Night...No, early morning. Humid. Camp, just outside of Kirigakure. The same tents, the same logs, the fire, attributed to Sasuke. A pan across the makeshift hearth sizzled with a few eggs atop. Breakfast. We ate quickly and packed up. All of us were eager for headway into Kirigakure.

We entered the town noiselessly...No inspection, no interruption. No real security, save a few burly hustlers stationed at doors here and there. The three of us were able to wander about the fair-sized crowds unburdened, though we did so more than a little aimlessly. But hey, we were all a little tired, and I figure a quick break before the action starts back up again can hardly hurt. So I allowed them to run amuck.

Sakura gazed about the cloth and flower stalls, window shopping delightfully. I watched her with humor as she circled a particular flower time and time again, seeking a good look from every thinkable angle. She would then pause and inhale deeply, obviously enjoying the voluptuous scent—her face seemed to melt in pleasure. And then it was back to the circling…

I looked around for Sasuke. Nothing at first, but slowly I noticed a mop of onyx hair floating just above a low wall in one of the various weapon shops. I moved slightly closer, and he became visible. He was eying the lethal displays surrounding him with a near-humorously false interest; I, however, could feel his eyes boring through the back of my skull whenever I turned away. He was still thinking about it, whatever it was. I grunted, wishing he'd get it over with.

So what do you think it is, then?

Hmm?, I thought, What do I think?

Yes, and don't give me any shit about how it doesn't bother you, either. I can see the malcontent in your chakra. It's bugging you, alright.

Okay, so it is a little troublesome. But I can't stop him from thinking, can I?

I suppose not; not unless you removed his head, anyways.

We've been over this; that's not an option.

Yes, well, back to the question: What do you think he's thinking?

Hmm…Perhaps he sees me as a rival with his relationship with Sakura?

What are you, stupid? He doesn't like her, and she doesn't like you.

Hey, it's getting better. She smiled at me yesterday, you saw it.

That's still bullshit.

Okay, so maybe it has something to do with me finally showing some of my…ahem…experience?

That would make a little more sense, but he was looking at you like that on the bridge a few days ago, remember? That was before you whooped all those sound nin.

Oh, yeah…Maybe—

"OI! Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, "We're gonna start looking for the Mizukage's office. You coming or what?"

I yanked myself away from my thoughts. Sasuke waved at me from the opposing end of the market. I blinked and was there. He started back, so nearly gasping that I could smell the malcontent on his breath.

I smiled.

"I'm coming, don't you worry."

I marched past him in silent victory, while he stood for a moment more, slightly stunned. He must have regained his composure within a few seconds, because I could hear the scraping of his calm walk moments after. Still, I rejoiced silently at his wonder.

Enjoying yourself?

Only a little.

--

We had been walking for nearly an hour, but the city just seemed to loop in and over itself, unending in its confusing alleys and back-ways. Before I knew what had occurred, I was reacquainted with the marketplace near the entrance. Sasuke was leading our little troupe, and I grunted before speaking, more than a little gruff:

"Sasuke, are you quite sure you know where you're going?"

"Huh? I—of course I do! Let me just—" He heaved a sigh and pulled a map from nowhere.

"Why are we going to the Mizukage, anyways? Just for protection?"

I eased out a breath.

"Yes, to a point; however, we mustn't forgo our objective. We never found our ambassador, so we might as well go right to the top for help."

"But won't we seem…"

"Cowardly? Hardly—we're a bunch of genin."

"No—just—troublesome…"

"Hey, it's their problem. They're the ones that fucked up with the ambassador. They're gonna have to deal with us directly now. I'm just surprised no-one's confronted us yet—we don't exactly fit it—"I motioned to my clothing, then opened my arms to include hers and Sasuke's—"And I got the feeling that this was kind of important."

"Like you said, we're just a bunch of genin; how important of a mission could we get?"

I burst out laughing, relying on a nearby wall for support. My hand landed on a wanted poster.

"That's a low blow, Sakura, no matter how true."

"Hey, I'm just—"

"Ahh! Here we are!"

Sasuke had finally made sense of the map.

"Her office is…that way!" He pointed gleefully, wearing the smile of a child who had just pleased his teacher with a complex equation scrawled on a blackboard.

Sakura smiled, and the two almost ran off. Myself, I was more occupied with the wanted poster. I had torn it from the filthy wall it had adorned; it rested in my shaking hands.

"…Naruto?" Sakura took a step towards me. I started by instinct and jammed the paper into my back pocket.

"Let's go." I leaped off, roughly following Sasuke's beckoning finger. Yet Sakura resisted my attempt to change the subject:

"Naruto, what was that? What's wrong?"

I dismissed her with a "Nothing," and continued on. She fell silent.

Wow…why was your face on that poster?

If only I knew…

-

"…But—"

"No buts! Return to Konoha at once. You are not welcome here."

The Mizukage sat on a festive cushion. A small table adorned with teacups and doilies lay in front of her. Her face was painted a chalky white and her lips were bolstered with bold red lipstick. Flowers danced fancily across her kimono, and her hair was held up in a traditional bun. She had a kind of plain, old-fashioned beauty about her, but her tone differed. We were on the opposition, a foreign bunch of kids who had-- apparently--invaded her city, marauded her market, hassled her villagers. Logic—or truth, for that matter—didn't seem to hold much sway right now.

"We did nothing." I spoke calmly, not giving up the cause.

"Leave…now. I'd hate to use force."

I pursed my lips, but her face showed me that her answer would not change. I turned my back and advanced on the door. I heard a ripping of paper, and she spoke one last time:

"I…"

"Hmm?" I turned to face her again, hoping an unexpected altering of thoughts.

And saw blood painted across her serene chalk face. A fat knife, coated in blood, protruded from her neck at a sickening angle. Her eyes vanished into the back of her head. Not that it mattered. She obviously wasn't seeing much of anything now.

A faint gasp escaped her lips as she collapsed to the side, revealing a tiny hole in the paper wall behind her. The knife's hole.

Sakura let out a shriek and Sasuke gasped. I turned to them, saw their panic stricken faces. We had two options.

Option 1: We could beat feet and hope that no-one would make the connection between us being the last there and her death, and hope things would be worked out in due time. This made enough sense, as we could easily make the claim that we perceived getting caught up in this whole mess as possibly mission-delaying, and that we merely sought to complete the job.

Option 2: Stay and hope to work things out the civil way, cooperating with Kirigakure's authorities to track the killers.

I heard a voice roaring in anger from behind me. I turned to a beefy man holding a fat log as though it were a weapon. Which it probably was.

"It's you wanted Konoha punks!" He seemed in enough of a fit of anger as it was. Then he noticed the Mizukage's body, sprawled across the floor in a puddle of blood. At first, his face fell and he became silent as death. Slowly, his hunched form began trembling.

"You…" There was a tingle of bloodlust in his eyes.

Well, that eliminated Option 2 well enough.

"Time to go!"

I shot forward and landed a foot on his head, using it as a platform. I bounded straight upwards and rammed a half-assed Rasengan into he ceiling. It broke through well enough and I vaulted up. I vanished into the distant forest with a leap. There I hid, amongst the insects and animals, waiting, hoping Sasuke and Sakura would know to follow. I sighed into the leaves surrounding me.

Well, at least now we're wanted for a reason.