The Mission From Hell Chapter 4, a naruto fanfic

Title: The Mission From Hell

Author: JackieLupin

Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sama owns all!

Rating: Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes. And maybe some sex later on.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke never left Konoha and never attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did NOT attack the Hokage Sarutobi with Orochimaru, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru did manage to kill the Sandaime, so Tsunade is now Godaime. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, Tenten and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story.

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!

CHAPTER FOUR

Closer and closer they ran to the spark of chakra, weaving in and out of alleyways and sometimes making a detour to a rooftop. When they finally managed to reach the chakra source, a man stood in the alleyway, hands up in the air in front of him.

"Please, I'm not your enemy," he said in a deeply accented voice.

Sakura and Kakashi stopped a few feet from him, though they made no move to attack him. Sakura's head was swimming with curiosity. Who was this man?

The man drew back his hood; dimly, Sakura could make out a large nose and large lips set in a very tanned face. "I'm Hirotoro Kado. On behalf of Lord Igarashi, I have come to deliver his message and to lead you to him, shinobi from Konoha."

Kakashi nodded towards Sakura, then reached forward to grasp Hirotoro Kado's weathered hand in greeting. "Would you like to accompany me back to our hotel, where we may talk privately?" the Konoha jounin offered. His shoulders were still tensed, and Sakura was slightly relieved that, despite his friendly greeting, Kakashi was still alert. If this "messenger" of Igarashi-san's so much as looked at him the wrong way he would be dead.

However, Hirotoro seemed to realize that, for he smiled. "There is no reason to be wary," he remarked lightly, reaching inside of his sleeve.

Sakura tensed. A kunai...?

But the man only drew out a tightly bound scroll. "From my master," he said, handing the scroll to Kakashi.She sensed Kakashi's chakra gently probing the scroll, checking for hidden traps or seals, before he took it from Hirotoro and stuffed it in his pocket in one swift movement. "We will discuss more in our rooms," he said again, and gestured for Sakura to lead the way back to the hotel through the streets. They had no way of knowing if Hirotoro was a shinobi, so going by rooftops, even though it was a much faster means of transportation, was completely out of the question.

With any luck, Sasuke and Naruto would still be asleep, tucked safely away in their bedrolls beside the one bed available. With them asleep, Kakashi and Sakura could probably get an answer out of Hirotoro much faster if he didn't have to answer all the irrelevant questions Naruto would throw at him or the skepticism coming from Sasuke. It was a good quality in shinobi to question and to not believe everything that is said, but Sasuke took it a little out of proportion; sometimes he didn't even trust other Leaf shinobi! Or, maybe that was just Sai.

Rounding the last corner before the hotel, Sakura glanced behind her; Hirotoro was ambling along, looking calm despite his watchful eyes in his weathered face that scanned the surrounding buildings for enemy shinobi. In that swift glance, she noticed that he did not look at her and Kakashi; they weren't his enemies, and that made Sakura believe that he was with Lord Igarashi. She felt hope lull in her chest before rooting there. If this man knew the whereabouts of Igarashi, then the people of Iwate stood a chance against Maeno Montaro.

Leaving Hirotoro and Kakashi behind, Sakura leapt up onto the wall of the hotel and climbed her way up to the room Team 7 resided in. She flipped herself up over the balcony quietly, crossed the floor, then carefully slid open the glass doors. Just as she sneaked past the doorway, two hands grabbed her and threw her against the wall, something sharp and cold pressing against her throat. Sakura stiffened; did intruders get to Sasuke and Naruto?

But then she made out Sasuke's sharingan in the dark; he noticed her just as she noticed him, for he released her a split second later and muttered a gruff apology. Sakura sighed in relief and peered outside, holding the door open until Kakashi and Hirotoro arrived. As soon as Hirotoro passed through the doorway, Sakura shut and securely bolted the door. Then she crossed the room in decisive strides and stood in front of the door to the outside corridor while Sasuke took a post close to the door leading to the balcony. Naruto merely let out a gigantic snore and continued to sleep, blissfully unaware to Hirotoro's presence. He wouldn't be happy when he woke up and found out that the whereabouts of Igarashi had been discovered while he drooled onto his pillow.

