Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto.
This chapter is longer than the previous ones hahaha Treat it as a gift for all those who favorited, followed and reviewed! I read all your reviews and would like to thank all of you for the support! I would place notes on the last part of this story to help you follow on everything. Thank you again and may the good Lord shower all of you with blessings!
Chapter Five
POWER STRUGGLE
"Are you sure about this?" Jiro directed that question to the pink-haired kuniochi. The one-time costumer, or so he thought, was now proposing to stay much longer than they had expected. He didn't know what was happening but he couldn't help but feel glad that they now had a skilled medical ninja on their side.
On the other hand, Sakura was quite alright with Jiro not minding her staying there for a while. And she was more than happy that he didn't ask why. Because if he did she couldn't lie to him and say that it was out of good will because more than anything else it was of guilt. This was no longer their war, it was also hers. Seven days ago her past had come again to dig up old wounds and run-down memories. Now she felt obliged to stay, to try to fix what she could fix. She had sent back Kishi to help back in their village while she stayed here to help. She trusted her students enough to know that their village was in good hands.
Sakura stared at the people busy trying to mend broken houses and salvage what could still be of use. She had come here to get some herbs for an unknown disease that had hit their village and now here she was, facing another kind of battle.
With who? she wondered.
Sasuke. The past. Her conscience. She did not know. All she knew was that these people were suffering because of an irreparable damage they had done to a man that neither time nor friendship could mend.
"What are you doing there by yourself?" she looked to see Aiko handing out a glass of water for her. She smiled, taking it and thanking him. He sat beside her and sighed.
"I really appreciate your help. I really do." Aiko said, looking at her with a worried face. Sakura looked with uncertainty. For the past few days, Aiko had been okay with her staying, but now he didn't sound too happy. She was about to ask what was wrong when he stopped her with a gesture. Sakura followed his hand and found a couple of eyes staring at her.
"But you really are distracting the men!" Aiko exclaimed hysterically, making Sakura blush. She had decided to take off her hood but kept her forehead protector hidden in case men from the capital came.
I didn't know the color of my hair could be such a distraction, she silently thought, absentmindedly tugging on her hair.
Aiko noticed the gesture and raised an eyebrow; the girl completely missed the point.
"Aiko-sama, we have come as ordered," Chiro said. Aiko nodded and excused himself. They both strolled towards the headquarters intent for a private talk. They didn't notice their guest's intense stare after them.
"We've found a base near here. It seemed like they camped instead of proceeding to the capital. Most of them had injuries." Chiro informed Aiko. He had gone under a mission to track down the ninjas that had gotten the letters. Fortunately, one of their trackers had noted the signature chakra of one of the attackers and was able to lead them to the camp.
"Get the men prepared. We are going to take back those letters."
Nodding at the command of his master, Chiro stood up and bowed. Aiko acknowledged Chiro and stood up too, preparing to leave. Chiro opened the door only to find Sakura standing there with a determined gaze in her emerald eyes.
Sakura looked at the men intent on knowing what they were up to. Closing her eyes, she pumped up her chakra and focused them around her ears. She had learned the technique during a spy mission. It helped sharpen the sense of hearing.
"We've found a base near here. It seemed like they camped instead of proceeding to the capital. Most of them had injuries." She heard a slightly high-pitched voice say.
It was Chiro talking. She had gotten to know the guy because of their little conversations whenever he helped her find her way through the little town. He sometimes reminded her of Shikamaru, detached but friendly.
"Get the men prepared. We are going to take back those letters."
Letters.
She had remembered Aiko telling her about that. Those were the letters that their other comrades had sent. Those were the people that sent them artilleries and information on the movements in the capital. It also contained reports on the progress of the camps, names of the leaders and spies. The letters were written in codes but knowing the minds that ran in the capital, Aiko had said, it wasn't long until they would crack the code and start hunting everyone down.
She heard the scuffling sound of boots as a pair of feet got in contact with the ground. She stood up and went to the door. She knew what to do. Emerald eyes watched expectantly as the doorknob twisted.
