Hello, folks! Here's the next chapter. it's unusually shorter so: Gomen'nasai! Hope you like it and I'd love to receive your feedback. Have a nice evening (or day depending on your current time xD)
PS. I do not own "Naruto", it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Hard to remember, and hard to forget
The shadow that hangs over me.
Take me home, to a house on a hill, in oblivion
And take away the shadow over me...
"House on a Hill" by Kamelot
"Can't we just get the photo?", Sasuke rubbed his temples tiredly, "I can sneak in if you don't want to..."
"This is out of the question!", Sakura dropped the pencil over the piece of paper in front of her. Her inability to recreate the image in her mind on the blank page pissed her off. How hard a house drawing could be? "We can't risk them finding out about the missing photo because I was the last one alone in the library aside from the staff. Yuko's not stupid. He'll connect the dots."
"Ok. Ok. Fine.", Sasuke grabbed the pencil and a clean sheet, "You talk, I draw."
The kunoichi closed her eyes re-imagining the photo, "One storey cottage, wooden; with two windows on the front side, right from the front door.", a slight scratches filled the air as the Uchiha slid the pencil over the paper, "There was a huge pine-tree on the left. It seemed as if the cottage was on a hill or something.", Sakura sighed shaking her head nervously, "I can't recall anything important that caught my attention."
The Uchiha made few additional scratches, "Do you remember where the light came from?"
"Front, I think. Why?"
"It means the house has easterly or westerly exposure, depending on the time of taking the photo.", he explained and turned the sheet around so the girl could see it, "Anything similar to the cottage you saw on the picture?"
Sakura's eyes widened, there was a perfectly drawn wooden house. Even the pattern of the wood that the laths were made of was visible, with every other small detail – door handle, glass reflections and shadows, pines near the house and their furrowed bark, "It's the same! Almost the same... I didn't know you could draw?! What can't you do?"
"Well, I can't sing...", the Uchiha smirked.
"How amusing...", Sakura reached to look closer at the picture. She knitted her brows, now that she was staring at it, it reminded her of something. She shook her head with puzzled look, "No it can't be..."
"What?"
"Look.", the kunoichi showed him the drawing, "Don't you find it familiar?"
Sasuke glared at the image, it was indeed kind of familiar, "When I arrived here the first time, Yuko's father told me that there was unused cottage I could move in to. They renovated it before I could see it.", the dark-haired boy eased back on the couch, "How convenient. They let me, a shinobi, to use the old house of their deceased researcher, unknowingly protecting her studies and examinations."
"So you do think this is the same cottage as the one in the photo?", Sakura pointed down to the floor.
"Most definitely. There are no other cottages like that in the area out of the main village.", the shinobi nodded, "Where do you think she was keeping her research?"
"For tests like hers, it would be needed an equipment, space to hide her specimens and conduct the actual experiments.", Sakura bit her lower lip thinking.
"So, we're looking for a laboratory?"
"Exactly."
Both of them shared a look and jumped on their feet, running to the front door. Once they were at the back yard, Sakura pointed at the penthouse, "Have you ever run out of wood?"
"No, I was daily restoring the burnt during the night."
The medic smirked and walked to the shelter, "You see the small corner that forms from our bedroom and the rest of the house?", the girl overturned the stored wood, "The bedroom isn't larger than the other part of the cottage. It means that there's something hidden behind those laths."
"But it's too tiny in there. What's the square surface? 2 by 1? Too tiny for a lab, don't you think?", Sasuke slid his hand over the wooden wall.
"It would be enough for a man to slip in, right?", Sakura knocked on few places and rolled her sleeve, "Move back.", she warned the boy standing next to her. Sasuke made a step away, observing how his female ex-teammate punched the wall, destroying the laths into small splinters.
The Uchiha covered his mouth and coughed. Once the dust from the shattered laths cleared, he noticed a small trap-door on the floor with a round handle. The shinobi drew closer, gently pushing away Sakura from his way, "Allow me." He kneeled and lifted it open, revealing a dark hole. His eyes met Sakura's, "Is it safe to go inside? We can't know what was kept there for so many years?"
"Her diary wasn't finished as if she was interrupted by something. I can assume that some of her experiments were still on going processes at that time.", Sakura grabbed a piece of wood and pointed it at Sasuke, "Light it up, please."
The Uchiha knitted his brows annoyed, "I'm not some kind of lighter, you know."
"Your fire jutsus are better than mine.", Sakura waved the wood in front of his face.
"You have Katon techniques?"
"Don't be petty.", the kunoichi averted her head with a h'm.
Sasuke snatched the wood from her hand and glared at her irritated. He made a handseal and soon the stick was burning with warm, cosy flames.