As Kakashi and Hirotoro seized each other up, Sakura wished for the second time that Shikamaru had accompanied them on the mission. His quick thinking really would have been quite useful. Even though Sakura was aware she was very intelligent, she was good with remembering factual information pertaining to countless missions and jutsus. But when it came to actually putting that knowledge into forming an attack plan or tying conclusions from it alone, Shikamaru was the best among the best. No, she didn't doubt her teammates' abilities, but it wouldn't hurt to have Shikamaru around. Though Naruto was like a younger, annoying brother that she loved and exasperated over, Shikamaru was a friend, and took what she said seriously. Sakura glanced over at Sasuke hopefully, and then angrily reprimanded herself. Stop it, she thought roughly, Stop trying to get something from him. You'll get nothing, Sakura!

The scraping of chairs against the drab wooden floor drew Sakura's attention back to the team leader and the supposed messenger of Lord Igarashi. Kakashi sat down heavily in the chair, gesturing that Hirotoro sit down as well, which he did. Only then did Kakashi, without taking his eyes off of Hirotoro's weathered face, reach into his pouch and take out the scroll.

Sakura waited impatiently with bated breath as Kakashi first glanced over at the rolled up scroll, checking again for any traps or seals on its pale surface. He slowly untied the string holding it together, then even more slowly spread the scroll out onto the table. She stood up on her tip toes to try and read the writing, but it was no good; she was too far away. Noticing her problem, Kakashi shot her a small smile, cleared his throat, and then read its contents out loud for her benefit.

"To the team from Konoha, I must thank you for your promptness in arriving here so quickly. I'm sure you understand my suspicions in not contacting you sooner; once I was absolutely sure you were the team that the Godaime Hokage sent, I debated how to get your attention without alerting the many guards Maeno has patrolling the neighboring cities to Iwate. Hirotoro Kado is one of my most trusted men, as he and his family have served my clan for many generations. I would only trust him to deliver this message, and if you are reading it now, then he would have succeeded. However, I will not disclose my location in this scroll, for it is too risky. In the morning if you permit it, Hirotoro-san will guide you to our base. We will discuss our options fully once you have arrived. I wish you the best of luck."

A moment of silence filled the air, before Hirotoro Kado smiled. "Igarashi-san and those loyal to him managed to escape Iwate before they were caught," he rasped, "They have taken refuge in the nearby mountains. However, I believe there are only about a hundred shinobi that work underneath Igarashi-san. The rest of his men were captured by Maeno last week. I hope, for their sake, that they are dead. It would be better for them if that were true."

Kakashi sighed wearily and threw the scroll into the fireplace, where it quickly ignited and then burned to an indiscernible crisp. "I see," he murmured, his lone gray eye unreadable. He said nothing more for a moment, obviously mulling over the new information the scroll had given him. Sakura impatiently shifted her weight from side to side; despite Igarashi's praise at their 'prompt' arrival, she felt like action needed to be taken immediately! They couldn't just stand around here waiting while innocent people suffered under Maeno's command! The mission had been rated S-class only due to the lack information on Maeno and the shinobi underneath him, but if it wasn't an S-class, at the very least it was a high A-class mission. Sakura's insides squirmed uncomfortably; this new information gave way to an elaborate conspiracy by Maeno and his government. They needed to be stopped, now, or she would scream her fury!

That was what she hated most of all. Not knowing what was to come. Sakura felt so unprepared for this mission, and not being prepared for something could mean death. Yeah, Team 7 had pulled themselves out of some pretty tight scrapes, but it was all luck, not skill. Restless, agitated, angry, and afraid of an unseen force, Sakura sighed and sat down beside her oblivious teammate. She was too wound up to be able to sleep, even though her rational mind knew she needed to sleep. Her body suddenly felt drained, weak and watery, like an old cup of tea. But her mind was racing, and sleep was forbidden.

Sasuke's voice made her look up. "Does Igarashi have a plan?" he asked Hirotoro bluntly, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned up against the door.

Hirotoro nodded. "Igarashi-san does have a plan to take the city from Maeno, but it would be better if he told you himself."

Silence filled the room once more, only broken sporadically by a snore from Naruto. Outside, the wind picked up, whipping against the walls of the hotel. Sakura swore that the entire foundation of the building began to sway in time. However, soon, she felt her body begin to calm down. At the small, makeshift table, Kakashi and Hirotoro talked in hushed tones, while Sasuke stared at them unblinkingly, his sharingan activated to read their lips. The soft murmur of Kakashi's voice had always managed to make her feel comfortable, and soon enough, Sakura was unable to keep her eyelids from closing.

