Chapter Five: Relax

There was a breeze, followed by the rustling of a branch—leaves shaken from their parent trees would then fall slowly to the ground, forming a distinct path. It was an easy trail to follow, but that didn't matter to the three ninja ducking and swinging through the forest's canopy. Their mission wasn't to be stealthy—at least not at first. It was a retrieval mission. It was a mission to fix the wrongs of the past. It was a mission that would change their lives forever.

The three ninja continued to work their way through the trees. Their every move was carefully calculated, except for one small detail. They were wasting energy. Maybe it was the heat of the moment, or perhaps thoughts of the future, but there was clear sign of struggle; a struggle that filled mind and reflected on to the body. To a trained eye, the struggle of the three shinobi was clear. Their speed, while fast and constant, was just a little too quick. Fatigue was slowly over taking the ninja. Each step, each twist of the body was becoming that more difficult. Their eyes were slowly beginning to feel the strain; the distance of their vision was decreasing. That combined with a weakened mind was causing their reaction speeds to slow—a deadly combination at their current speed.

While these conditions were becoming evident in both of the men, the signs that the shinobi needed rest fell more so on to the cell's lone kunoichi.

Kakashi, the team leader, was beginning to notice this. But he also noticed the fierce look of determination within the cerulean eyes of his other pupil. The elder man mentally sighed; once again he returned to the mental battle warring in his mind. Was it better to stop? Or was it better to continue. On one hand he would upset in Naruto. While on the other hand, he could give Sakura a break. Going over the map he photographically memorized, he noticed that he and his students would be approaching a small inn for travelers in a short while. A nice warm bath and some alone time with his novel was what he needed.

"We'll be stopping at a small spring with an inn for the night just up ahead," Kakashi announced to his students. Kakashi noticed Naruto's face contort with confusion.

"Why sensei? We can make it to the target in one trip, shouldn't we just go ahead and go?" the blond asked.

"Our target is still a day or two away. The reason we waited so long to leave was to give ourselves time to mentally and physically rest for this mission. After traveling the majority of the way, it would be best for us to stop and restore our strength. There's no sense sleeping on the forest floor when you don't have to do so," Kakashi explained. He had his signature smile on his face, but due to his mask and hitai-ite, all that was seen was his lone eye closed.

Kakashi was panicking as Naruto scrutinized him. He just really wanted to relax in the hot springs and read his book. Was that too much to ask for? He noticed Naruto was about to respond, and probably not favorably, because the boy had yet to take on a look of defeat. So Kakashi used his back-up plan.

"Besides, Sakura looks a little winded. None of us need to be tired."

"No, I'm fine sensei," Sakura replied quickly, just as Kakashi expected. And just as Kakashi knew would happen, Naruto turned around to notice his other teammate. He could see her deeper breath and the sweat on her brow. He noticed how every leap she took was shaky, and he could see the bags forming under her eyes. She was tired, and he had to admit that he was tired as well.

Kakashi smiled once again to himself. He loved it when a plan came together.

"Don't worry about it Sakura. Sensei is right. It's probably best that we stop for the night," Naruto replied. The blond didn't want Sakura to over exert herself. He knew that she didn't have the chakra or stamina to keep up, but he really was amazed at how long she did last.

Sakura really did become strong. It hurt Naruto to know that she sometimes felt worthless, but to him she was one of the most powerful ninjas he knew. She could cause an earthquake with a punch, and her skills as a iryō-nin were unmatched by most. Naruto even knew that when it came to raw intelligence he would probably never be smarter. With her assets, the blond knew she wasn't much of a front line fighter. Sakura was just like Tsunade, and the sannin needed their iryō-nin in the exact same way team seven needed Sakura. If only Sakura would see that.

Sakura didn't answer Naruto. She just continued mindlessly following her teammates. The blond knew he'd have to cheer her up. It was too painful to watch her in this state. Luckily, the team soon arrived at the little inn.

