Greetings everyone! it's been a few months since I last updated hasn't it . . . yeah well, I kinda got distracted by another story that i started (check it out if you haven't it's called "The Power of Darkness") anyway, i suppose i should mention that if you do/are reading The Power of Darkness as well, there are elements of that story that will explain things about Sakura and her family but that being said, they are spoilers for her arc in this story as well so . . . wait until Sakura's arc is more completed? you choice.

in any case, this particular chapter is . . . shorter than i'd like but i couldn't be bothered adding another scene on the end . . . there IS supposed to be two additional scenes on the end of this story but i decided (approximately 1 minute and 39 seconds before i started writing this) that i couldn't be fucked. what does that mean for this chapter? it's short and a little rushed and a new style of editing that i'm doing means it just might be cleaner than my normal garbage but clean garbage is style garbage . . . well, you know what they say . . . it's called "Trash Can" not "Trash Cannot"

in any case, I hope you enjoy, see you at the bottom.

Part 13

"You took much longer than anticipated . . . what was the holdup?" Asked the Kazekage to the three shinobi he had sent to retrieve the routine delivery.

"It turned out that the Konoha team was ambushed by chakra using bandits . . . the jounin with the scroll was taken captive so we retrieved it" Matsumoto explained calmly.

"Oh? I was informed that it was a genin team on this mission . . . what happened to them? Anyone we should watch out for in the next chunin exam?" Rasa asked, turning his head to regard the shinobi in a more amused light.

"I think there is one genin we should add to the bingo books" Matsumoto said causing his two subordinates to stiffen and even the Kazekage looked surprised.

"That's not common . . . what did he do?" Rasa asked, pulling out some paper and a pen to jot notes down.

"Her actually . . . Haruno Sakura" Matsumoto replied and this time the Kazekage stiffened. "Bright pink hair and everything"

"I thought that accursed clan was exterminated to the last man woman and child!" Rasa said angrily before turning his head to look out over his village.

"Apparently we were wrong . . . Kizashi wasn't even the last in the line or so I hear . . . regardless of the lineage . . . I watched that pink haired genin girl, who'd only graduated a couple of weeks ago, murder Hamada . . . you remember him don't you? I do and I know he was no pushover" Matsumoto said while behind him his two subordinates exchanged glances. Rasa nodded before turning to write on the paper he had pulled out.

"Describe her and her talents for me please" the kazekage ordered.

"Alright my cute little genin!" Kakashi said as he gave his squad his eye smile. "You have had a rather trying experience so you can have the day off, I'll go deliver the mission report myself, meet me at our usual meeting spot tomorrow" Kakashi said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Well . . . why don't we go to this lovely place I know and get some tea and pastries" Naruto said with a sigh before heading off down the main street of Konoha. The team had only just returned from their mission and a good spell of relaxation would be nice.

"Coming Sasuke? A nice good sit down and review of the events of the mission, the battle especially, would only help us in the long run . . . power only goes so far without knowledge and experience" Sakura said, briefly touching the dark haired boy on the shoulder before heading off. Sasuke shrugged before following after his two teammates, he wanted to know exactly where they had gotten their swords and how Sakura had gotten so good with hers.

They hadn't been walking long when they arrived at a quaint little cafe nestled into the corner of a crossroads.

"So, Naruto . . . what was that?" Sakura asked as she got into a booth next to a window in the corner of the shop.

"What was what?" Naruto asked, turning to her in curiosity as he sat opposite her, leaving Sasuke to sit next to her. Both Sakura and Naruto gave small smirks at the change in situation while Sasuke himself glared at them.

"That thing you did when we were fighting Hamada" Sakura replied and suddenly Naruto tensed up, opening his mouth as if to say something but stopped when a waitress came over.

"Can I get you three anything?" she asked pleasantly.

"Tea and some pastries . . . surprise us" Sasuke said, causing his teammates to look at him even as the waitress smiled and walked off to fulfil their order. "You were about to say Naruto?" he asked, directing his attention at the blonde. Naruto for his part looked out the window as a melancholy look took over his features.