She must have dozed, for when she next opened her eyes, Sasuke was still standing near the doors, though his back was towards her as he gazed outside at the lightening sky. His body wasn't stiff and alert, either, so Sakura could guess he was rather bored, sitting there with nothing to do but think. She glanced towards the table, but Kakashi must have offered Hirotoro a place to spend the night, for there were blankets spread out and a form lying still underneath them. As for her old sensei, she realized where he was when the bathroom light clicked off and the famous Copy Ninja stepped out into the cramped room, stretching his arms over his head and yawning haphazardly.

Kakashi glanced over at her, noticed she was awake, and then picked his way towards her, his steps careful and light as he tried to avoid waking Hirotoro and Naruto, though there wasn't much that could wake her blond teammate, save for the aroma of ramen or a blistering lecture from Sakura. Sasuke, turning his head as he heard Kakashi enter, only spared them a disinterested glance before he continued his search in the nearby alleyway, while the older shinobi sat down beside her and yawned again before turning towards her with a friendly smile.

"We'll head out in a few hours," he told her, gently ruffling her hair, "I know you've been itching to go, and to tell the truth, so have I. But this is the last kind of mission to rush things, no matter how on edge all of us are. We know hardly anything about our enemy except that in a coup they overthrew Igarashi's government, which is surprising, since all the people of Iwate respected him for his social programs. Maeno must have a formidable force if the villagers in Iwate have quieted down so much."

"Yeah, I know," Sakura sighed, rubbing her eyes and answering his yawn with one of her own. "Stop yawning, Kakashi, you're making me yawn."

He winked at her roguishly, and Sakura was taken aback slightly at his sudden playful behavior. Usually it was Kakashi who took the responsibility of being the squad leader of Team 7, only because it had always been that way, and sometimes keeping things the same was good. Now, however, he must have deemed it safe enough to let go. At least while Sasuke kept a firm watch over the building, anyways.

Sakura shoved him playfully. "You old coot," she teased as he purposefully yawned again with the most innocent air he could manage, "You're trying to make me regret waking up?"

Kakashi snorted at her 'old coot' comment, then reached into his pouch and pulled out his Icha Icha book.

She leaned up against his shoulder to look at the pages inquisitively, then was greeted with a sight so unexpected she blushed heavily. "I can't believe you read those things!" she groaned in mortification, unable to get the image of not only one, but two men pleasuring a beautiful, big breasted women like that! "You've scarred me for life, sensei!" But she was lying... that picture actually excited her... emotionally, physically, whatever, but it definitely peaked her curiosity about sex. If it was really that pleasurable...

Kakashi only laughed at her antics, a deep chuckle that resonated in his chest and shook his body. "You're seventeen, Sakura, not the innocent youngster you were at twelve! I think you can handle it. Besides, that young lad... Jomei's student, what was his name...? Ah, Akeno! Akeno flirted with you enough that it should be clear that he's interested in you! Do you want to borrow a copy of my Icha Icha? It's very educational-"

"Kakashi!" she cried, unable to believe that her old teacher was actually insinuating that she and Akeno would... have sex! And here she was, practically in love with Sasuke again, and she had never once imagined them in such a position! Well, she had never voluntarily imagined something like that, but her treacherous mind would conjure up streamy dreams while she slept... and it didn't help that she was the only kunoichi on a team of well toned, very attractive men. She would be blind not to notice their sexual appeal! Sakura groaned and hit her head with her hand as images of her shirtless teammates filled her head. "Kami, sensei! It's so weird to talk about stuff like this?"

"What, it's natural," he protested, though his cheeks spotted a bit of red color Sakura swore was a blush, "We're all adults now."

Sakura sighed and shook her head. "Adults don't usually have conversations like this!" she protested, but she was giggling despite herself. Knowing Akeno liked her sure had made her feel all nice and warm inside. She had forgotten about him and Jomei in the past couple of days, but now, she wanted to know what their mission had been about, so close to Konohagakure. Gaara probably had a reason for it, and Tsunade-sama of course knew about their presence, but Sakura couldn't help being a bit nosy. After all, being the "Apprentice to the Godaime Hokage" came with its perks; she was granted restricted access to almost all mission reports (except for ANBU, of course) and generally knew what was going on before Tsunade-sama passed the word on to the council.