The building was very traditional. Large wooden arches led up to the front door. Paper lanterns hung delicately over the well kept gardens. The three shinobi could see the steam rising up from the natural hot springs. Just as the three shinobi reached the door, a young woman dressed in a pink kimono pulled back the screen. It was obvious to the three shinobi just how pretty the girl was; Naruto snickered. Of course Kakashi would want to stop here for the night.

The young woman showed them to the inn's counter, where an older man was waiting. Kakashi paid for two rooms—the use of the springs was included.

After getting the keys, Kakashi tossed them to his students. They each grabbed their key nimbly out of the air. The white haired man then departed, seeing no other reason to stick around. "I'm off to the springs. Stay on the inn's grounds. We need as much strength as we can get for this mission, ja ne."

Naruto looked over at his teammate. Her face was veiled, showing no emotion; generally a sign that something was wrong. Naruto began to ask what was upsetting her, but decided against it. It was probably something to do with Sasuke. It was probably best if he just left it alone for now. Opening his mouth once more, he said, "Well I guess I'll see you in the morning Sakura-chan."

"Okay Naruto."

The two left for their respective rooms.

Naruto, after walking in, tossed his pack into one of the room's chairs. It was a standard room. There was little furniture besides the necessities. The bathroom was of a reasonable size, and there was a little kitchenette for preparing small meals. The room contained two double sized beds. One was for him; the other, presumably, was for Kakashi.

Naruto kicked off his blue sandals and unzipped his jacket. He slid the orange piece of clothing off his torso, hanging it on the back of the chair now containing his back pack. He slowly walked over to the bed next to the window and collapsed on to the mattress. He rolled over to lie on his back and looked out the window. It would be dark soon and then he could see the stars. The stars had always comforted him. On long nights they were his only companions. When he was afraid as a child, he didn't have parents to run and hide with, so he looked up, to where the stars were. In time, he began to find solace in the stars, because even when the sky was filled with clouds, or smoke; Naruto knew the stars were still there, waiting to shine again.

Naruto just continued to lie in the bed. He felt so restless. The blond knew sleep wouldn't come easy that night. He just had too much on his mind. The blond sat up. He needed to burn off some energy. The moon was beginning to rise; there was plenty of light. Maybe some late night training would be good for him. Kakashi-sensei would wonder where he was, but the blond assumed the man was smart enough to it figure out. Even though his sensei had wanted everyone to stay put, it's not like it was an order. The blond smirked at the thought.

Sakura didn't know what to do. She had tried falling to sleep, but just couldn't. She knew that she was tired, but it felt more than that. She felt weak. Kakashi and Naruto could have traveled further. After all her training, was she still holding them back? Was she still holding Naruto back?

No, she wouldn't allow that. Not when they were so close in bringing back Sasuke. This time she was going to make a difference. But she still had this feeling like she wasn't ready. Getting out of bed, the pink haired girl stripped out of her night gown and donned on some training clothing. If she wasn't ready, then she would get ready.

Sakura slipped out her window with the stealth of a cat. She didn't want Kakashi or Naruto to find out about this. They were supposed to be resting, and she didn't want to be lectured about over doing herself. She made her way back behind the springs into the forest. The kunoichi stumbled upon a decent sized clearing. It was a good size and just far enough out of the way to where people wouldn't discover it. She was about to jump out into the clearing when she heard a noise.

Sakura quickly reacted, years of training causing a subconscious reaction within her body. She took cover in the tree, while masking her chakra. With her mastery of chakra control, she was nearly undetectable. Her eyes began scanning for the source of the sound she heard. And she was surprised by what she saw.

There was an ANBU captain standing in the field. By the looks of it he was alone. Sakura couldn't see any of features. They were covered up by his tan coat. She did notice that he had his standard issue Katana drawn. He was making elegant motions with his weapon. Long sweeping slashes and quick jabs were choreographed into an almost perfect routine. Sakura wasn't an expert swordsman, but she had read a few books and seen samurai. Even with her limited knowledge, she could still see the small mistakes.