"I was born October tenth . . . you can figure out the rest" Naruto said and Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the vague response.

"Dobe, what does that have to do with anything?" Sasuke asked while Sakura gasped in shock, a hand over her mouth to stifle the noise.

"Kunai sealed into a scroll" Naruto said and Sakura's eyes widened again, so much so that Sasuke though he might be able to use them as dinner plates soon. Turning his attention back to Naruto, he decided to try and figure out what the riddle was, what significant event occurred on the tenth of October. The only thing he could think of was the Kyuubi attack and Sasuke's thoughts derailed from there. Naruto's whiskers, his birth date, the glares and aura of hatred he received from all bar a select few. Naruto's second clue then came into it's own.

"I see" Sasuke said after a few minutes past and Naruto gave both his teammates a sad look, as if he was expecting them to hate him. "Matters little I suppose . . . just gotta try not to do it again unless you can control it better . . . I've seen academy students last longer" Sasuke said, glancing up at the waitress as she somehow managed to carry both a platter with a pot of tea and three cups as well as a platter of some type of small glazed cakes with what looked like cream in the middle. The woman set both down, separated the cups and filled each with a tan mix. "I asked for tea" Sasuke said with a frown as he looked at the lady.

"You didn't specify what kind" she said with a wink "It goes better with this type of pastry" she added before leaving again. Sasuke picked up his cup and took an exploratory sip noting that he could taste four different ingredients.

"She's right you know . . . it's called black tea and arrived in our markets at around the same time this shop appeared, it's foreign . . . both the tea and the shop" Naruto said casually as he sipped his tea and Sakura picked up her own.

"It's sweet" she said "and creamy" Naruto nodded his agreement with a smirk that was quickly becoming his trademark.

"Where did you two get your swords?" Sasuke asked, setting his cup down and looking at Naruto.

"I had mine specially made for me . . . Yadokawa tradition . . ." Naruto said before taking one of the cakes and slicing into it with a spoon.

"Mine came from a weapon shop but it's apparently foreign so no chance of getting another one soon" Sakura said, already biting into a portion of her own cake. "I can show you if you like, the guy that runs the store knows his business, his name is Higurashi" she added and Naruto's eyes jerked to Sakura.

"Hey is that where you got your sword? The old man said he had a customer come in who was almost impossible to fit" Naruto said in surprise. "Old man Higurashi has never met a customer he couldn't outfit" he added proudly, nodding his head for emphasis.

"Haruno Sakura?" A nondescript man in standard chunin attire asked, having approached the booth the three were in.

"Yes?" Sakura asked, suddenly on guard as were her three teammates.

"Your presence was requested by the head of intelligence" the chunin stated before holding up a half ram sign and poofing away.

"Umm . . . where is intelligence?" Sakura asked, having never needed to know that before.

"It's in the Hokage Tower . . . erm . . . most I know is that it's the place you have to go through to get to T&I as well as the messenger post" Naruto replied, shrugging as he realised he didn't really know either.

"I'm sure they do this on purpose" Sakura sighed before taking a big bite of her cake and a gulp of her tea, standing and exiting the cafe.

"Why is there a Hyuuga sitting in the corner and watching everyone?" Sasuke asked, he had noticed the Hyuuga before but didn't think anything of it until it dawned on him that it looked almost as if the Hyuuga was a guard.

"Erm . . . the Hyuuga heiress kinda decided to place this shop under the protection of the Hyuuga after an incident involving some gang trying to shake it down . . . I guess Hiashi found out and decided to make good on that" Naruto replied "Come, let's finish here and I'll show you to the weapon shop" he added while Sasuke just nodded.

"Hey old man!" Naruto called out as he and Sasuke entered Higurashi's weapon shop "Sasuke needs a weapon, reckon you can fit him?" Naruto asked the kindly man that was sitting behind the counter.

"Naruto-kun! You said you'd be four days!" Came a distinctly female voice as a girl with a very panda like look appeared out of thin air and mere inches away from Naruto's face.