"Drop it inside.", Sakura ordered, peeking over his shoulder.
Sasuke let a deep sighed, trying to calm down, and dropped the burning wood in the hole. The stick lit up its way to the bottom and after a small thump they could see it flaring on a cement floor. The kunoichi kneeled next to the hole and examined the edge of the passage.
"Hey, check this out.", her fingers slid over the furrowed surface, "Something had been attached here."
"A ladder?", Sasuke looked at her.
"Most likely.", Sakura leaned over the hole, "How deep do you think it is?"
"Four, maybe five meters?"
"She would have definitely needed a ladder.", Sakura stood up and cracked her knuckles, "On the other hand, we don't." The kunoichi pushed him aside and jumped in the hole.
Sasuke widened his eyes and reached to stop her but it was too late, Sakura was already inside. The Uchiha jumped in as well, not waiting to hear from her if it was safe to go in. When he landed he noticed her observing something on the side wall. "That jump was unusually hasty of you..."
"Mmmm?", she turned around and looked at him, with the burning wood in her hand, lighting up her surroundings.
"Nothing.", Sasuke sighed and went to her, "What's this?"
"Some kind of mechanism. It's probably for the lights but I'm not sure which button is the correct one.", Sakura touched lightly the two red buttons and made a step back, averting her eyes questioningly to her companion.
"It's my turn.", the Uchiha pressed the both buttons with fingers as the kunoichi yelled disapprovingly. Suddenly a light illuminated the underground room.
"That was extremely thoughtless!", the kunoichi growled at the young man, "What if something bad happened?"
"Why? You jump in dark, unused for years, lab with probably unfinished monstrous plant-beast experiments, and I press buttons with unknown purpose. I think we're even.", the kunoichi shot him a deadly glare but Sasuke ignored her and looked around the laboratory, "Sakura, look at that..."
The pinkette turned around and her eyes popped out, "Oh, my God."
The lab was spacious probably as much as the main hall in their cave hideout, most likely it spread under the whole cottage. The ceiling was unusually low with few hanging bulbs which were now bathing the concrete room with dim yellowish light. The two metal, rustless, tables were carefully cleaned with two sets of surgical instruments arranged next to each one of them. Sakura made a step forward noticing the multiple jars on the shelves on the side walls. Hoses connected them with huge containers under the shelves. The liquid in the jars made it impossible to identify what was in them. The kunoichi bend down closer to examine them and found a few switches corresponding to each of the containers under the shelves.
Her eyes averted to Sasuke, "Should I switch them?"
"This isn't exactly in my line of expertise, you know...", the Uchiha rummaged in the drawers of the wooden desk. A sudden cry of terror echoed in the concrete room. Sasuke immediately turned around and saw Sakura on the floor staring at the jars with finger pointed at them.
"Oh, God.", the kunoichi swallowed loudly and stood up making a step backwards, "That's disgusting."
The Uchiha squinted at first but then his eyes widened as well, "Is this..."
"Yeah... It looks like her research was in higher phase than we expected.", Sakura took a deep breath trying to collect her thoughts.
"Yeah. But are those...?"
"She had successfully merged tree and animal's DNAs. I guess this is an eyeball on a pine twig.", Sakura cautiously drew closer, suppressing the urge to vomit. As much as the medic in her was curious about those experiments, her inner self found them disgusting and repulsive.
"Sakura, I think I found a log book.", Sasuke flipped through the yellow pages of the book he held in his hands, "There are some formulas in here."
The kunoichi turned around and grabbed the notebook from his hands. The handwriting was different than the one of the female researcher. Could it be that she had an assistant? The formulas on the pages were extremely complicated, requiring a high-level of math, chemistry and biology knowledge. "This is a poison.", Sakura flipped the other page and noticed the same formula written multiple times with only slightest differences in the coefficients. Whoever came up with that poison, he tried to stabilize it. The variety herbs and the large quantities of different toxins made the venom unstable. The pinkette averted her eyes to the Uchiha, "Sasuke, this is a disparate research. It's written by a different person. My guess is that he's young male, maybe in his early twenties."
"Could it be her assistant?", the dark-haired boy peeked over Sakura's shoulder at the notebook. The letters were shaky and slightly different from one another in different words, defining that he hadn't written much before. The lack of curlicues in the handwriting suggested indeed a male author.
"I thought the same but I think that there's an age difference between this notebook and the one I found at Yuko's.", Sakura continued scanning the pages. Whoever wrote those formulas had had quite a hard time creating the poison. Suddenly the list of mycotoxins caught her attention. It was the same as the one Tsunade had come up with after her analyzing the poison from the incident few months ago. Could it be a coincidence?
