Chapter Seven - Effervescent City
"Absolutely not!" Sakura, more than flabbergasted and less than amused, burst out. "We are not selling me!"
Tenzou couldn't say he hadn't expected such an answer, but, considering their situation and the items they carried, it was the only plausible thing he could think of.
After catching up to, and practically tackling the Inuzuka, the wood-manipulating jonin had insisted that they stay put for a bit and get their stories straight. It certainly wouldn't do to go barreling into Kumogakure and start spouting different lies.
"Just think about it for a min-"
"Hell no!" Kiba defended, for he, just as much as Sakura, didn't want her to be their merchandise. Though, he had to admit, he'd give every cent he had for her.
"Hey now, hey now," Tenzou tried to pacify the two shinobi before him. "First of all, we have no goods to sell."
"Then come up with a better disguise," Sakura ground out.
"Second of all," he continued, ignoring Sakura's interruption, "we would be able to screen the buyers. Say, that while we need the money, Kiba and I that is, we also don't want our dear sister-"
Kiba scoffed, "You're too old to be her brother."
"As I was saying, we don't want our dear sister to fall into the wrong person's hands."
"Who's going to fall for that?" Sakura squeaked, "It's not as if I'm some goddess! No one but filth would want to buy me and they don't even have the money!"
"Baka."
"Hey! Who's the baka, baka!" Sakura glowered at Kiba who had put his hands up in a form of placating the irritated kunoichi.
Tenzou sighed heavily, "Sakura, trust me on this, men will want to buy you. You're a pretty girl and they'd be only too happy to put you to some manual labor since you're in good physical shape."
"Yeah, and what about the pretty part," Kiba bit out, "they'll want to take advantage of that as well. Are you really going to put Sakura in that kind of situation?"
"No," Tenzou said, once again sighing, "I'm going to put a kunoichi, and a strong intelligent one at that, in that kind of situation."
Sakura felt the flush creeping up her neck and to her cheeks, despite the anger still fighting to get out. She thought it would feel great right about now to punch someone into oblivion, but, as it was, she wouldn't be able to do so without drawing attention to her little group.
"The main thing is," Tenzou continued, "you could get into the main quarters. See if you could find anything out from the inside while Kiba and I search on the outside. We will also work on trying to find a way into wherever they might be keeping Kakashi-senpai. Since we don't really know the layout of the village yet, we can't be certain if they'll have a headquarters for shinobi like Konoha or something else. We'll ascertain that when we get there. And that's when we'll start the rouse."
"I never agreed to this," Sakura blurted out.
"It's our best option though, Sakura. You understand, right? It's not as if I want to put you in this position, not as if I want to give you up."
Sakura could sense an underlying meaning in his words even without the defeated glance he cast in Kiba's direction. She felt somewhat bad now. Might she have been too harsh on him the other day? It's not as if she didn't still care for him, but there was something that had settled in her system, her heart that just wouldn't allow her to fly into his arms upon his 'confession.' Something that had messy dark hair, teeth far too sharp for a human, and crimson marks on cheeks that often got caught in smiles. Something that was staring at her at that very moment.
"It's up to you, Sakura. I can already say I don't care for it; I'd prefer to just charge in, grab Kakashi, and run, but, we don't really know where he's being kept. I don't-" Kiba cut himself off, not quite wanting to reveal himself in front of Sakura's former sensei.
Sakura groaned, brow furrowed as she stared at the mossy ground. Turning to the side and presenting them with her profile, she crossed her arms and harrumphed, "Fine."
"Do you always carry this much junk with you?" Sakura queried, cynical gaze on the various items Kiba was removing from his secondary pack. He had known it would come in handy the few days ago he'd been rushing to leave his house. The few days that now seemed so much longer than they really were.
"Well, yeah. It's just one extra pack and I always forget things when I'm getting ready for a mission."
Sakura jeered, "Is that because you always oversleep?"
Pouting at the kunoichi then giving a toothy grin, Kiba pulled a bag of dog treats from the bag.