"Err . . . hey Tenten . . . yeah, things sorta got a bit hectic . . . and we spent three days tracking down some bandits . . . speaking of" Naruto said before stepping back and removing his sword, his face suddenly serious as he handed the sheathed blade to Tenten. For her part, Tenten grew somber before she even drew the blade but she did and her eyes held a slight sadness to them.

"This was used extensively" Tenten said quietly before turning around and heading into the back of the store, Naruto in tow.

"Those two have been friends for a little under six years" Higurashi said fondly as he continued to look in the direction they left in. "In any case, come, you have need of a weapon" he said to Sasuke who was left in the store alone with the kindly man. Sasuke took a look at all of the various weapons that were featured and his eyes were drawn to the katana.

"How much for a standard Katana?" Sasuke asked as he walked over to the wrack that had the blades.

"There is no such thing in this store my young man" Higurashi replied before gesturing at the weapons in question. "Each weapon has their own spirit that I helped give birth to . . . they have their own personality" he said and Sasuke frowned as he picked up on weapon, the sheath had a red kanji on it that read tiger but was otherwise black. Drawing the blade and giving it a few swings, Sasuke felt like he was doing something wrong. "You see?" Higurashi asked as Sasuke sheathed the weapon and picked up another one. This time he felt odd, like he was standing too still, looking at the Kanji on the sheath he saw the symbol for wolf on it.

"This is strange" Sasuke said before sheathing the weapon and putting it back on the rack.

"Every weapon other than your mass produced garbage has a spirit . . . you need to find the one that best connects with your own" Higurashi explained as he walked up to Sasuke. Sasuke noted the analytical look in his eyes and opted to drew a kunai, changing his stance to one of readiness before changing back and sheathing the kunai. Higurashi nodded in appreciation before walking over to another rack of weapons, longer blades this time. "Your teammate came in as well . . . the pink haired girl, Sakura I believe her name is, if Naruto is to be believed" the man said, looking at the Kanji on the sheaths of each weapon he pulled out, giving Sasuke an analytical look before putting each weapon back.

"I thought there wasn't a person you couldn't outfit" Sasuke said with a teasing smirk as he watched the man move over to smaller weapons, wakizashi.

"You are probably good with the second Katana you pulled out of that rack" Higurashi said absently as he picked through the rack, not finding the weapon he wanted and turning away from the rack. "But looking at you . . . I think something that uses one hand or two might be better" he said as he walked over to the Ninja-to and pulled a few off the rack. The man pulled out one sword and handed it to Sasuke. "Give that a few swings" he said and Sasuke pulled it out of the sheath, noting that the metal wasn't shining at all and actually seemed to absorb light a little. Swinging the blade, Sasuke felt it and felt that the sword didn't want him.

"I feel like I'm going insane" Sasuke said as he sheathed the weapon. Higurashi gave the boy a quizzical look as he took the weapon. "The sword told me she didn't want me" he said and then noticed what he said, his eyes snapping open.

"Not insane boy, I told you every weapon in here other than the mass produced garbage has a spirit, you are just talking to the spirit . . . not something most people do to be honest but the best swordsmen always do" Higurashi explained as he went back to his Ninja-to rack and scavenged around looking for another blade. Pulling another one out, Higurashi handed it to Sasuke and looked at him expectantly. Sasuke unsheathed the weapon and gave it a few swings, feeling the weapon as he did. On his third swing he felt his wrist move so he took his second hand off the sword and swung it like that, letting the weapon do it's thing.

"She's trying to correct my stance and swing" Sasuke breathed "This is madness . . . complete and utter madness" he continued, holding up the sword to look at it. Looking down at the sheath he saw the kanji for night wolf written in some sort of bluish silver before looking back at the blade and giving it another swing, falling into a completely relaxed stance with the arm holding the sheath resting on his left hip and his sword raised out in front of him.

"So would you like a belt as well? Or a shoulder mount?" Higurashi asked.