That was strange, considering that this ANBU was a captain. Most ANBU were required to be very prolific with a katana. It looked like the one before her was still getting used to the blade. It didn't look like the weapon had yet to become a natural extension of his arm. Still, regardless of that particular handicap, he must have been powerful. There's no other way Tsunade would've had him promoted to a captain unless he was.

Suddenly, the ANBU looked her way. She hid herself, all the while swearing to herself. She was so caught up in watching the shinobi train that she must have been getting careless. After a couple of seconds, she hadn't been confronted. The iryō-nin decided that maybe he hadn't seen her yet. She took another cautious look back at him. He was still looking towards her, but then she noticed a large flock of birds fly out of the tree in front of her. The ANBU stood there, watching the flock disappear beyond the tree tops.

So, that's what he had sensed, a large group of birds. Sakura let a out the breath she didn't know she was holding and focused in on the ANBU again. She was curious to see the mask. Then she would know his codename. It wasn't often one was able to see such a strange behavior from an ANBU. Tsunade-shishō was very loosed lipped sometimes With a little luck, maybe she could understand just what was going on with this ANBU. Sakura smirked, she would also have some gossip that not even Ino could dig up. Now all she needed was a good look. The pink haired kunoichi focused a little chakra in her eyes. Her sight became blurry for a moment as her eyes tried to refocus. Luckily, she had a clear look at the black ops shinobi; the shape of the mask—

Her eyes widened, and the girl made an inaudible gasp. Sakura rubbed her eyes and looked again. There was no doubt left. It was a kitsune.

The same ANBU from the story, the one described by the girl at the barbeque restaurant. She wasn't lying. It was real. Now what was that ANBU doing out here? What the heck was going on? Sakura turned around to leave. She found out everything she wanted to know. And she could no longer train with that strange ANBU around. Kakashi was in ANBU. Many of the ANBU still enlisted knew her sensei. And there was a good chance that if that ANBU noticed her he'd tell the white haired man, then she'd have to explain herself, something that pink haired kunoichi didn't feel like doing. Sakura looked back over her shoulder to see if the ANBU had found her, but the kitsune masked man was gone.

So much for getting a little secret training in. If she wasn't supposed to be resting, then her night wouldn't have been ruined. Sakura sighed. There was no point dwelling on the situation. Maybe it was just a good idea to go back to the springs and relax a little. Her little trip, while shorter than expected, had taken up a good chunk of time. It was beginning to get late. A good long soak in the hot bath at the inn was beginning to seem like the right idea.

Naruto let out a relaxed groan as he slid into the men's hot spring. The warm water quickly began to massage his sore muscles. He didn't even notice how tired he was. Naruto sucked in a breath of air. It was moist with steam, but the heat cleared is lungs. He took a couple more before he allowed his breathing to return to normal. Naruto looked around the the bath area. It was nice. A rock garden was on the far side of the area. There was a little water feature, filling the area with a relaxing sound. Next to the rock garden was a little shed that was probably used to store the equipment used for the bath's maintenance.

A thick bamboo fence surrounded the spring itself. From the entrance the green stalks circled out and around the other features before passing by Naruto and cutting through the spring. The fence then ended right at the wall where the door to the changing room was located. Naruto assumed that the spring was most likely divided into two halves; the men on one side with a mirror image of the men area for the women. Of course, Naruto felt no need to confirm his suspicion, unlike a certain ero-sennin.

Naruto let himself sink completely underwater. He stayed for a couple of seconds before coming back up for air. The water tasted salty, probably from the minerals in the spring. Naruto shook his head, to rid his hair of the excess water. Some of hair stood back up, but most of his bangs were still hanging off the side of his head. The blond hair in front almost completely covered all of his eyes.

Naruto leaned back. Now he must going to relax. He shut his eyes and just listened to water feature. Okay, so maybe there was more than one reason why Kakashi wanted to stay here. It was very relaxing here. Also with the threat of Akatsuki, many travelers were staying off the road. Many inns like this one were suffering, but at least it wasn't crowded.

"Naruto? Is that you?" A feminine voice called from the other side of the fence.

