CHAPTER III

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own the characters from the said manga/ anime. I do own, however, Keiko and Ai and Hiro and all the other charcters (or names) I mentioned before.

Author's Note: Okay. So here goes the third chapter. I do not really know what to think of it but I do hope you enjoy the story. Anyways, please review (or critic) on the grammar, the style, and the plot. Also, I wanted to thank Hidan's Little Riku, miakimiharu, tempest-in-a-tea-cup, and Heidi. The reviews are very much appreciated (and pondered upon)! :) Moving on...

The fog was almost gone but that doesn't mean that there were no remnants of the hazy, whitish clouds. And the said remnants of the fog may have covered a bit of Sasuke's vision but he could feel it. Sasuke could feel his chakra. And this caused him to freeze.

Suigetsu, who had gained a fairly good distance from Sasuke, realized this so he jumped back onto the branch Sasuke stood perched upon.

Sasuke looked at him for a few moments before muttering, "Itachi."

Suigetsu searched for the other Uchiha's chakra and found it directly below them. Itachi was still as a statue so he must have sensed them as well.

Sasuke felt another chakra pattern. It was very strong and very familiar. He figured it was the object of their mission's. Leader-sama said the chakra would be in some way like Orochimaru's and he was right.

Nevertheless, he let the thought go as he questioned himself as to why Itachi, his brother, was still alive.

He was supposed to be dead. I killed him. So his death was just a fraud, no doubt, the story Madara told me is just another ploy of Itachi's. Sasuke thought with undisguised anger.

He jumped down from the branch he was standing on and came face to face with Itachi. The fog had cleared now, and Sasuke could see his bastard of a brother in front of him, carrying a girl – and her looks confirmed that she was the one they have to abduct. Sasuke sensed Suigetsu also realized that. So he has brains, he muttered with spunk.

The girl Itachi carried was a little thing with a confused look on her face. On top of that, she was curled up against Itachi's chest like a nine-year-old instead of the nineteen she should be. And much to his confusion, Sasuke felt a twinge but he let the thought go. It wasn't important.

"Hello, brother," Itachi begun his usual greeting.

At the sound of the word "brother" Sasuke's anger suddenly rose to its peak and his curse seal activated instantly. The word still had that dear ring but all Sasuke heard were mockery and sarcasm. The marks on his body spread and he launched himself at Itachi.

Being the good shinobi that he was, Itachi easily dodged his brother's attacks. His demeanor was calm but his mind was already racing as to what he was supposed to do. He needed to bring Keiko somewhere safe. So he quickly transported her somewhere she might be safe. He also made a Kage Bunshin to finish up his plans.

Sasuke saw this and he looked at Suigetsu, who had also come down the tree branch, who took the hint.

Suigetsu raced towards the open forest to find the subject of their mission leaving the brothers for another face-off.

The fog had reasonably cleared now and so Keiko was able to see Itachi's face. His face really was impassive, she thought as she observed his blank face. She knew he was nervous, in one way or another, because his heart beat picked up but his countenance never betrayed his real emotions. He kept his emotions (or the lack of it) in check.

But what could make him so nervous?

With much uncertainty, though she never figured out why she was suddenly uncertain in the first place, she looked to where Itachi's red eyes seemed glued. And she was struck.

Before Itachi stopped a few moments ago, Keiko was very much ready to give in to sleep but what she saw stole from her mind every thought of sleeping.

She silently breathed a word with too much affection and too much despair, "Hiro."

Tears welled and it blurred her vision. After that everyone and everything around seemed to have disappeared.

All that was left was Hiro.

It was still early and the streets were empty but, even with minimal people on the roads, the place was beautiful. Ai let her eyes wander and take in the beauty of … oh, that's right! I still don't know the name of this place, she thought as she realized she couldn't name the very land she was stepping on.

"Uhm… Ms. Tsunade? What is this place called?"

"Konoha."

Satisfied with the answer, Ai gave the lady her thanks and they walked in comfortable silence.

They continued this for more minutes before Tsunade stopped. Ai, who wasn't paying attention, bumped into Tsunade and blush a deep red as she murmured her apologies.

After the embarrassing situation, Ai lifted her green eyes to see a tall building bearing a sign which read: "Hokage Tower." What is Hokage?

But instead of entering the building, Tsunade turned right and continued walking. She looked over her shoulder and looked at Ai.

"Care for some breakfast? You look famished."

Quickly forgot about the whole Hokage confusion and focused herself on Tsunade. Ai didn't know how in the world Tsunade knew she was hungry and so she asked the older woman.

"How did you know I was hungry?"

"Well, you haven't eaten since you passed out which was, I think, more than 12 hours ago," she answered, " also, you holding your stomach kind of tipped it off," she added as she flashed Ai a smile.

Blushing at this, Ai looked at Tsunade and smiled back. The blonde's full lips were drawn into a wide smile but the beautiful smile didn't reach her brown orbs.

