had given her. She looked to the left and noticed two other people already in the room.
"Kazekage-sama, Aitou-san," Nonki said, holding out his hand. Aitou gripped his forearm and stepped back to allow Gaara to do the same. They easy way they greeted each other spoke of years of trust.
Ikasu had a feeling that the three knew each other on a deeper level than mere allies.
"Taizen," Tsunade commanded. "You and I will form a barrier around the room. Absolutely no chakra can leave here. Nonki, you, the Kazekage, and Aitou know what to do. Ikasu, you will stand by Aitou and monitor the lifesigns of her and her child."
Ikasu couldn't help but whip her head towards the masked Suna hunter.
She's pregnant? she thought. Hunter's aren't supposed to get pregnant!
Gaara smiled and said, "This will be her last mission for a while."
"We'll just see about that," Aitou muttered.
Ikasu shook her head and simply walked over to the hunter nin. Now that her concentration was focused on her, Sakura noticed something familiar about the other woman's chakra signature. Shock radiated through her as Ikasu realized that Aitou was Sabaku no Kinabuhi, Gaara's wife.
"I knew that naming you Ikasu was the right choice," Aitou whispered as she stood on a triangle that had been drawn on the ground.
Ikasu remained silent as she focused on the lifesigns of her friend and her baby. Her eyes widened in surprise and a smile formed on her lips before Gaara's voice brought her back to the present.
"We will begin the jutsu now," he said, standing on a similar triangle 10 meters away from Aitou. Nonki stood on the third triangle exactly 10 meters away from Gaara and 10 meters away from Aitou.
"It won't be the same as it was six years ago," Tsunade warned the group. Ikasu and Taizen were confused, but the other four nodded. "The pain will be worse—for all of you. Aitou, I want you to save as much chakra as you can. The other two will be able to compensate. Just make sure that you weave your chakra into the pattern evenly."
Aitou nodded and placed her hands in the Master Seal. Gaara and Nonki followed suit.
Ikasu watched as red chakra poured from Nonki. The chakra made its way to Aitou and Gaara, connecting the points and creating a triangle around Zannen. She noticed that gold chakra came from Gaara and repeated the path that Nonki's did.
She concentrated on Aitou as purple chakra poured from the woman. She was glad to notice that, instead of the broad lines the men produced, her chakra was a thinner line that weaved between the red and gold. Ikasu released a breath as she monitored Aitou's lifesigns.
Everything's normal, she thought. Enough energy is still left to protect her womb.
Ikasu was dimly aware of the woven lines of chakra making their way to Zannen and the hunter nin's strangled cry of pain. She was more concerned with her part of the mission and the health of her charges.
When the jutsu was completed, she was there to catch Aitou when the other woman sagged in exhaustion.
"She's fine. She and the babies are fine," she reassured Gaara. The man nodded and allowed Ikasu to run glowing green hands down Aitou's body to restore some of the chakra the other woman lost.
"Did it work?" Nonki asked, running his hand through his sweat dampened hair.
"It sure as hell did," a deep voice murmured.
Ikasu turned quickly as Zannen stood up and removed her mask.
Only to reveal the face of Uchiha Sasuke.
"Good," Tsunade nodded. She walked up to the Uchiha and clapped him on the shoulder. "Now you can transform whenever you wish—instead of waiting for one of the others to let you out." (4)
"Transform?" Ikasu asked, forgetting her role as an ANBU member. "Let who out?"
"We need to tell her," Aitou said, sitting up. "She's a part of the plan too, y'know."
"We don't have time to brief her now. It's almost dawn and people will expect her to be back soon," Nonki said, jerking his head towards the transformed Zannen.
He surprised Ikasu with his maturity and command of the situation. Even Tsunade and Gaara acknowledged the teenager's point and agreed.
"Just be ready, Ikasu, Nonki," Tsunade said to the two new ANBU. "If you come across any documents or hear anyone—and I mean anyone—mention the name 'Naiou' in your presence, immediately report to this place in your gear. If they say the name and follow it with a specific location, head there as fast as possible." (5)
"Naiou?" Ikasu repeated. "And this Naiou person is?"
"Me," Sasuke answered.
"Are you really Sasuke?" Ikasu wondered.