Naruto opened one of his eyes and brought his handing to his ear, as if it would help him hear better. "Sakura?" he yelled backed. It was her, who else could it be?

"Yeah," she replied. Naruto heard his teammate swim towards the fence, so she could talk with him without having to yell. Naruto inched closer and leaned his back against the bamboo divider. Sakura did the same. When she was comfortable, the kunoichi muttered, "I didn't think you would be awake this late."

"I had trouble sleeping," was his reply. Sakura understood. It was kind of the same reason why she was there.

"Same here."

An awkward silence arose between the two; something that didn't happen very ofter. What really was there to say? They could ask about the rooms, but they already knew what would happen. The answer would be that they were nice. Naruto would most likely complain about having to share a room with sensei, and Sakura would probably say she was fine by herself. It was a conversation that had already been had before, but on eve of meeting Sasuke, that line of thought felt out of place. The air was beginning to get stiff as the two kept up their silent vigil. Sakura was beginning to curse herself for getting the two into this mess. She didn't know what to say. He was sitting right there, on the other side of the spring in the warm water with nothing but a—no! She wasn't going to go there.

With all the thoughts of Sasuke and Naruto, she remembered the last the last time they saw their other teammate. She thought about how the raven-haired boy almost killed Naruto. If it wasn't for Sai, would Naruto even be alive now? Sakura shuttered at the thought.

"Naruto," she whispered through the fence.

"Yeah," he answered simply.

"Promise me you won't die this mission."

"What?" he asked surprised. The shock of the question caused him to turn around stare awed at the fence. There's no way she just said that. His voice was caught in his throat, but even he found the words, he still only croaked out, "excuse me?"

Sakura turned around to look at the fence, "I said, 'promise me you won't die.'"

Naruto's voiced was rushed when he replied. "Why would you ask that?"

Sakura rubbed her upper forearms. Even in the spring she was beginning to feel goosebumps settling in, but it had to be done. Sakura worked up all the courage she could, but even then she could only say two words.

"It's just—"

Naruto began to think about what was going on. This probably had something to do with Sasuke, seeing as how she asked him to not die on this particular mission. He began searching his latest memories, finally remembering the most recent mission with Sai and Yamato-taicho. His eyes widened at the thought. She thought he was almost killed by Sasuke. But Naruto was also confused by the question. How could he fulfill his promise to her if he was dead?1

"Don't worry Sakura, I'll definitely bring him back this time," it felt like he had said those words before. It pained the blond as the phrase passed by his lips. He felt regret and sadness. There were so many mistakes that he had made. It was time to right the wrongs of his past, so he could finally work towards building a better future.

Sakura noticed that he said "I'll" instead of "we'll." He was planning on bringing back Sasuke alone, without her. Even after she said they would do it together. Did he believe that she wouldn't be useful in helping him? No, Naruto would never think that. It was her fault. She made him make that stupid promise. It was burdening him. That's why she trained so hard. This way she could help carry the load she had imposed on him. He almost died trying to fix her mistake.

"No Naruto," she whispered through a crack in the fix. "We're going to bring him back, the two of us, together."

Together he thought. They would make their team whole again. But, Naruto wasn't so sure that that would be the outcome. Sasuke was becoming a killer as cold and swift as the blade he carried. Their raven haired teammate would show no mercy; he had made that perfectly clear. Returning Sasuke was a burden that he needed to carry. The fight would be bloody and vicious; the danger of it didn't even need mentioning. The least Naruto wanted was to see Sakura hurt. She was talented, intelligent and strong. She had become an amazing kunoichi while he was away, but she wasn't a front lines fighter or killer. She healed. Her hands weren't soaked in blood, nor had she been confronted by death. There was an innocence about her, not of ignorance or childhood.

But she had not seen some of the worst life had to offer. In a way, that was something to be admired. Even though she hadn't seen death, or lived in poverty. She became an iryō-nin. She was still giving back and helping others. And Naruto respected that. It was a feeling he only reserved for her, among other things. Could she really kill Sasuke if it came to it? Naruto didn't know, and he didn't need an answer. Only he would bare that weight on his conscience. That way no one else would.

