A/N: Finals are officially over. That means a month of break( And Disneyland! :]) Reviews are always nice.. And a big thanks to Galaxy-Monarch Frosty10001 for editing. :]
~Also, Thanks to ELnDK4EVER(Hope that's all spelled right) for favoriting! And also to Lee-Sakura-and-Hermione-Draco for not only the fave, but also a review. Thanks guys! :]
Ayako scanned the streets of the Sun Village carefully, crouched on top of the protective wall that surrounded the small village. With eyes scrunched shut in concentration, she searched for signs of any chakra that belonged to any of Takeshi's men. The sun had set and they had been waiting patiently along the all for the streets to empty out.
"Well?" Naruto's voice broke her concentration and her eyes popped open. He looked up at her with an expectant look in his blue eyes. "Anyone lurking around in there?"
Ayako stood and brushed her knees off. "Looks like the coast is clear, for now anyway. But a lot of these guys are really good at sensing chakra so I think our best course of action is to suppress our chakra and sneak in." She hopped down from the wall and glanced to each of the faces in her makeshift party. "Are you all ready?"
They each nodded and she led the way over the wall.
As quietly as possible, they dropped into shadowy streets of the village. Ayako led them through the mazelike alleyways and roads made up from the smallish close together buildings, and in the direction of the apartment she and Haru shared. The short trip seemed to take an eternity. They ducked into several alleyways when shadow ninja would patrol by. Finally, they crept up through the back window of the tiny first story living space.
Ayako locked the window and closed the curtains before dashing across the room and locking the door as well. With a deep sigh she set a hand on her chest and leaned back against the wood door. "There we go."
"Looks as though half the battle is won." Haru switched on a light as the Leaf ninja settled into the small living space. His pale eyes glanced around the room before falling on Ayako. "Princess.."
"Right, right. Just make yourselves at home. I need to go check in with Takeshi, so he doesn't think the worst and send one of his goons over here." She tried to smile. "Haru will make you some food. Other than that, that bookcase over there has maps and bingo books with pictures and information that we've put together on all of Takeshi's men. The bathroom is back there." She thought for a moment. "And please be careful and stay quiet."
"You got it Princess." Naruto plopped onto the small couch with a grin and closed his eyes lazily.
Sakura nodded and stood. "I'll start reading through these, since I doubt these two will do it."
"Are you sure you will be okay? I can accompany you." Lee added last.
The redhead took a short breath and shook her head. "No I can't put you in danger Lee. I'll be fine I promise. Just stay here and stay safe." With that, she was gone.
"Is.. She gonna be okay Haru?" Naruto asked after a short silence.
"She'll be fine. If you follow her and get caught she'll be in more trouble then she could ever get herself into on her own." He said quietly. "Now, who's hungry?"
"Where have you been girl. It's been almost a week." Takeshi's hard gaze rose briefly from his desk and focused on the redhead. His voice was eerily calm. "Won't you please share what's kept you so occupied?"
"Haru and I decided to spend some time in the trees. We haven't been able to since we were kids." She answered as truthfully as she could. "That's where we've been."
"Hm, I see." He went back to flipping through papers on his desk. "I suppose that's believable enough. I'll never understand your people's connection to those trees. I should just chop them all down." He looked up briefly in time to catch her flinch.
Almost faster than Ayako could react, a kunai formed from pitch black shadows sliced through the skin on her cheek. She had barely even seen him move. Warm blood leaked down her cheek, but she ignored the stinging pain as he began to speak again.
"Consider this your warning. Never leave this village again." Briefly, he looked up at her. "Do you understand, Princess?"
"Yes Takeshi."
"Get out of my sight."
She clenched her jaw and slipped out of his office.
The minutes ticked by slowly back in the apartment. Haru had served a simple dinner and everyone had relaxed enough to enjoy it. After eating, Sakura had gone back to flipping through books and maps on the carpet beside the bookshelf. Naruto had gone back to the couch and seemed to be taking a nap, and Lee had finally relaxed as well and had relaxed beside Naruto to finish his bowl of soup.
"Are those proving helpful?" Haru asked her.
"Oh yeah, these should help out a lot. I mean with the names and faces of everyone it'll be easy to know who to avoid and who to take out."
He nodded. "I'm glad that they're easy to read. I had to put them together almost entirely by myself."
Sakura laughed. "You did? That's very impressive Haru."
"Well yes, how else would they get done-"
The creak of the door cut him off as Ayako slipped inside.
"Princess you are bleeding!" Lee hopped to his feet, almost spilling the bowl that had been balanced on his knees. He tried to look at the cut closer but she ducked back towards the door.
She held up her hand with a weak smile. "Oh this? It's just a scratch, nothing to worry about."
"It looks like its bleeding pretty bad." Naruto pointed out from the couch.
She sighed. "I'm going to clean up." She bit her lip then hurried into the tiny bathroom at the back of the small apartment. However, after only a moment, the bathroom was crowded with the other occupants of the apartment.
"Come on Princess, we can help." Naruto leaned against the doorframe.
Sakura held out a tiny jar of medicine with a smile. "That's what we're here for right?"
After a moment of surprise, and a reassuring smile from Lee, Ayako sat down on the closed toilet and Sakura went to work cleaning up the cut and preparing it for the medicine.
"Why did he hurt you?" Lee asked, leaning forwards to examine the recently cleaned wound more closely.
Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. This jerk is just asking for it."
"This was a warning, for leaving the village." She said quietly.
Haru took a nervous breath. "A warning?"
"Don't worry. What did you make for dinner?" She asked, trying to distract the boy from his own thoughts.
His eyes focused. "Soup, let me get you some. I had completely forgotten." He disappeared down the hall in a hurry.
"Are you sure you are okay?" Lee asked again.
Ayako met his gaze and nodded. "I'm fine. This should just be motivation to kick this guy's ass twice as hard as we initially planned."
Naruto laughed and pumped a fist in the air. "That's what I'm talking about Princess."
Sakura finished cleaning her cut and they left the bathroom. Ayako set them up places to sleep scattered across the floor and almost right away Sakura (who had taken the bed), Haru (who'd taken the couch after Ayako had convinced him he needed it more than her), and Naruto (who had sprawled out in a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor) had passed out. Ayako sat at the table, head resting on her hand, pushing the simple soup around her bowl. She had lost her appetite sometime between getting her cheek sliced open and motivating her new friends to stay strong and confident. She watched Lee carefully, who had insisted on staying up to see that she got to sleep alright.
"You don't have to do this you know." She said quietly. "You look exhausted Lee."
"Oh I am fine." He reassured her with a smile. "I promise you."
She let out a breathy laugh, leaning towards where he sat across the small table. "This is the second time you've lost sleep over me. Get some sleep for me, before I have to start worrying about you too." A small smile appeared on her lips as he looked taken aback. With a deep breath she stood and set her bowl in the sink, adding to the already present pile.
"Are you alright Princess? I will stand watch again. Do not worry."
She looked back at his smiling face and provided a weak one of her own. "Don't worry about it. Nothing will bother us here. You relax please." With another sigh she set them both places up to relax on the floor, with Ayako up against the couch. He hesitated then surrendered and sat down on the floor beside where she had lay down.
"Goodnight Lee." She mumbled into her pillow. "Promise me you'll get some sleep?"
"I promise Ayako."