"A belt . . . she wants to be belted on like Naruto does it" Sasuke replied, shaking his head. "I'm talking to a sword" he said, still not believing his own sanity.

"Sanity is for the weak" Higurashi said as he walked back over to the counter.

Sakura was out of her element as she walked towards the office of the head of intelligence, a man in his late twenties to early thirties accompanying her.

"No idea why the head wanted to talk to you to be honest" The man said, he had introduced himself as Aoba when she had walked in asking for the office. "But that woman does a lot of mysterious things . . . you need to work for intelligence to figure out anything to do with that woman" he continued.

"What, like you?" Sakura replied and earned a smirk from the man, his sun glasses making him look more laid back.

"Well, here we are" Aoba said, pointing to a door with no markings on it at all before turning around and walking away. Sakura took a look in the direction Aoba went before knocking on the door.

"Come in Sakura" Came a voice that Sakura recognised immediately. Opening the door and entering presented Sakura with the sight of Minori sitting behind a desk and focusing on some form of paperwork, filling out a form, setting it aside before grabbing another one and repeating the process.

"Umm . . . Minori err . . . Yadokawa-sama?" Sakura said, her voice holding the question on how she was supposed to address the woman.

"Minori is fine and you don't need such lofty honorifics" Minori replied with a smirk, looking up from what she was doing. "It's come to my attention that you may have some . . . details on Suna shinobi acting strangely" Minori continued, pulling out a cream folder and opening it up. "It says here that they appeared to be ready to attack konoha shinobi on sight and that bandits in their territory were suspiciously well equipped" she said before looking up at Sakura, a questioning glint in her eyes.

"Ahh yes, that's correct" Sakura replied, suddenly nervous about how serious the conversation was. "They even asked about you" she added, feeling the need to include it. Minori carefully considered Sakura for a few more moments before snapping the folder shut again.

"It also says that you used a special form of killing intent to aid you in the murder of a missing-nin" Minori said as she observed Sakura intently.

"I . . . don't know . . . but maybe? It felt natural so I did it" Sakura replied, turning her head away and looking at the ground.

"And it mentioned that you took control of the squad in the absence of Kakashi, putting insubordinate teammates in their place through fear" Minori said, her hands folded on the desk and eyes narrowed. Sakura's eyes snapped open and she looked up at Minori before letting out a squeak and taking a few steps back. "Why use fear rather than reason?" Minori asked.

"I-it . . . it worked better as a d-deterrent" Sakura replied quietly. Minori sighed and suddenly all the pressure that Sakura was under went away.

"You aren't ready" Minori muttered quietly, closing her eyes for a second before picking up her pen and continuing her work. "I do have high hopes for you though so Ibiki, the head of T&I is waiting outside for you" Minori said without looking up. Sakura's eyes widened and she took another step back as fear set in. "Oh don't be so afraid, he's going to give you a tour that very few people come back from . . . you will be one of those and you are getting to see it from the good side of the glass . . . maybe it will help you get yourself sorted" Minori said, giving Sakura a quick glance before returning to her work. "That is all, try not to get wasted too often" she said with an air of finality and Sakura bowed before opening the door again and leaving. After exiting the office, Sakura immediately noticed the largish man with a scar down his face and a bandanna holding his hitai-ate on his forehead.

"I'm Morino Ibiki, you will follow me, you will do as I say when I say" Ibiki stated in a monotone. "Is this clear?" he asked, giving Sakura the opinion that the only answer was yes so she nodded. "Good, stay close or you won't be making a return trip" he added before marching off towards T&I.

"Ahh Anko-chan, how are you?" Minori greeted as the woman in question entered her office.

"Minori-sama! I'm great but I was told I was supposed to be meeting with the big boss" Anko said, looking around in confusion. Minori raised an eyebrow at the honorific that Anko had given her but otherwise remained silent.

"You are" Minori said casually as she sipped a cup of tea. Anko looked at Minori in even greater confusion than before. "I am the head of intelligence" she said and Anko was suddenly very shocked.

