My apologies for the delay but i was a little busier than i was anticipating this week. Thank you all who have reviewed and for all of you that haven't but are faving this fic and reading it you guys make me smile! Now on with the chapter (because we all know you really don't want to read this AN ;)
Sore and achy from the nights event Sakura walked slowly through the deserted streets of her village. Itachi walked her into the village proper before she insisted they part ways. She wanted to spend some time alone to go over in her head what had happened tonight both the good and the bad. There was a light breeze stirring the slumbering trees ever so slightly adding a gentle monotonous hum to her surroundings. She hugged her arms and tilted her head back taking a deep breath of the fresh air being circulated between the buildings. She loved everything about Konoha and to her this would always be home; no matter how many stuffy old geezers who lived here and wanted to make her life a living hell.
Alright…we need to talk, she spoke inside her mind.
Are we talking or shouting because I would honestly prefer the talking since we have been through hell and back tonight, her inner responded nonchalantly.
We're talking, she replied a little sarcastically, Mostly I just want to know why the hell you tried to assassinate the bloody council?
Watch it…you agreed to talking not shouting.
She sighed inwardly, Fine, my bad…so assassination.
It wasn't an assassination for one it was a scare tactic.
The chakra ring I can see as a scare tactic but the frontal assault?
The chakra ring didn't work and if we wanted them to ease up off our backs then we had to be more drastic…ergo, the frontal attack. If we showed them that we are not afraid to attack then they will leave us alone.
Or that stunt will just damage our reputation further…
Well then it's a good thing Itachi is willing to leave that stupid clan behind.
But he shouldn't have to do that. It's his family and I'm not going to make him give it up. That's just rude and selfish and completely unnecessary.
Like he stated it's not our choice.
Fine I'll concede on that point but Naruto did have to knock us on our asses and that was in front of the entire clan. Credibility is now zero.
Not quite.
What's that supposed to mean?
Many of those Uchiha's tonight were not against you. They were defensive for their own wellbeing. They know a powerful shinobi when they see one and just because they are Uchiha's doesn't automatically mean they are more powerful than you. Our boyfriend is a prodigy, Sasuke is a Sannin along with us, Reiko is a fast learner and has serious potential which is why you picked her, and her brother Shisui is the body flicker user. We are surrounded by their most powerful members. And we both know a shinobi is only as good…
As the effort he or she puts behind it.
Exactly. Some might not be as powerful as the members we are used to. Some have just gotten old…
That doesn't make them not a threat.
I wasn't finished...some have gotten old and their bodies wouldn't be able to sustain them for long. There were also a lot of genins present and we are definitely more powerful than they are. Even some of the chunin that, even though they have the sharingan, wouldn't be able to beat us but I'll conceded that they would definitely give us a good run for our money.
She groaned to herself…she wasn't sure but it was obvious that even she confused herself on occasion. Rubbing her temples she looked up to see she was standing in front of her door.
Looks like Mama left the light on for us again.
Yeah she usually does when we're out late.
Sakura pulled out her key and unlocked the door. As she closed is softly behind her she couldn't help but feel something was slightly…off. She bolted the door shut and slowly turned around pulling a kunai from her weapons pouch. She glanced into the living room and noticed nothing out of place, not even a faint chakra signature. Confident that no genjutsu was being used on the house she proceeded upstairs to check on her mother. She took them two at a time as silent as her Jounin rank required and crouched to spring at the top of the stairs. Nothing moved. She stood and stalked the hall making her way towards her mother's room. She opened every door including the linen closets leaving no room unchecked. She finally arrived to her mother's room and placed her hand on the door and sent a small chakra flare.