Still, he liked the idea. He wanted to do the mission with her. Just the two of them, together.

Although, the pragmatic solution still dictated otherwise, but Naruto hoped it wouldn't come to that.

So the blond put on the best smile he could muster, regardless of whether Sakura could see it or not, and said, "Yeah, we'll do it together Sakura-chan."

Kakashi awoke feeling quite rested. Glancing over at the clock provided, the white haired man noticed the time was six in the morning. It was the same time as always when he stirred from sleep. Many years of training had formed the unbreakable habit. But opening his eyes was only part of jonin's normal morning ritual. He still needed to make himself presentable. Hygiene was an important part of being a shinobi, a must for someone of his stature.

Hidden villages were almost like businesses. Their existence depended on the missions given to shinobi. For the wealthier upper class, if a shinobi looked clean and maintained it was a signal of the villages power, and not just in strength. It reflected the economic status of the village. If the village was financially stable, the chances were that the village was safe. If the village was safe, it would be easier to do business. The economy also reflected the mission success rate. If a village completed most of its mission, chances were they'd get more requests. Thus, they would get more income. Appearances were the most important part of this system. Clients, to a degree, are always somewhat vain. But this concept alone was one that many shinobi failed to grasp. The elder generation was such a group.

The elders of Konoha were too focus in the old ideals of shinobi. Power was no longer the driving force behind the shinobi world. Consider two merchants that sold apples. One merchant had the tastiest, sweetest and ripest apples; the other had good apples, but they could never be better than the first merchants produce. If these were the only qualities needed, the first merchant would do better. But, what if we added another condition? The first merchant reflected the ideals of the old shinobi order, powerful and looming—essentially ruling by fear. The second merchant reflected the principle of appearances; the second was cheerful and nice—accommodating when needed and very persuasive.

With the newer scenario, the second merchant would do better. While the product may have been of inferior quality, the service and experience was better. Shinobi did not have the best reputation. Many were hired assassins, killers for the right price. A village that held the friendliest atmosphere and made potential clients feel safer even when surrounded by death was more likely to draw in people. If the economy was strong, funds could then be used for strengthening of the village's military power. A powerful nation with little economy will always fail. Konoha had not truly embraced this idea. And the politics was beginning to unravel at the seems. Change was coming, the white haired man understood that.

So Kakashi freshened up. When he was done he stepped from the bathroom to notice that his student was still fast asleep. His feet were hanging off the side the bed, and most of the covers had fallen on the floor. A thin line of drool was collecting on the blond's pillow. As a child, Naruto wore pajamas, but he had outgrown the habit while on the road with Jiraiya-sama. Now, he was only dressed in a sleeveless white shirt and his boxers, but his lovable cat night hat still remained—even that was becoming a rarer sight though. But at the moment, the sight was enough to bring a smile to Kakashi.

Naruto represented the new generation of shinobi. His appearance was always light and happy. He was able draw even the darkest spirits into his friendly exuberance. But while some faked these qualities, the blond was always pure in his intentions. And only one person had ever been able to escape the blonds clutches. Hopefully soon, that would be fixed.

For the moment everything was peaceful, so Kakashi pulled out his little green book and began to read. Naruto would wake up in time. But even while the jonin read, he couldn't break his musings about Naruto. It was miraculous that after all this time, the boy at heart was still the same. A good thing too, the world would become too dark without its second sun.

Glossary:

Iryō-nin- Medic-nin

Taicho- used as an honorific for captain. Yamato-taicho is essentially Captain Yamato.

Author's Note: This one felt a little choppy to me. Anyone else think so? Also if you notice any mistakes, hit me up with a review, and I'll fix it immediately. I'm not perfect you know.

P.S. This chapter is a little shorter than normal, but I felt like this was a good spot to end it. And Happy New Year Eveyone. Unfortunately, my holidays are over. So expect the next chapter whenever.

Published: 1/5/11