"For you? Or Akamaru," Tenzou mocked, picking through his own things in search of something more suitable for a merchant. He hardly doubted Kumogakure would gladly open its doors to a man wearing a vest with one of Konoha's recognized symbols on it, let alone the medal plate on his headgear.
"Why not just sell this stuff?" Sakura huffed, gesturing to the objects from Kiba's bag.
Tenzou replied rather stoically, "No one would want to buy those, unfortunately."
It was simple enough for Kiba and Tenzou to find the necessary articles of clothing. Kiba kept his cropped black pants on as they were rather plain, but he traded out his dark green vest and black jacket for a loosely fitted dark tan shirt. Even though the outfit was very simple for the very canine-like man, Sakura liked the way the lighter color of the shirt contrasted with the deep crimson of his markings. Not too mention that, while it was hidden by the baggy overshirt, he still wore the usual black mesh shirt underneath.
While Kiba kept his appearance simple, it seemed Tenzou had been a little more prepared for the occasion. If Sakura didn't know better, she'd say he'd been planning it.
He had donned a dark navy hakama and a nearly matching blue happi. She raised a brow at that, curious as to the crest customary of a happi. Honestly, did he think it wouldn't give them away having some family or village crest? She was a little surprised when he finally presented his back to her for viewing. A small cherry blossom crest was woven into the fabric of the happi directly between his shoulder blades.
She was openly staring when Tenzou turned back around.
"Yes?" he said.
"What's with the outfit? I thought we were just going to be merchants!"
"Yes, but, if we intend to draw in higher class buyers we best look respectable." He gave Kiba an annoyed glance then. "Not really what I had in mind, but I can just say you're harder to sell."
Kiba, to Sakura's amazement, actually laughed at the comment. "It's not like I carry such pretty-boy clothes with me on a mission."
Ignoring the remark, Tenzou's gaze flicked once more to Sakura. "Why haven't you changed yet?"
The kunoichi's lips parted slightly, an obviously embarrassed look falling into place. "Well, the thing is, I-I don't really have anything like that to wear."
"Hmm, that won't do," Tenzou mused, index finger tapping against his chin. "You have a cloak?"
"Well, yeah."
"Put it on for now," he ordered, continuing even as she tugged the shapeless bland cloak from her pack. "When we get to the village we'll have to buy you something to wear. And, I shouldn't need to tell either of you this, but just in case, make sure you conceal your chakra. We don't need our cover blown by the first shinobi we run into."
"You think we're idiots?" Kiba griped, anger evident in his voice. He didn't get a response which only further aggravated him.
"And you've both got the full story, correct? We lived in Rice Field Country with our family who were wealthy merchants but-"
"But then we were attacked by some rogue shinobi from Otogakure who took everything of value. We were the only survivors and we fled our home and wandered from small village to small village until my brilliant brother decided it would be better if I were sold off," Sakura, in a cheery, though unmistakably false voice, took over. "Being that you're a good brother, you couldn't sell me to just anyone, thus why I'm still with you two. You're trying to sell off your brother, Kiba as well, but so far no one has wanted him."
Except me, Sakura informed herself mentally.
"And, while in the last village, we heard Kumogakure wasn't too horribly far away. You figured a larger village would be just the place to get rid of her. Not too mention our dear sister would be much safer in a shinobi village," Kiba spat out.
"Alright, alright, I get it; you two know the story," Tenzou laughed slightly despite himself.
"Well," Sakura suggested, "let's not linger here any longer. I wonder if Kumogakure have ANBU patrols like Konoha," she added, mostly to herself though both men heard her as well and suddenly found themselves on alert.
"As pointless as it may seem, now would be the best time to mask our chakra. We'll just have to continue on foot as citizens."
Sakura audibly moaned, while Kiba was tempted to use his chakra anyways. However, they both knew better and drew their chakra inwards, directly to their cores and concealed it, making them, to a trained eye, appear to be normal citizens; citizens who, while still needing chakra to live, hadn't the ability to use it. Except for Kiba who looked quite strange, nose stuck high into the air catching the scents of a large village on each breeze. The smell of a market, fresh and spoiled goods alike permeated his senses, while less than pleasant aromas from regular human wastes also trailed on the wind.