Sasuke grabbed the notebook from her hands and closed it shut, "You'll have time to read it. Let's get out of here."
"Hey! I still need to check few things...", Sakura frowned.
"We agreed to destroy those experiments.", the Uchiha knitted his brows.
"But that poison...it may be connected to the one that Zetsu uses.", the kunoichi looked around the lab, rummaging through the drawers and shelves, looking for another log and checking for bottles with ingredients.
"Are you sure?", the shinobi kneeled to check under the desk if there was something hidden. His eyes stopped on a small cut in the wood. He slid finger over it and tried to draw it out with fingers. The wood sagged and fell, revealing a tiny cleft with a yellowish piece of paper sticking out of it. The Uchiha gripped it and pulled it out. There was another formula written on it but different than the last one. "Sakura, check this out."
The kunoichi turned around and took the paper from his fingers. Her eyes narrowed, "It looks like a reversed inscription of the formula of the poison. But it's incomplete."
"Why is it reversed?"
"When Tsunade taught me about toxins and venoms, she warned me that not all poisons were with a simple and easily guessed structure. Some were more complicated, using plants and fungus toxins in order to cover up some of their other components. The only way to come up with an antidote was to use the prime formula of the poison and reverse its composition, adding some more herbs which would neutralize some of the stronger venoms.", Sakura explained staring at the inscription n the paper.
"So, you're telling me that this could help you find an antidote for Zetsu's poison?", Sasuke widened his eyes.
"Possible. But I'll need every ingredient you can find in here.", the kunoichi smiled, "Get them upstairs while I render this lab safe so you can bury it down with Doton jutsu."
Sasuke frowned, "How do you know if I have earth nature chakra as well?"
The pinkette grinned and winked at him, "I know everything about your chakra. I needed to examine it thoroughly before I could heal your eyes."
The Uchiha grunted and went to the shelves, sorting out the herbs and funguses, "Well, that doesn't mean I have mastered it...", he mumbled under his nose.
"Oh, please! I still remember how Kakashi buried you in the ground during our first survival training with Team 7.", Sakura chuckled, "God, you looked pathetic with that severed head on the surface. I admit it freaked me out. There's no way you couldn't have learnt Doton jutsu."
Sasuke frowned and continued sorting out the herbs, mumbling annoyed.
"It's been a while since our last meeting, Raikage.", Tsunade smiled and eased her back on the chair, "I began to think that you might have actually bailed out after the previous...incident...with Madara."
"Don't be impudent, Hokage.", A grinned, "I simply needed a little time to put order in my village. I'm sure you understand, but Kumo's my first priority."
"Order? Should I be concerned?", Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"Why should you be?"
"Well, you see... I don't know if you're aware but we're participants in a very difficult and odd game.", Tsunade smiled again and flipped the pencil between her fingers, "And since we're a team, we're as weak as our poorest link. I'm sure Madara has found already the joints in our armours and he's sharpening the gads of his kunai."
"Hokage-sama...go straight to the point, if you please."
"We need to form an alliance. Officially. And find allies.", the blond woman knitted her brows inquisitively, "We're not strong enough to win this battle by ourselves."
The Raikage frowned. Obviously he was displeased by the idea to shake hands with Konoha but soon his features relaxed as if he was realizing something, "Information about the upcoming war leaked out. I don't know how or who. My shinobi had disagreements over this alliance with Konoha. They are not as forgiving as yours."
"My people are not forgiving, Raikage. They're shinobi, not saints.", Tsunade grunted, "They just know that they are needed for a cause far greater and important than bearing grudges from the past. The future is what we protect. Nobody can change the history."
A nodded slowly, "I agree. But history is what made us who we are today. And ours is not as glorious as yours, Slug – hime."
"We have our share of darkness as well, Raikage. But it's a Kage's job to take that darkness away from the village and bury it with themselves. It shouldn't be spread over the people.", the woman smiled sadly, "Our previous Hokages took inconceivable decisions in order to protect the village. They just simply never told us about them. They never wanted to shake our faith in Konoha. I highly respect them and I know that when a time comes I'll protect my village even if I have to do something that may seem unforgivable to others.", Tsunade placed the pen pointing at the man before her desk, "Your responsibility is to lead, guide, protect and encourage your people. If they can't overcome their disagreements then that means they don't understand the importance of this war and underestimate the real strength of our opponents. You and I both know what underestimation leads to."
"Are you sure that when you need to take such important decision you'll be able to? Won't your strong emotions get in your way, Hokage?", A raised an eyebrow with a mocking glitter in his eyes.