Kakashi merely returned to reading his novel, already engrossed in its pages. Sakura couldn't help but sneak glances at the pictures that appeared every now and then, but she was slightly disappointed to find that the pictures were not as... graphic as the one she had seen. With a sigh, she leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. They still had a couple hours until daybreak, and she didn't want to sit around bored, so maybe it would be better to get as much sleep as possible... That's what Shikamaru would reason, if he were here.

She sighed again. Shikamaru... It was odd, for her to develop such strong friendships outside of her team, but the Rookie 9 and Team Gai was close. They had all been through so much together that the initial competition during the first of the Chuunin Exams had all but disappeared, leaving a strong foundation. Through the death of the Hokage, to the attack on the village... they had all learned to trust and depend on one another... not to mention the parties that were thrown when all of the Rookie 9 were in Konoha. Those were so much fun... They usually consisted of an all night blowout at Naruto's apartment, and many complaints from the neighbors slipped underneath the door the following morning. Usually Sakura stuck around in the morning after everyone began their hung-over voyage home to help the frantic blond clean up his apartment before he got kicked out of the building.

Then the image of Sasuke filled her mind, his dark hair and eyes invading her meditation. He was leaning down over her, his mouth gently touching the skin at the nape of her neck. She shuddered delightfully, the ghosting of his lips almost ticklish against her. He snaked one arm around her back to hold her close while he kissed, lipped and licked his way from her neck to her collarbone. She arched into his grasp, closing her eyes and humming her approval, but then the warmth of his mouth left her, and she opened her eyes to see-

Nothing. She had gotten carried away in a daydream, albeit a pleasant one. Blushing heavily as she realized she had just fantasized about doing that with Sasuke, Sakura couldn't bear to look up from the floor and hoped that Kakashi had not noticed her strange behavior. Clearing her throat awkwardly, Sakura got to her feet with a mutter. "I'll be right back."

Quickly rounding the corner, she entered the tiny bathroom and slammed the door behind her. She walked over to the sink and glared into the dusty mirror at her face. "Kami, Sakura," she whispered, gripping the edge of the sink with white-knuckled hands as she stared into her own eyes, "Get a grip. You're on a mission." Then, with a glance at the softness of her eyes and the slight pout of her lips, she couldn't help but hope that sooner or later, someone would notice. Well, that's not true. Rock Lee, all those years ago, had been infatuated with her, and according to Kakashi, so had Akeno a couple of days ago when they had met. But why was Sasuke immune to her? Why couldn't he just notice her, and respect her abilities? Really, that's all she was asking!

Hearing a sudden commotion outside of the doorway to the bathroom, Sakura spun around on her heel and grabbed the shower curtain rod, lifting herself up out of the way as she listened intently. "Kami, my nerves are fried," she muttered bitterly, waiting for the door to swing open with an enemy shinobi at the foreground. Did Hirotoro Kado betray them? What was doing on?!

But as a few moments passed and she heard the grumbles of Naruto as Kakashi, no doubt, tried to wake her teammate up, she realized it probably was just the scraping of the chair against the floor.

Sakura lowered herself down and opened the door, shaking her head at her foolishness. In the few minutes she had moped in the bathroom, Hirotoro had picked up the blankets and draped them unceremoniously over the small, rotten bed in the corner of the room, Kakashi was pulling a sleepy Naruto to his feet, and Sasuke stood with his arms still crossed in front of his chest, dressed and completely ready to go. There it was, the hum in the air! Sakura clenched her fist, waiting for the excitement in her chest to die down. She couldn't afford to be too anxious to get to the bottom of this coup if it meant losing focus.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yawned, pushing Kakashi out of the way to drape himself on her.

"Gah, Naruto!" Sakura shrieked, trying to disentangle herself from him, but when Naruto wouldn't budge, she merely laughed and patted his head. "Get off of me, baka!"

Then Naruto's head snapped to the side as he suddenly became aware of Hirotoro. He flung himself towards his pack with a speed that surprised Sakura, grabbed his kunai, then raced towards Hirotoro and slung his kunai around his neck. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" he yelled angrily.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, "Let him go!"

Hirotoro chuckled. "I expected no less from a Leaf shinobi. I am Hirotoro Kado, Lord Igarashi's assistant and messenger."

"Oh," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "Gomen, Hirotoro!"