"I want to go with you."
Aiko looked at the kunoichi in front of him momentarily, before he walked past her.
"You can't."
"I will go with you. I'm a medical ninja after all."
"What part of- you can't- don't you understand?"
"Everything!" Sakura said, exasperated. It felt like she was arguing with her dad.
"Look here," she started, "You would be a fool if you did not bring any medical ninjas with you. In fact it's suicide."
Chiro looked at Aiko and scratched his temple. "She's got a point Aiko-sama," he said meekly.
"Do you understand the implication of what you're telling me?" Aiko stepped forward and grabbed Sakura's arm. She gasped at the force. Reaching out with his left arm he shoved Sakura's sleeves upward revealing her village head protector.
"How did you know?" Sakura asked, alarmed.
"I'm not a captain for nothing. And if you feel responsible for everything that's going on, don't be. It's not your fault that you go in the same village as the man."
"Did he tell you that?"
"Do you think he did?" Sakura stopped but eventually shook her head. Sasuke wasn't the kind that reminisced of past memories.
"I got him checked. It isn't that hard to gouge out information from Sound ninjas, "Aiko snorted.
Sakura nodded. The Sound Ninjas were the followers of Orochimaru: bad habits were contagious.
"If you knew, then why?" Sakura asked.
Aiko smiled bitterly at the kunoichi. "The promise of power has a weird way of convincing people."
Pausing, she quickly thought up a way to convince her non-too-cooperative companion.
"If that is so," she bent down and picked up a pebble. Aiko looked questioningly at her as she tossed it twice in the air.
"What are you trying to do?" he raised his eyebrows as she pulled back her right arm with the pebble in hand.
"Trying to convince you."
The pebble flew past Aiko's head missing his left cheek by a couple of centimeters and collided with the tree a few feet from him. He ducked as bits of bark came flying from all directions. He turned around to see a perfect hole in the tree's bark.
"How did you-"he gaped at the delicate girl before him.
"You should see what she does with a finger or a fist," Kiro said seeing the spectacle, smiling sheepishly.
He got to stop misjudging people.
Sakura smiled at the surprised look in Aiko's face. Pulling out a handkerchief she gave it to Aiko, who looked oddly at the white cloth.
Sakura pointed at his left cheek, he followed it with a hand.
"Your cheek is bleeding."
The troop stopped to rest in a clearing. They had been travelling as quietly as possible, pumping chakra into their feet to become faster. Intelligence had told them that more ninjas were sent to the camp to aid the injured ones and to keep an eye out.
Aiko sat on a fallen log. He was discussing their strategic plan with the others.
"The enemies' camp is nearby. As we all know, we're here to retrieve the letters. And as far as I want us to not engage in a full out battle against them, it's hardly plausible."
Everyone nodded except for Sakura and her two students: Meijing and Kiro. They knew the men from the capital very well. They all grew up under the basic instruction that when a battle came, trying was not an option. It was all or nothing.
"We'll first distract them with clones carrying smoke grenades. They'll either attack based on sound or jump up to evade the smoke. We'll get them there, while their busy. Chiro and his tracking team would stay here, communicating with us through these earpieces. He'll be our eyes."
Sakura had found out that Chiro had the same ability as Sai and Deidara. He could make animals with paper but the difference was, he could hear and see with them.
"They're purely for intelligence. I never let them fight my battles." Chiro once had said.
"-The capital picked up Chiro's signature during the battle. They'll sense him if he tries to go near," Aiko finally said, answering everyone's questions and dismissed them.
Men were assigned as a watch out while they waited for night to come.
"What are you doing here, Sakura-hime?" Chiro said with a smile. He had insisted in calling Sakura as a princess, saying that she looked the part. He sat beside Sakura who only laughed.
"You should stop calling me that or I might start believing it," Sakura said gently punching Chiro's arm. He really did remind her of Shikamaru: a drunk Shikamaru. She unconsciously let out a laugh when she remembered the time Shikamaru had gotten drunk and flirted with a shock-stricken Ino.