She must be troubled by something, Ai thought. Reading people through their eyes was her expertise. That was how she knew Keiko's innermost dreams; Keiko's eyes revealed everything, Ai mused. Tsunade has been very good to her so far, considering that the woman was the one who healed her and advised her to rest a bit, so Ai wanted to reap her kindness she decided.

But, she had one problem, she didn't know how.

So lost in her thoughts, Ai didn't notice Tsunade stop in front of a ramen house.

Ai snapped back to reality as she bumped into a post just outside the store Tsunade walked into. Sighing, the hokage shook her head at Ai's short attention span and ordered a miso ramen for her and another ramen for the girl. This reminded her of a certain knuckle-headed shinobi.

And, oh! Speak of the Devil and the Nine-Tailed Demon Vessel comes… Tsunade thought as she saw a bright, almost-blinding flash of yellow from afar. Naruto had improved his speed now and as she estimated it, he would be here by … "now," she said as Naruto took a seat beside her.

"Good morning, granny!" He beamed.

Tsunade merely grunted in response. Really, she disliked it whenever he called her that. She isn't a grandmother. She's still a mother to a girl Naruto's age although her age could pass as a senior citizen's. My child. Tsunade tried not to think about her. She knew she would just get depressed when she thought about her daughter.

A loud groan disrupted her train of thoughts and she looked over her shoulder to see Ai holding her head. It looked like she had a bump on her forehead. She laughed at the girl. She sure was fun. No doubt, her daughter found this girl amusing.

Ai stumbled to seat herself at Tsunade's other side and she rested her head on the counter.

"Who are you?" Naruto blundered as he just couldn't contain his inquisitiveness. He said this just after he ordered his favorite ramen.

"Ai. And who are you?"

"I am Naruto Uzumaki and I am going to be the next Hokage of Konoha! Believe it!" He shouted as loud as he could.

Ai who, in the slightest, does not have any idea what a Hokage is muttered a "whatever" and resolved to eat her food.

Naruto at Ai's comment, became enraged. He pointed his forefinger at Ai and attempted to yell at her when Tsunade stopped eating and flashed her eyes, dangerously, at him. Needless to say, Naruto cowered under her glare and shut his mouth immediately.

Noticing that his ramen is already served in front of him, Naruto dug in and after a few moments, he was back to his usual self – goofy.

"Ne, Baa-chan, do I have a mission today?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to."

"That's not good enough reason," he whined more like a five-year old who was not given a lollipop than a 20-year old shinobi that he was supposed to be.

This barrage of crazy-question and short-answer portion continued until they reached Hokage Tower. It lasted for a good five minutes but to Ai, who was almost driven crazy by Naruto's insistent and hyperactive disposition, it was an eternity of nonsensical noise.

The older woman noticed the annoyed look in Ai's face and smirked as she was struck with a brilliant idea. She turned on her heel, placed her hands on her waist and looked at Naruto straight into the eyes.

"Do you want a ninja mission?"

"Of course, Baa-chan!"

Tsunade almost groaned at the nickname but let it pass. She would give him what he wanted. She just hoped he was up for it.

"Okay. So you will get one," she smirked wider as she went inside the building with Naruto on her heels and Ai staying as much away from the talkative male as she could.

Keiko scanned the area in which she was "teleported" to and sighed. She was on top of one very high tree. This tree is approximately 64 feet high. And according to calculus and the theory she formulated for the last ten minutes she had been perched atop the tree, if she jumped down from this height there is a slim, and a very slim possibility at that, that she will not sustain a major injury or an internal bleeding.

Keiko had never had this kind of adventure before and adrenaline pumped in her veins each passing second. This was something she had laways wanetd. She wanted to jump. She wanted to try it, and get the feel of it. She wanted to try to feel the air as it rushed against her. She wanted to try to fly. However, there was one things she doesn't want to try. And that was to die.

Cursing her terrible luck, Keiko inwardly prayed Itachi or someone else would come and rescue her. She was worried that if she continued to stand, she might fall of to her death or if she was to sit down, she might lose her balance or fall asleep and end the same way she would when she decided to stand up.

She also prayed for something else; something that involved the young man she saw earlier. Hiro. She knew it was him; she couldn't be mistaken. She knew she had seen Hiro.

Stop dreaming, Keiko! How many times do I have to tell you that wishing only leads to heartbreaks?

In order to keep her thought away from Hiro, Keiko heaved a sigh and prayed for something which for everyone's perspective is more important than some boy – her life.

Itachi… or anyone for that matter, please come to my rescue. Please…, she silently prayed as she took a tight hold of the branch decide her to keep her from falling and to support her weakening legs.

Just then, the rain started to pour. It came as a drizzle, but soon, it grew strong. Too strong for her to keep holding on to dear life. She knew that if this kept on and if she couldn't keep her mind focused on staying alive, she would eventually slip and fall straight to hell…

Anyone, please help me now!

However, Keiko's prayers were a little too late because the rain continued to pour making the branch too slippery for Keiko's hands to keep a good grip.

The only indication of her fall was the squeak that was torn from her throat as she fell down faster and faster. She never had a good pair of lungs unlike Ai nor Ayu but she still hoped against hope that it would lead someone into her path and save her.