Nothing happened. Sakura's suspicions grew when she couldn't detect her mother's chakra signature in her room. Usually if Sakura was out late or if she ever felt unsafe Kya would place a premade seal on her door preventing anyone from entering or detecting her weaker chakra signature. Sakura specifically created these seals so they would always respond to her chakra. She started this practice after her mother's last date with an "overbearing" suitor. This suitor tried to pressure Sakura's mother to push their relationship farther than her mother felt comfortable. When she arrived home after training with Tsunade the man tried to force his way into their home and take advantage of her mother. Being the wife of a shinobi Kya knew basic self-defense but this man, while not a shinobi, was still physically stronger. Sakura, on the other hand, was in the middle of her chakra training with Tsunade and she left that man broken in the middle of the street and in a coma for an entire week. Kya's mother ceased her dating life after the incident and Sakura studied over the next week to develop the sealing tags to help protect Kya when she wasn't around.
But the fact that this tag was not on the door set Sakura's nerves on edge. There was no chakra seal and no chakra coming from the door. She stormed the room and landed with her back towards the bed. She took in the room quickly and growled when everything was in place. She turned her eyes to the bed and noticed that it hadn't even been slept in. She jumped off and checked the adjoining bathroom…nothing. The last room to check upstairs was her own but her mother never stayed in her room. She checked anyway to find it empty.
I don't like this…where would she go?
I don't know…she quit her escapading after that low-life tried to take advantage of her.
Last room is the kitchen, if she's not there…
Maybe she stayed the night at the Yamanaka's.
She made her way quickly and quietly down the stairs her senses still on high alert. The light was on as it usually is when Sakura gets home late and her mother goes to bed. She peered around the corner from the living room not seeing anything or anyone. Cautiously she stepped into the light holding her kunai up at the ready. She turned to look at their small dining table when she saw something out of the ordinary. Her mother's slippers were near the table as if she kicked them off in a hurry. Her eyes shot back up and she slowly crab walked over towards the table where she stopped dead in her tracks.
Pale feet with painted red toes were on the ground and the island in the middle of the kitchen obscured the rest of the body from her view. Sakura dropped her kunai on ground and ran around her eyes instantly focusing on a mop of strawberry blonde hair.
"Mama?" she asked taking in her too still body, "MAMA!"
She fell to the floor and crawled up to Kya's head. Nothing…no reaction.
No, she cried in her mind.
Whoever killed her is going to pay… her Inner seethed inside of her.
Pulse…I need to check her pulse…
Sakura immediately placed two fingers on the carotid artery hoping…begging to feel a pulse. There wasn't one. Her tears could not be held back even if she wanted them to. She curled around her mother's strawberry blonde head and wept. She was gone…her mother was dead. She didn't protect her like she promised her father. She had failed again. If she hadn't stormed into the Uchiha compound and lost all common sense she would have been home early tonight. She would have been here when the assailant came and she could have protected her. The pain of failure was too much to bear and she threw her head back and screamed to the heavens. She let all of it out…her pain, her fear, and her heartbreak. When she was out of breath she was reduced to gasping sobs. Not feeling close enough to her mother, who's skin was now cool indicating she'd been dead for a few hours, Sakura pulled the body closer to her chest when she heard a crinkle.
Sakura sat back up and wiped her nose and cheeks clean before reaching into an inner pocket of her mom's blouse and pulling out an envelope. Finding an envelope with her name on it she couldn't help her shinobi and medic skills kicking into gear as she checked over her mother's body for anything else…maybe a clue or something left by the attacker. Slowly she began to undress her checking other pockets for anything. Once she had stripped her mother down to her underwear she noticed something odd. There was a seal on her stomach and it was pulsing slightly. She inserted her own chakra performing a quick body scan when she froze in horror.
She'd been poisoned…and not just any poison. The chakra signature was the same but the location was different. It had spread to her entire nervous system as well as attacking her vitals. Sakura's tears dried up instantly as she went into full medic mode as she diagnosed everything about her mother's body. Every nerve in her body was affected as well as all her major organs including her heart, lungs, and liver. Then she noticed something interesting; the pulsing seal tag on her mother's stomach also contained poison.
Sakura withdrew her hands and placed them on her knees.