"I'm starting to rethink the princess title. What do you think of the 'Crazy Girl'? Fits you?" He said mischievously. Sakura was about to retort when a young man sporting a long brown hair approached them with a blank look plastered on his face.
"Chiro, Aiko-sama gives this to you." Chiro accepted it and thanked him with a smile. The boy turned away without a word. Sakura followed his back and turned to Chiro when he was out of earshot.
"Isn't he part of your team? Why doesn't he use any honorific on you?" Sakura asked. She had never seen or talked with the boy.
"Chen, doesn't like me," Chiro said with a sigh.
"What'd you do?" Sakura paused and gasped, putting a hand to her mouth as if she had just realized something. "You couldn't!.. could you?"
Chiro looked confused. "What?"
Sakura pointed an accusing finger at him, "You hit on him, didn't you?"
"Ha…ha…Funny . 'Crazy Girl'"
Kiro noticed some of the men preparing everything for the attack. He greeted them with a hello, and approached them. The men were placing explosives on their packs.
"What are those?" Kiro questioned, pointing at the small explosives.
"Smoke grenades lad. Haven't you seen them 'round your village?"
Kiro shook his head. "Our fighting style is different from yours."
"Oh." The man smiled but slowly it turned to a frown. He raised his head and started to sniff the air like a dog. "You smell that?"
Kiro sniffed the air detecting a smokey smell but it was faint enough to be ignored. The man turned to his bag and looked at each of the grenades. After he inspected the third one he exclaimed triumphantly and got rid of it.
"The pin was slightly off. We'll get rid of this before it explodes here."
The former captain looked up into the dimming skyline. The warm air had turned cold, sending chills down his spine. But he wondered if it was really the air that caused such a reaction in him.
Minutes from now they would be engaging the enemy. This was all or nothing. If they failed to retrieve the letters everything that they had worked hard for would all come crashing down. The uprisings would stop and no amount of money or hard work would mend the trust that he had broken by leading the enemy to his companions.
He had underestimated the Uchiha's cunning ways and now, he was paying for it.
"Captain."
Aiko broke from his reverie and looked up to see dark eyes staring wearily at him.
"Chen, what's wrong?"
"I-I," he stuttered.
"What's wrong?" he said more serious now. The young man usually kept his cool. He was one of those indifferent ninjas. Aiko could see the beads of sweat forming on the young man's forehead.
"I-" he was cut off when Chiro suddenly walked up.
"Captain, everyone's ready."
Aiko nodded and turned back to continue his conversation with Chen but he was no longer there.
Sakura looked around the vicinity. A couple of miles away from them Aiko's men had positioned themselves for the ambush but Sakura's team had stayed behind. Medic ninjas weren't supposed to fight in the front lines. And Aiko had specifically told her to stay away from the battle in case one of the enemies spotted her or any of her team.
Great, just great.
Sakura gritted her teeth.
Ugh, I haven't even punched anything since I've arrived here!
Her strength was going to deteriorate without much use. She rubbed her temples trying to suppress resurfacing habits.
She wasn't the same hot headed teenager that she once was. She's a head medic-nin now for Kami's sake!
…All she can do now is wait.
Patience, Sakura, patience.
Sakura heard the signal sound just as a hand grabbed her from behind.
A loud bang was heard before the whole camp was covered by a cloud of smoke. As Aiko had predicted some of the Grass-nins jumped up to get out of the suffocating gas.
Got you. Aiko smirked as he threw multiple kunais at the flightless birds. He hit one ninja right in the chest area. He dropped dead on the floor with a thud. He could see the blood ooze from the kunai jotting out.
It was red.
"Aiko-sama I can make anything, that your former daimyo had promised, a possibility. Prosperity, peace, …power," He looked at Aiko, emphasizing the last word. The young man's eyes swirled a brilliant red, the color of the power that flowed through his veins.