Sasuke raised one eyebrow at their antics, then turned away with a snort. Sakura shook her head at his reaction, rebuked by his sneer. She shook Naruto off of her and then donned her boots, strapping her shuriken holster around her thigh and then her kunai pouch at the small of her back. Throwing her pack around her shoulders, she sat down on the rickety table to wait for Naruto to finish getting dressed. Hirotoro donned his cloak as he spoke to Kakashi quietly, probably outlining the direction they would be heading in.

Sakura swung her legs up and down.

Sasuke still refused to look over at her, instead busying himself with retying the supports on his wrists.

She sighed loudly.

He didn't look up.

She yawned.

Nothing.

Sakura clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, waiting in amusement to get some reaction from him. Later, she probably would think of how childish it was, almost begging attention from him in this way, but really, she was desperate for any reaction to show he was aware of what she was doing.

"Sakura," Sasuke said tersely, turning his head to glare at her, "Stop it."

Inwardly, she smirked. Finally.

"Alright," Kakashi called out to them from the center of the overcrowded hotel room, "We'll head out in five minutes. Double check to make sure you didn't leave anything lying around, because I want our tracks completely clear. Make sure you have all of your shuriken and all of your kunai ready, and be armed. We don't know what to expect as Hirotoro-san leads us to our goal."

The three teenagers nodded and did as Kakashi asked, and then when the dirty, tiny hotel room was immaculate, Kakashi opened the balcony door to the room and, masking his chakra, jumped out into the street. Hirotoro followed their team leader, then Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke formed the rear guard.

Sakura leapt behind Naruto and Sasuke over the rooftops, trying to avoid the morning hustle and bustle of the streets. It surprised her that Hirotoro was moving quite easily across the buildings, but then again, being a messenger of Igarashi, he must have had some kind of formal training in shinobi skills. She hadn't seen any hint of what he knew, but it was the ease in which he travelled that led her to believe he was at least a jounin.

The city gates were drawing very close; Sakura could see the desert coming into focus already and groaned her displeasure. She had had enough of the desert already, and even though she knew she would be spending much more time out in that unforgiving wilderness, she still couldn't help but wish she was back in Konohakagure, where the sun was hot but at least there was an abundance of rivers, ponds, trees and shade.

Sakura's eyes followed Sasuke as he leapt across with Naruto. She could tell that he was tense; his hands were curled into fists and his shoulder muscles were contracted. She could also sense a small thread of his chakra searching the village for any other chakra signature, as well as the chakra trace around his head. He must have his Sharingan activated.

She sighed and looked away. What is it going to take to get him to recognize me as a shinobi and as a woman? she thought sadly. But her thoughts were confused; she had to put the mission first, she knew that. But with Sasuke around, she was distracted by her attraction to him. Not to mention the physical attraction she had to him. The things he did to her last night... what she imagined, anyway, made her body tingle and a small pool of molten lava uncurl in her stomach. Her body ached for something, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what she wanted... no, she knew. She wanted his arms around her, pressing her against him as tightly as she could. She wanted his mouth to kiss her in the places the Icha Icha character had kissed his lover, and she wanted to feel his-

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out, "Do you have any food?"

Sakura's head snapped up to glare at Naruto, furious for his interruption. "Why?" she growled, "You already ate your protein bar!"

The blond pouted, and Sakura's anger faded away slightly at his sad expression. "Here," she sighed, reaching into her pouch and tossing the small package at him.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan!" he said, falling back slightly to run with her.

Sighing, Sakura resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't be having any more delightful daydreams about Sasuke for the time being and instead turned to talk to Naruto as he munched away happily on the protein bar. I'm sexually frustrated, she thought, and then chuckled at the situation, And it's all Kakashi's fault.

After three hours of traveling over the desert, the peaks of the mountains Hirotoro had described began to come into focus. Sakura glanced around at her teammates, chuckling lightly at Naruto's disheveled, sweaty appearance and silently envying Kakashi's stamina, for the long hike didn't affect him at all. Sasuke, too, was relatively unruffled, though his cheeks were red and blotchy from the harsh sun. And, if she was correct from the way her arms had begun to ache, Sakura had gotten a bad sunburn.

Wincing as she gingerly pulled off her shirt that lay over her mesh top, Sakura inspected her shoulder with gentle fingertips. Wherever she pressed her finger against her red, raw skin, it burned like it was one fire, and not for the first time, she cursed the desert sun.

Kakashi pulled up beside her, then groaned sympathetically. "Looks like you got burned pretty badly," he said lightly, his lone eye creasing in a teasing smile.