I don't know how to feel…I'm so angry but at the same time…
We have a body with the poison were studying and it's fresh.
I can't do it…this is my mother I can't treat her like another test subject.
You have no choice! This is as good as it's going to get. Your mother knew this poison was kicking your ass and look now she's infected.
I'm going to need your help…emotionally I can't deal with this.
Her inner sighed for the first time in sympathy; I know…that's why I'm here. Want me to take over?
Not completely you're going to need to think logically and that is what I'm for.
Then let's go we have to take her to the lab.
Wait we should read her letter first.
With steady hands she opened the sealed envelope and pulled out a thick letter from her mother and began to read:
My Dearest Sakura…
Covered in a genjutsu Sakura walked through the front door of the hospital carrying her mother's body. She proceeded straight to the basement floor that housed the morgue and autopsy not stopping to speak to nurses or orderlies since her genjutsu made her basicallyinvisible. She found a room that was currently empty and filled out the correct booking form. In order to maintain her cover she decided to label the body as toxic and no admittance was allowed until the attending doctor permitted. She knew that while this body was poisoned it wasn't a reagent that could contaminate the air or the rest of the hospital for that matter. Sakura didn't want any disturbances of any kind and she swore to herself that she wouldn't leave autopsy until she had figured out everything she needed to know to defeat this killer and his poison and according to her mother's letter…she was the only one who could do it.
She set her mother's still body gently onto the autopsy table and left to go to her lab to gather everything she would need. She returned a few minutes later and locked the door then added a seal to the door preventing any jutsu from seeing or blowing the door open. She laid her supplies onto a separate table and opened an empty scroll to record everything from her findings to her counter measures.
Her emerald eyes took one final look at her mother taking in all of her features. She was happy and angry that the only blemish on her typically creamy skin was a bruise around her neck indicating strangulation prior to death.
No tears…mama said she didn't want me to cry.
Then let's get started. We're going to be in here a while and since you had neglected to bring any food…
We won't have time or the concentration to eat while doing this and you know that.
With a final deep breath Sakura relinquished primary control to her inner, her eyes turning dull gray. Above the table was a microphone and she switched the button from off to on. The recording equipment to her left buzzed to life and she donned latex gloves and a full body apron then inserted a large needle to drain the blood from her mother's body. She took one last deep breath before beginning the recording in a strictly professional voice:
"The following recording is the autopsy of a victim of a murder Haruno Kya. The attending physician is Doctor Haruno Sakura. Time of death according to body temperature taken prior to blood drain indicates the victim died between the time of seven and nine in the evening of September 16th. Preliminary diagnostics indicate that the victim was strangled as evidenced by her broken hyoid bone and pre and postmortem bruising around the victim's neck. Another foreign substance was found in her body leading to the official cause of death being poisoning. The poison currently has not been identified as a definable substance…"
Moegi trudged into her master's office at little past eight in the morning rubbing her face in exhaustion. She was relieved to find that Sakura hasn't shown up yet, that meant she wouldn't be in trouble for being late. She yawned while she made her way over to the small couch to the left of the office and plopped down on her back. She was just about to fall back asleep when the door reopened. Moegi shot up and didn't relax until she saw TingTing walk through the door.
"Oh it's you," she sank back down onto the couch.
TingTing giggled, "Stay up late Moegi? Was someone responsible for your late night?"
Moegi rolled her eyes before running her hands through her short orange hair. During her apprenticeship with Sakura, Moegi had expressed her dislike for her hair and Sakura along with Ino's help, gave the girl a hair make over; so instead of the two gigantic and thick pigtails her hair was nowcut short to her chin all the way around with the front bangs pulled back in the middle and secured with a tight ponytail, "No. I'm way too young for that sort of thing. Ebisu-sensei had a night training yesterday and then scheduled another one for early this morning. I'm just tired."
TingTing nodded not really believing what she was telling her, "You sure Konohamaru had nothing to do with it?"