"We're pretty close now. Just a couple miles maybe," he informed his two companions.
"More like two and a half miles, Kiba," Akamaru said from behind him, having appeared from nowhere.
"And just where have you been all night?" Kiba demanded, looking towards the slowly lightening horizon of dark blues and purples and streaks of pale pink. Pale pink that reminded him of Sakura's hair in some ways; she had so many shades in her hair, from deep coral to near-white.
Akamaru laughed, "You're thinking about her-"
"Shut up!" Kiba snapped, already clamping his hands around the dog's large muzzle.
Sakura giggled slightly, one hand covering her mouth and the other patting her outer thigh in invitation. Akamaru easily divulged himself of his somewhat quick-tempered 'owner' and padded over to the kunoichi's side where he was greeted with rough scratches through his thick off-white fur.
"Where have you been all night, hmm?" she questioned, smiling all the while.
"I went on ahead. Scouted the village a bit."
Eyes wide, Sakura gasped, "And what did you find?"
"I think you all will be in for a bit of a surprise when you see the village. It's much different compared to Konoha."
"How so?" Kiba popped in, falling instep with the girl and dog.
"Well," Akamaru started, "I think… you should both see for yourselves."
The two shinobi audibly moaned. Glancing back, Tenzou couldn't help but be a bit curious himself. Oddly enough, even in all his years as an ANBU member, he'd never been sent on a mission to Kumogakure. It was said, though, that the village was a place that constantly shifted positions. Never once had Konoha shinobi found it in the same place as before. A team would be sent to the hidden village only to find that the last coordinates recorded were no longer correct. Now, how could an entire village just up and move? Did they live in makeshift buildings and just abandon them or pack up? All in order to keep the village hidden? It seemed an odd thing to be so adamant about, but, Tenzou supposed there could be some benefits to it. He had to wonder how the location they'd been giving by the Godaime had even been correct this time at all.
"Oi, why can't you just tell us?" Kiba's voice cut into Tenzou's musings rather obnoxiously.
As usual, the older jonin thought, rolling his eyes skyward.
"Because, it's something better seen than explained," the not-so-pup grumbled.
Sakura sighed, before perking up and walking a little bit faster.
"Hey! Why are you speeding up?" Kiba bickered.
"Well… I want to see what's so special about Kumogakure!"
"You mean you want to see how special the place is that is holding Kakashi hostage?"
Akamaru's heavy paw landed soundly on Kiba's foot even as Sakura grimaced.
"I-uh- I guess I see your point," she uttered quietly, pace slowing again.
Shaking his foot, now throbbing in pain, Kiba had to admit that, however much it hurt, he had deserved it. Why had he said something like that? He felt like an idiot; he should have known better than to mention such a thing to the girl. It was bad enough she was going to have to go undercover and act like a friend to the higher-ups of Kumogakure, the same people who might be directly or indirectly responsible for Kakashi's capture. Or worse. But Kiba didn't want to think about such things. He didn't want to see Sakura in any pain.
The group trod silently through the trees that were growing sparser as they neared Kumogakure, each pondering their own thoughts. All envisioning what might lie ahead.
"It's not much farther," Akamaru commented, the only one with enough nerve to break the silence that stretched like a taut wire between the three shinobi. "Half a mile at the most."
"Eh?" Sakura squeaked out, her gaze, which had intently been watching her feet, now popped up, staring first at Tenzou's back and then the taiga beyond which gradually turned to a mountainous area, full of sloping cliffs and jagged peaks. Not for the first time in Lightning Country she ogled the landscape, appreciating its simplistic beauty. She admired the trees, knowing they had to have amazing strength despite the obviously malnourished soil; she even loved the downward growth of the tree limbs, knowing that such angles helped the trees shed snow during the winter seasons. The foggy mist hung low in the air, covering everything in a mysterious blanket.