"Whaaaaaat!? When did that happen!?" Anko shouted, causing Minori to chuckle slightly at Anko's antics.

"What? You thought I just wandered the streets randomly? I have been working here for six years . . . and I have been 'not' working here for twelve" Minori said with a good degree of amusement. Anko however just looked at her in confusion, cocking her head in a confused puppy expression, it was so much like Naruto that it made Minori chuckle again.

"What do you mean?" she asked, obviously confused about the subtle hint

"I'm a spy, spies gather intel . . . I worked under plausible deniability blankets for about six years and still do just . . . less frequently" Minori replied and Anko's face lit up in understanding.

"So why did you ask me here?" Anko asked before taking a seat on a lounge that had been tucked into the corner and wasn't immediately visible from the door.

"I noticed you added an honorific to my name . . . the same one you used for Orochimaru" Minori casually mentioned as she took another sip of her tea. Anko, meanwhile, had sat up ramrod straight at the mention of her old master.

"It's not like that!" Ank exclaimed. "I know you aren't a traitor and wouldn't do anything like that to the village!" she continued.

"Yes and I noticed you defended me against Sarutobi as well . . . quite animatedly I might add" Minori said as she studied the purple haired woman in front of her.

"Because I thought he thought you were controlling me through the sundered hearts seal!" Anko said, getting skittish now that she was trying to defend her actions.

"You didn't even stop to consider I might have been?" Minori asked and Anko looked at her as if she had gone mad.

"You wouldn't do that . . . right?" Anko asked, feeling as though she was being walked into something.

"You tell me . . . would I?" Minori counter asked, leaning forward slightly and offering the snake mistress a smirk with a hint of something wicked in her eyes. Anko stopped to seriously consider her position and what she knew about the woman she had come to see as a new master. Reaching up and touching the mark on her shoulder, she remembered the feeling of cleanliness that washed over her when the seal had been changed, and even now she felt clean, light and free.

"No . . . not me" Anko said seriously, giving Minori an intense look. Minori sat back into her chair and sipped at her cup of tea.

"I want to put a seal on you" She said casually "It is like the ANBU seals in that it will allow you to find me if you pulse the seal or me you through that seal . . . it will also allow me to let you know I want your presence" Minori explained before putting her cup down and waiting for Anko's response. Anko carefully considered the request given to her, she had already been screwed over by someone in this position once already. "I don't want you to rush in and make the same mistake as last time but I'm sure you already know exactly what I'm asking of you" Minori said.

"Yeah I get it . . . you want your own private ANBU like ROOT used to be back in the day only less legal" Anko said, she really wanted to carefully consider the request but she knew she had already made up her mind. "I'll do it" Anko said before standing up and walking over to Minori who had already pulled out her sealing equipment. Grabbing Anko's left wrist and moving the sleeve of her coat up to access the skin, Minori drew a curvy line with a swirl on either end all in the colour lime green. The moment the seal was in place, Anko felt it latch hold of her and felt it pulse once, sending a mild tingling sensation up her arm that was completely unmistakeable.

"Well, that's it . . . first order of the day . . . go see how Sakura is doing down in T&I" Minori said as Anko stepped back, rubbing her arm absently, it wasn't that it hurt, just that she could feel the mark on her just like she could with Orochimaru's curse mark, only this time she knew it didn't have any special properties. Anko nodded and left the office.

And we come to the end of another chapter . . . i really should have added those extra two scenes onto the end here . . . ahh well, i'm in the editing phase now so i am not going back and adding those two scenes . . . i need my sleep since i work tomorrow. one thing though, I hate these chapters where nothing is really happening . . . well, i'm advancing the plot i suppose . . . but yeah . . . give me a good idea on what you guys thought about the whole "Spirit in the weapon" thing because if that's too much for you i'll just not mention it . . . and be satisfied in the knowledge that it's there but you can't see it.

in any case, let me know what you liked, disliked, what you thought could use improvement and what you'd like to see more of. take care.