Sakura glared at him. "Yeah, thanks," she said sarcastically, wondering why everything had to go wrong. Almost nothing had gone right on this mission; it was by chance that Igarashi had requested Hirotoro to find them, and as of right now, finding Maeno Montaro seemed thousands of years away to Sakura.

"Here," her ex-sensei said gently, sliding some lotion into her hands that he must have brought with him, "This will help."

Sakura suddenly regretted her behavior towards him. "Thank you," she murmured gratefully, taking some of the salve from his hands and rubbing it gently into her shoulders as he helped spread it over the back of her neck.

"That should keep it from burning anymore, but tonight will be painful." He gave her a gentle pat on her head, and then returned to Hirotoro's side as the man beckoned him forward. Snapping to attention, Sakura stopped and watched as Hirotoro seemingly touched an ordinary boulder on a small, sloping hill of sand. With a loud groan, the boulder swung to the right, revealing a very dark, small entrance. She stepped closer, intrigued, peering into the small hole. From what she could make out, there was a small tunnel that lead directly toward the mountains.

"We're here," Kakashi announced, turning towards them. Handing his pack to Sasuke, he closed his eyes and ran his hands through a series of seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Around the five appeared exact copies of them. Sakura stared into her own face, then giggled when it winked at her. It matched her completely, from the uneven strands of pink locks on the right side of her head to the nasty sunburn on her shoulders and upper arms. "These should serve as distractions enough."

Sakura followed Kakashi carefully through the tunnel, gripping onto the back of his jounin vest as her eyes slowly became accustomed to the dark. Naruto gripped her right hand as she led him through, and vaguely she could hear the faint scuffing of Sasuke's sandals as he followed the blond. Hirotoro Kado led the way. It was a wonder that they didn't bump into any walls, seeing as once the boulder closed off the entrance to the tunnel behind them, there was absolutely no light. But then again, they weren't shinobi for nothing, and using chakra to feel around the walls before she reached them, Sakura was able to relinquish her grip on Kakashi and could walk unaided.

To Sakura, the journey through the tunnel must have lasted hours. Finally alone with her thoughts, all she could think about were images of her and Sasuke, tangled together in passion. Not to mention the fact that when Naruto fell behind to frantically search for his frog purse that he dropped, Sasuke took his place right behind her. She felt his eyes on her in the dark, but she couldn't be sure he was looking at her in the dark and not concentrating on avoiding any hanging rocks.

I have it bad, she thought dejectedly, very aware of his strong, masculine presence behind her. But her daydreams were just fantasies; she had never seen Sasuke without a shirt on, so she had no idea what his chest would look like other than its general shape. He wasn't broad chested like Naruto and Kakashi were, but he wasn't skinny, either. He was... just right. He was wiry and muscular, in very fit condition. All shinobi had to be if they wanted to survive out in the wilderness, where it was hunt or be hunted.

She was a teenager, and she could blame her hormones for her sexual...desires. But it wasn't easy, when he was right behind her. But just then, her foot hit against a crevice in the tunnel floor that she had been too distracted to notice, and she went flying forward with a cry of surprise. Just as she prepared herself to land rather awkwardly on the ground, a strong hand grabbed the crook of her arm and yanked her back roughly. She was caught between Sasuke's arm and his chest, her back pressed up against him.

"Be more careful," he sighed, releasing her after two long, slow seconds.

Sakura, her face burning in shame and embarrassment, thanked Kami that it was too dark for him to see her blush. She was a shinobi, for Kami's sake! But then again, even shinobi were prone to moments of klutziness. Then, a small glow of light filtered down through the tunnel; Sakura blinked rapidly as her eyes burned and watered. And standing at the end of the tunnel was the silhouette of three men, two large ones on either side of a stately, shorter one.

Igarashi Benjiro.

He was about mid fifties due to the amount of gray in his hair and undeniably attractive for an older man, with a strong jaw framed by a trimmed, well kept beard and long brown and gray hair held back by a leather band. His eyes were warm and brown, set deeply in a smooth face. The robe he wore was ornate in the designs on the cuffs and hems, a deep burgundy that drew attention, and underneath that lay a silk cream shirt. A couple of the buttons were undone at the tap, and the wrinkles in his robe told Sakura that he must have been awake and about for awhile. Even his two bodyguards were dressed well, though beneath the silk brocades and robes, she knew they were deadly.