She could almost compare a shinobi to the land; strong in the most unfavorable situations and able to create a mist about themselves, whether by way of words or by the use of ninjutsu. She would have to be like this land in the time to come. She'd have to play the part she was given. It wouldn't be her first covert mission, but most likely her most challenging. Before, she'd only been playing a part to get some information about documents, treaties, and the likes. This time, well, this time was completely different. Kakashi's life could depend on her abilities. She would not fail him.
"Come on now, Sakura," Akamaru said gruffly, though his voice also held some softness, "Kakashi is a shinobi, and a tough one at that. I'm sure he's fine. Kiba's just an idiot; you shouldn't listen to him anyways."
"Hey! That's no-" Kiba started, before hearing Sakura stifle a small laugh and realizing, that, while Akamaru might have been somewhat serious, his ultimate goal had been to make her smile. And if a jibe towards him was what it took, then he was fine with it.
He would have liked to have kept watching the small smile playing on Sakura's lips, but the scents coming from the village were growing much stronger, and he was even starting to pick up resounding noises of voices chattering and the clanking of everyday work. He couldn't understand it though. They should have had some view of the village by now what with the lack of trees and such.
To one side of them was an open field of moss-covered dirt and a fir or scraggly bush here or there, to their right was a rocky cliff side. It had started out as a small rocky outcrop, but as they'd moved on, it had showed itself to be a much larger form. The rock was of a slate gray, though its years showed through weathered spots of a lighter color and lichen clung to every nook and cranny possible. It had steeply inclined sides, which is how the expansiveness of such a formation had snuck up on them so quickly.
Oddly enough, Kiba realized the smells were coming from the rocks themselves.
No, that's not right, he told himself. They are coming from around the rocks.
"The village is on the other side!"
"Yes," Akamaru grinned in his doggish way, "the village is built into the rock's side. The only way to get to it is to go up and over, then down the bluff."
"Eh?" Sakura, a confused expression on her face, said. "That doesn't make much sense. How do the villagers get in and out?"
"Maybe they don't?" Tenzou said quietly.
"What? That's silly. How do they get food? Water? Traders? Better yet, how the hell are we going to get in as merchants if we can't even do so without our chakra?" The kunoichi blurted out all at once.
"Good question," replied Tenzou matter-of-factly.
"I've got an idea," Kiba finally uttered after several moments of tense silence.
"Are you sure?" Sakura frowned as they peered over the edge of the cliff, where they now stood. "It's awfully far down. And you won't be using your chakra."
"It'll be fine, Sakura. I'm pretty sure I have the most upper strength out of all of us; no offense, Tenzou, but, Gatsuga requires a lot of physical power. Not sure about any of your techniques." Raising a brow at the younger man's words, Tenzou just let it go. He really had no desire to climb down a mountainside sans chakra anyways.
"Akamaru, you stay here, too." The dog rolled his eyes, before plopping comfortably on the ground.
He started down without another word, fingers and feet digging into any niche he could find. It was fairly easy for him. He was in excellent shape and could climb trees quicker than anyone without the aid of his chakra.
Up above, still on level ground, Sakura fidgeted, fingers plucking at the smallest speck of fuzz on her black shorts.
"You really think this is okay? I mean, what's he going to say when he gets down there? 'Hey, I have some friends up above, would you mind getting them too?' What if they attack him before he even gets to the village? What-"
"Sakura," he placated, hand resting on her shoulder as he sat beside her, even as she started to run her hands through Akamaru's fur, "I'm sure he'll be fine. And if it comes down to it, he could always use his chakra; if that happens, you'll know, right? You can sense anyone's chakra for miles. We'll help him if it happens."
Peering up through her eyelashes and the shorter strands of hair that had fallen lose of her ponytail, Sakura gave Tenzou a grateful smile.
"Thank you," she said simply, before resuming her ministrations on Akamaru.
"Who are you?" Kiba heard a feminine voice shout up at him. He was probably only thirty feet or so away from the village's foundation. Aiming to turn and shout down his answer, he was taken aback as the unfamiliar baggy shirt caught on a particularly sharp rock, and even more so when due to the snag, he lost his footing and grip and fell away from the cliff's side.