"If you're referring to Sakura or Uchiha Sasuke, I can assure you that I've considered it long before I sent her on that... mission. As far as it goes to the Uchiha, I'll take a suitable decision when the time calls for it.", the lie slipped easily from her tongue and she smiled at the Raikage before her.
"Fair enough. Either way if you decide to drift away from your original plan, I assure you that I'll personally remind you of it.", A smirked.
"I'm counting on that. But you see... Judging by your tone, I assume you forget something crucial. I am the one pulling the strings. I don't intend to base my actions on these specific authorizations the tournament gave me because I consider it hypocrisy because I was against the tournament but if the situation calls it necessary I won't think twice to do what I deem right.", Tsunade raised an eyebrow challenging, "I will protect my people. And when I say my people I mean everyone."
The Raikage clenched teeth but didn't answer. The blonde kunoichi was right. Konoha was already showing sympathy and mercy on the lost parties by not establishing its rights. Cutting their military power and limiting the trading connections would lead the countries to a significant dependence on Konoha, therefore increased influence of the Fire Daimyo in the world government. A stared at the woman behind the desk. Only if Darui had won the tournament...
"Oi, oi. Every time I come in here, I find you checking out our gorgeous Hokage.", a voice came from the windows.
The Raikage turned around surprised and saw Jiraya leaning on the parapet. The Kumo's leader rolled his eyes and eased back on the chair ignoring him.
"What are you doing here?", Tsunade sighed, averting her gaze to the newcomer.
"No reason.", the Sannin shrugged and the Hokage glared at him questioningly, "But since I'm here I might as well see whatcha doing, hime."
The Raikage stood up accompanied by the scraping sound of a chair being dragged on the wooden floor, "I see that our conversation is over. We'll keep in touch about that."
Tsunade walked him out with eyes as the white-haired man left the room, leaving the two Sannin alone, "So? What are you really doing here?", she mumbled and crossed fingers in front of her mouth.
"I heard a rumour.", Jiraya whispered, "About Stone.", the Frog Hermit smirked slightly and looked absent-mindedly through the window, "They are not very pleased by our potential alliance with Kumo."
"They are always in opposition.", Tsunade sighed, "There's nothing we could do about them. We need to think about strengthening our lines first."
"True.", the man smiled, "But I was thinking that you might wanna send Naruto on a vacation."
"What for? He just came back.", the Hokage frowned.
"Send him somewhere hot. Suna would be perfect for him to relax before the war, you know.", Jiraya winked.
The blonde narrowed her gaze, "You want him to persuade Gaara to join the alliance, don't you?"
"I never said it.", the Sannin gazed upon her with a smug expression.
Tsunade shook her head tiredly with closed eyes, "Unbelievable."
"By the way...", Jiraya drew closer and whispered with a secretive voice. The kunoichi behind the desk raised an eyebrow, "Can I come over your place tonight?"
A vein popped on Tsunade's forehead as she punched him in the face, sending him flying few meters back, "So that's the reason you came!", the Hokage growled and stood up angrily from the chair, heading to the door. On her way she purposely stepped on the lying man as he was trying to stand up. Jiraya's face was forced against the floor one more time and the shinobi groaned painfully.
"Being a writer is a dangerous occupation."
A shiver ran down Zetsu's spine, the monstrous Akatsuki member quickly turned his head, gazing at the north. His yellowish eyes were half-closed as if he was staring at the distance. He stood up and closed the notebook, putting down the pen on the table. After+ a few hand-seals the book disappeared and the vine-shinobi turned around, heading to the exit. As he was leaving the room a voice stopped him.
"Where are you going?", the cloaked man sitting in the corner of the spacious room was now staring at his direction.
Zetsu looked over his shoulder, "I don't have to give you an account for my actions. I work for Madara, not for you.", the man pressed the handle on the door. Suddenly a kunai stabbed at the wooden laths, only an inch away from his head.
"You're supposed to stay here and supervise the clones' growth."
"Don't get ahead of yourself just because you're an Uchiha.", Zetsu chuckled and then suddenly a cold expression of pure detest replaced the mocking grin, "I finished my work with the clones. Now it's only a matter of time.", the dichromatic shinobi left the room, closing the door with a bang. From the crash the stabbed kunai fell on the floor with a clang.
Zetsu frowned with a puzzled face. Someone had broken into his lab. It's been years since anyone had dared to put his foot there. The villagers who were aware of the existence of the laboratory were only a few and they couldn't have done it; they knew that something very dangerous was being kept in there. Maybe he should have put a barrier instead of just casting an alarming jutsu...
Zetsu tsk-ed and sank into the ground disappearing from sight.
TBC