Hirotoro nodded towards the group, then went to stand by Igarashi's side. The Lord glanced at them, then smiled warmly. "Welcome," he said, his voice deep, almost as deep as Jomei's had been, but much less raspy. "I thank you for coming so quickly. I know that usually the hidden villages don't involve their shinobi in petty disputes over cities, but I'm afraid this is more than that. I do not care about running the government myself. I just want a government who would do right by the people."

His voice was so compelling that Sakura immediately had to agree with Kakashi's assessment of Igarashi Benjiro; no one can help but respect him on first sight. He was a man familiar with speaking, apparent due to his eloquent word choice and the sincerity of his tone, and Sakura was swayed by him already.

Her two teammates, however, were less than impressed, and only watched Igarashi in disinterest. Sakura couldn't understand why they wouldn't be all over this stately man right now, but then again, they were probably just tired, hungry, and bored after the exhausting journey across the desert.

"Igarashi-san," she vaguely heard Kakashi greet as she glanced over at Sasuke. He was staring down at the ground as he scuffed his sandal against a rock, pushing it from side to side. His hands were shoved deep in the pockets of his pants, and the dust and sand from the desert gave his clothing and hair a gray sheen. He looked so utterly bored as he glanced at Naruto, obviously hoping to bait his teammate into yelling at him so he'd have something to do.

Sakura rolled her eyes at his behavior. Here they were, finally, with Igarashi, and Sasuke could only think about fighting and Naruto, most likely, was dreaming about ramen.

"I know you all must be tired," Igarashi said kindly, his hand on Kakashi's shoulder, "Let's head up to the camp and then I'll have Hirotoro show you where you can stay. We'll discuss more in the morning, once everyone is ready."

When Team 7 followed Igarashi, Hirotoro and his two shinobi guards out of the tunnel, Sakura was surprised to see that the sun had already set. They must've been inside that tunnel for a good three hours, seeing as they reached it close to two o'clock in the afternoon. But she forgot; the sun sets early in the desert. As Igarashi bit them goodnight, Hirotoro then let them through the cave to another opening a couple feet down from the rock cliff. Inside, food and water had been laid out next to a crackling fire that spread warmth through the cold chamber. He too said goodnight, then went to rejoin Igarashi.

The ache in her muscles came back, as well as the pain in her shoulders from the sunburn she received as she walked into the cave chamber with her teammates. Sakura was suddenly so tired that, after ducking around a suddenly rambunctious Naruto who made a beeline straight for the food, she skipped dinner, slipped inside of her bedroll, and was asleep in minutes.

When Sakura awoke, the fire had been doused and three sleeping bundles lay curled around their tent. Squinting slightly in the darkness, Sakura searched for Sasuke's dark hair, and when she spotted him, was surprised to see that his eyes were open and fixated on her face. The flash of red of the Sharingan gave her a jolt! Sakura gasped quietly, but his eyes didn't move off of her face. "S-Sasuke?" she called out softly, wondering why he would be looking at her like that. Was there something on her face? Was she drooling on her pillow, and he found it so disgusting and repulsive that he couldn't look away?

He didn't respond for several moments. Finally, he murmured, "Go to sleep...Sakura." Then, with a rustling and shifting of blankets, he rolled over to face the opposite direction.

Sakura frowned, dissatisfied with his answer. She realized she would probably never get more out of him about his on and off morose behavior swings, but then again, it was Sasuke. He had always been that way, and who was she to tell him to change that particular aspect about his personality? With a sigh, Sakura rolled over onto her back, wincing when a stone jutting out from the ground lodged itself between her shoulder blades and rubbed against her raw shoulders. She closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep again, if only to quiet her thoughts.

Tomorrow would be a new day. But at least they had established contact with Lord Igarashi, even if their information was still somewhat limited. Sakura was relieved that they had found the Lord, at the very least, alive and well in the security of his own men. Hopefully, with a bit of luck from Kami, they'd find Maeno Montaro and get vengeance for the deaths of so many innocent people. His reign, however short, would be brought down.

And with that comforting thought, Sakura slipped back into unconsciousness, oblivious to the fact that her dark-haired teammate would lie awake all night.

Sorry this took so long! I've been really busy with end of the year projects and the piles of homework we got from our teachers, and this was a very long, time consuming chapter. Again, it was a transitional chapter, but at least Igarashi made an appearance!

So from here on out, there will be a LOT of action, which I hope you guys will enjoy! This is where the mission REALLY begins. R&R!

-Jackie