"Shit," he cursed, readying himself to use his chakra and hopefully latch back onto the rocks or land without much impact. His intentions were halted when he instead, was caught about the waist by steady arms.
"That's not very safe," the now distinctly female voice said into his ear. "Nor is it very wise. Did you think no one would notice you trying to sneak into the village?"
"Wh- wait, that's not it at all. My fr- my family is up above. We were hoping to do some trading here and such. We have no intentions of sneaking into your village. But, only my sister and older brother and our dog are up there. I couldn't let one of them climb down here. I came to ask for permission and a little bit of help," he finished as he was dropped unceremoniously on the ground.
"We don't usually have visitors," the unknown woman said callously, staring at her fingernails. Brushing the dirt from his clothes, he stood up.
He definitely wouldn't call this woman unattractive, but, she didn't capture him like Sakura did. Her hair was a deep auburn, face slightly thin, but with high cheekbones and a straight nose. She was tall. Taller than himself even, he hated to admit, though it was only by an inch or two. What surprised him the most though were the markings much like his own on her face. They were smaller, more like slashes of dark blue under her eyes, three of them in the same pattern as his own.
She cocked a brow as she got a better look at him. "What's with the markings? Only shinobi have those kinds of markings here. Are you a shinobi? You are trying to sneak in here aren't you?"
"What? No!" Kiba snapped. Damn her, he growled in his mind. "Actually, I don't really know how I got them. My parent's never told me before they died." He hated the way the woman's eyes softened at his words, but at least it seemed like she believed him for now.
"Alright then, what's this about your family above? You want to stay here? I'd have to talk to Raikage-sama first. But, I suppose we can at least get them down here first, that way if he requests a council with you, you'll all be available immediately. Raikage-sama does not like waiting."
"Um, alright."
"Just stay here," she commanded. "If you move, I'll kill you." And with that she was racing up the rocky incline that he'd worked so hard to come down chakra-less.
Needless to say, Sakura, Tenzou, and Akamaru were on guard as the kunoichi bounded over the steep wall's lip.
"Oi!" she snapped, "You're buddy's down there. He said you all needed some help down. So, who's first?"
Without waiting for an answer she grabbed Sakura up and flung herself and her captive over the edge. When all of them were at the bottom, the woman instructed them to follow her after hearing their full story excluding what exactly they were selling.
The Kumogakure woman shoved them into the arms of several armed shinobi before telling them to be good while she spoke with the Raikage.
She returned shortly, face much more relaxed than before.
"He says its fine since it's unlikely that you're shinobi. And if you are, we'll kill you." Kiba was starting to notice a trend with her threats and it made him want to laugh. However, he refrained. He'd rather not waste all their effort with a measly laugh.
"Anyways, out you go," she called even as she ushered them out the towering building's entrance. "Market is that a' way," she added, pointing down the stone road to the left. And remember. Do something bad and I'll kill you… personally."
"Well," Sakura giggled after the door was shut and the woman was out of earshot, "guess we shouldn't do anything wrong. Or she'll kill us."
The two seemingly civilian men grinned at the seemingly civilian Sakura. Akamaru barked.
"Seems like as good a time as ever to get you some clothes, Sakura," Tenzou suggested.
"Ooo," she cooed, "sounds wonderful."
Oh? What's this? A sort of regular update? haha... I've amazed myself this time with how quick it got done... and I'm already progressing on the next chapter fairly well, too. Eesh, I'm on a weird kick. I've even got Chakra Block, Again I Ask, and others pulled up (8 total, haha) that I'm working on. And, I actually really liked this chapter despite the lack of action between Kiba and Sakura (don't worry though, it's coming :D) so, I hope you all enjoy it too. And thanks for putting up with my oddly spaced updates, haha. On a side note - oh noes! an OC? sort of?
Beta'd by the lurvly Shanny Chan. Go read her stuff -- I demand it, haha. Her crack bunny tales are to die for XD