Moegi chucked one of the pillows at TingTing's head as the pig-tailed girl burst into a fit of giggles. Reiko entered the room to find an embarrassed Moegi face bright red on the couch and TingTing about to curl in on herself due to her intense giggles.
"What did I miss?" she asked taking a seat on her master's desk.
"Moegi had a late night," TingTing winked at her.
Reiko's eyes bulged out of her head as she turned her shocked gaze on her older teammate, "You-you're definitely not old enough for that!"
"I wasn't with Konohamaru!" Moegi fixed a glare on both girls, "I had night and morning training with my Chunin team so I'm just tired!"
TingTing continued to giggle when they heard a knock. Moegi stood up and answered the office door.
"Oh hey there Ling, what's up?" Moegi addressed the mousy looking nurse.
"Oh these are updates on all of Doctor Haruno's patients that she requested," Ling handed Moegi a large stack of files.
"Thanks, I'll give these to her."
The door closed again as Moegi set the giant stack next to Reiko.
Reiko whistled as she took in the size of that stack, "Does shishou ever make time for herself?"
"Not really," Moegi answered, "She was like this before the war too."
"Like what?" TingTing asked sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"Pushing herself to the limit and amazingly getting everything done," Moegi answered, "I remember beginning my apprenticeship under her even though I wasn't allowed to go to war because I was still a Genin. But all the Genins were charged with protecting the village so they found it prudent to teach some of us medical ninjutsu in case they failed."
"I remember everyone leaving," Reiko looked down playing with her shirt, "I felt so alone and scared…it was the last time I saw my parents…"
"I'm sorry Reiko," Moegi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
The short raven haired girl looked up at her fellow med-nin and smiled, "It's ok. I'm over it now and I still have my nii-san. And Sakura-shishou has helped me a lot."
"Reiko can I ask you a question?" TingTing looked at her almost bouncing in her seat.
"Sure…" she responded warily.
"What do you think about Itachi and Sakura being together?" TingTing was literally bouncing up and down on the floor.
Reiko and Moegi laughed at her childlike demeanor. When TingTing was first brought onto their team both Moegi and Reiko were a little uncertain of her at first thinking her naïve and too tender to be in the profession of a shinobi. For their first medic assignment Sakura had TingTing covering their tracks from high up in the trees. One of the border teams was ambushed by mercenaries and in need of medics. Sakura's Alpha Team was dispatched out along with Team Kakashi to the rendezvous location. When they arrived the injured team was on the defensive and the reinforcements quickly entered the fray. Sakura had given Moegi and Reiko specific instructions to get a hold of the injured and take them to a safe location for treatment; her Jounin team would take care of the mercenaries. The medics quickly round up the four injured and were about to move them when a couple stray mercenaries jumped them. This was Reiko's first official fight as a Genin and she froze. Moegi had drawn and launched a round of shruiken in order to divert their path from the straight assault. The mercenaries drew their own kunai to deflect when they suddenly dropped dead with three senbon sticking out of their necks. Reiko noticed that the thin silver objects came from behind her and she turned to see TingTing standing on a low branch her arm extended and a serious scowl on her face.
Before any words were spoken TingTing helped her teammates escort the wounded to safety.
"How did you do it?" Reiko asked her later when they were supposed to be sleeping. The medics were making their way back to Konoha after the fight, while Team Kakashi stayed to fill in the empty slot until the replacements arrived.
"I have to," TingTing answered with her eyes downcast, "But it doesn't mean I have to like it. My sister Tenten told me our precision was a gift but also a responsibility. We can take life from the shadows or by standing in front of our enemy. But she always told me to keep my heart safe in any way possible. So I try to stay optimistic, I know you and Moegi think I'm naïve or childish but…I'm just trying not to let the blood or death get to me. I don't want to become a cold hearted killer I just want to be happy…be TingTing!" Reiko smiled at her teammate with a mixture humility and respect.
"Reiko don't space out!"