The dark-haired 20-year-old smirked and said, "Damn right, I am."
"Your questions will be answered later today, Ikasu," Tsunade told her apprentice. "The specifics will be given to you after your ANBU initiation."
"We have to get going. We're not even supposed to be here. I—wait," Aitou said, getting up and pointing at Ikasu. "Pinky said that me and my babies were fine."
"My name's Ikasu," the pink-haired kunoichi reminded.
"Forget that," Aitou snapped. "After the jutsu, you said 'she and the babies are fine.' What do you mean by babies?"
"I mean babies," Ikasu smirked behind her mask.
"But I'm only having one," Aitou said.
"No," Tsunade corrected after she looked over the hunter nin herself. "Ikasu's right. You're having babies—plural."
"What?" Aitou gasped. She turned to Gaara and placed her hands on her hips. "Multiple births don't run in my family."
"Did I mention that my mother had a twin brother?" Gaara asked, slowly turning red. He knew that he was in trouble when they got back to Suna.
"Your uncle was your mother's twin?" Aitou asked. "The same uncle who tried to assassinate you when you were seven? That uncle?"
"Yeah."
"How many?"
"Well, I only had one uncle," Gaara answered. "And he only tried to assassinate me once. Before I killed him, of course."
"Of course," she echoed, perfectly unfazed by the fact that Gaara killed his own uncle. Aitou stomped her foot on the ground and turned to Ikasu and Tsunade.
"I meant how many babies are there?"
"Two," Tsunade said. "And they don't seem to have any side effects from performing the chikara henge no jutsu." (Forced Transformation Technique)
"Two…" Aitou repeated.
Ikasu blinked as Sasuke pushed a shocked Gaara out of the way and hugged Aitou gently.
"Congratulations, sister," he whispered and kissed her masked cheek.
Ikasu suddenly remembered the sisterly banter between Zannen and Aitou during her first mission with the duo. She also remembered a hundred different tidbits and memories that added to her growing theory.
Including the fact that Temeki was fond of calling Kina 'sister.'
"Zannen is Temeki," she whispered. All thoughts of being a stoic and silent nija flew out the door as she raged and pointed at Sasuke. "Temeki is you! You've been living in Suna all this time. You weren't with Orochimaru at all and you weren't dead either!"
Aitou and Sasuke shared a look. He smirked at Ikasu and hugged his foster sister once more.
"I told you that Ikasu was the perfect code name for her," he laughed.
A/N:
Sorry if the female/female thing got some of you uncomfortable…but it's kinda part of the whole Sasuke/Temeki confusion thing.
Okay so the scene with the ANBU was confusing…keeping everyone's names straight is kinda hard. So I just thought up the fact that when they're in ANBU it's like they have a split personality. They have to be secretive anyway.
A little chart to keep everyone straight…
Character name—ANBU or Hunter name (affiliation)
Uzumaki Naruto—Nonki (Konoha ANBU)
Hatake Kakashi—Taizen (Konoha ANBU)
Haruno Sakura—Ikasu (Konoha ANBU)
Sabaku no Kinabuhi—Aitou (Suna hunter nin)
Yawa Temeki—Zannen (female Suna hunter nin)
Uchiha Sasuke—Naiou (male Konoha ANBU)
Sasuke has the most "split personalities" to deal with. They're also split between male and female…kinda makes him unstable, but that's part of the story.
(1) Kina wanted to shock Gaara in the first fic, so she designed a backless kimono dress. She told everyone that they were worn by maidens in her homeland to attract mates. BALD FACED LIE!
Everyone in Naruto's world bought the story, so now they're popular for single women to wear.
(2) Nonki means 'reckless' or 'optimistic'—so it's a perfect code name for Naruto. Ikasu means 'smart' or 'to revive'—which is great for Sakura.
(3) Taizen means 'calm' or 'self-possessed.'
(4) In my first fic, "Finding Myself In You," Sasuke can only transform into Temeki and vice versa when either Naruto, Gaara, or Kina say the code word. This was to prevent the Uchiha from escaping. They didn't know where his loyalties were at that point.
(5) Naiou can mean either 'betrayal' or 'secret understanding.' It's appropriate considering Sasuke's past and the plans for Akatsuki going on.