"What do you want in return?" Aiko asked. Not because he didn't know. He just wanted to hear it directly from the man.
The Uchiha smiled. The bait had taken its bite and slowly he pulled at the string.
"Your loyalty."
Sally looked at the bloody mess they had caused on the camp. They had ambushed them at night. Bodies were laying lifeless on the ground totaling to twelve. He scrunched his nose.
He detested the smell of death.
Stepping back, he went to his father. His father Jiro, was helping the others look for the letters.
"Dad, have you found anything?" he peered from his father's shoulder as the old man ransacked one of the tents in an attempt to find the said letters.
"Go look for it Sally! Stop standing around there." He said shooing his son away. Sally was going to whine but thought back on it once he saw that the others had joined in the search. Sally turned back and lifted the cover of the entrance to the tent. Dull blue eyes looked for any possible hiding place for the letters.
"Sally."
Sally looked at the figure in the name of Vishna. She pointed at his arm with a frown.
"Get that gash healed. It looks disgusting," she said and walked away. Sally looked at the gash that revealed damaged tissues. It did look a tad bit disturbing.
So he searched again, this time not for the letters but for a beautiful pink-haired kunoichi .
I can't find them here. It's safe already, so why aren't they here? , he thought quietly to himself.
"I found it!"
Everyone turned to look. It was Aiko, triumphantly holding a bundle of papers in his hands. He ran to their captain to get a closer look and noticed that they were all out of their respective envelopes. He must have looked quite fearful for Aiko to assure him hurriedly.
"They never had time to decode it," he said causing Sally's erratic heartbeat to go back to its initial pulse rate.
"Okay! We've got what we've been looking for. Get whatever material or weapon you can find and then we'll start heading back to the camp!"
True enough, the men took as much as they could from the destroyed camp of the capital men, including weapons, medical kits and some things that could be sold for a good price. Jiro was grinning from ear to ear, patting his tall and buffy son on his back.
"We got 'em good Sally."
Sally turned to smile back at his father. But as he turned his head, the waft of smoke caught his nose.
"What happened?" his father grew pale.
Sally looked and looked. Possible situations were racing through his mind of why their camp had been pulverized to the ground and comrades lay on the ground as lifeless as the men from the capital. His hands grew slack on his sides.
No tent stayed on its place. Everything was scorched to the ground. The smell of smoke still lingered on the air. All the trackers from their team were there, unmoving. They all looked like they were in agony, as if they carried a dreadful secret to the grave.
"Captain, there's one who's still moving!"
They ran to the injured man, he had a deep wound on his side caused by a shuriken.
"It's Chiro." Sally called out his name, as if the man would drift to sleep anytime. Chiro slowly opened his eyes, a little dazed.
"Aid him!"
Aiko paced back and forth. A few feet from him Chiro lay after being treated by one of his men. Sakura's team was nowhere to be found. His feet faltered when he heard the man move. He scurried to the man, ushering him to stay still. Chiro was like a son to him.
"Captain, I'm fine." He weakly smiled.
"Chiro, what happened?" The said man was taken aback as if he dreaded the question. His eyes wandered, looking for a way out. Aiko reached out and held him by the shoulder.
"Tell me." Aiko said. It was a command.
Chiro opened his mouth and answered. "We were attacked….. by other Grass-nins."
"That's impossible they didn't know-" he stopped, he felt something at the pit of his stomach.
"Who was it?"
Aiko saw Chiro's fist clench.
"It was Chen."
"Chen."
"Sakura-chan, please help me."
So far you have met:
Sakura: currently 26 years old
Kishi: female assistant of Sakura (20)
Meijing: female brunette medic-student (20)
Kiro: male medic-student(21)
Jiro: Herbalist, father to Sally, and knows basic first aid
Sally: Son of Jiro, knows basic first aid, has dull blue eyes
Chiro: Has power similar to Sai, Part of the Intel and a tracker
Chen: has long brown-hair and dark eyes, stoic