Said girl jolted at her name and scratched her head in embarrassment, "Oh, ha ha, sorry TingTing."
"Answer me, Itachi and Sakura!"
Reiko smiled before leaning back looking up at the ceiling, "I think they're perfect for each other but some of our elders disagree."
"Why?" TingTing scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, "They are so cute and in love."
"Whoa TingTing," Moegi smirked at her, "I wouldn't say love yet."
"Actually Moegi…" Reiko cut in with a cheeky smile, "I think they do love each other…well I think at least Itachi loves her."
TingTing squealed, "Tell me tell me!"
"This sounds good Reiko please share," Moegi smiled waiting for the Uchiha to continue.
"Well you guys have to promise NOT to tell a soul," she eyed her team and they crossed their hearts in promise, "There was a clan meeting yesterday and near the end of it Itachi said he would defect from the clan if they wouldn't accept his relationship with shishou."
Moegi went slacked jawed while TingTing squealed again and danced around the room.
"Oh he's sooooo romantic!" Her pig-tails swirled around her face and she extended her arms twirling as fast as she could round and around.
"Wow…" Moegi sighed with a large smile, "He really does love her."
Reiko nodded with her own cheeky smile before glancing at the clock it read 9am, "I wonder where shishou is?"
"I agree she's usually here by now," Moegi stood and stretched, "Maybe she's already in the lab…let's go check it out."
Reiko and TingTing followed Moegi through the hospital. The halls were relatively quiet since it was still relatively early, the hospital wouldn't begin to get busy until around eleven. They arrived at the lab only to find it empty.
"Did Sakura-shishou take the paperwork home?" TingTing asked looking at the empty shelves.
"No," Moegi answered, "She wanted to keep everything in here."
"Someone might have stolen it," Reiko offered.
"Can you detect any latent chakra signatures?" Moegi asked while checking over the lab equipment.
Reiko activated her sharingan and focused on different points around the room, "I don't see anything. That might not entirely mean someone wasn't in here. If they came earlier then their chakra signature would be long gone."
Moegi nodded, "Before we go crazy let's go check the usual spots as well as her home."
Reiko and TingTing nodded following her lead as the senior member to find their master.
Naruto was sitting at his favorite ramen stand and enjoying his favorite ramen. He had a great morning training session with Sasuke and now he was eating ramen with one lovely and shy Hyuuga.
"Enjoying your ramen Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked after swallowing a mouthful.
She glanced up at her date, "Hai Naruto-kun, it's very delicious."
He smiled at her red face as he reached a hand out to grasp hers. She hid behind a shield of hair but gripped his hand none-the-less. Naruto put his chop sticks down as he leaned over towards her. Hinata sensed his close proximity and looked up tilting her head slightly in his direction.
He smiled again, "Have I ever told you how cute you are when you blush?" He kissed the tip of her nose making her smile.
"You have Naruto-kun," she replied looking down to the table with a small smile.
"Are you ever going to stop being shy around me?" he asked as his arms wound around her waist pulling her into his lap making her squirm.
"I…I don't think so," she confessed as her arms found their way around his neck steadying herself.
He chuckled at her before nuzzling her cheek, "Good."
Her smile widened as he began placing light kisses on her cheek and neck. Hinata suddenly jolted as he found a particularly ticklish spot near the back of her neck.
"Naruto," she giggled in his ear, "Stop…Naruto…Naruto!"
"Oi Naruto!"
The golden blonde haired boy looked up to see Sakura's medic team walking up to him. Hinata buried her face into his neck trying to hide her cherry red face while squeaking in embarrassment. Naruto laughed holding her close in a comforting way as he addressed the three girls standing before him.
"How can I help you fine ladies this afternoon?" he asked tickling Hinata's side making her jump.
Moegi smiled, "Hey there Hinata."
"Hi Moegi, Reiko, TingTing," Hinata lifted her face from Naruto's shoulder and smiled at each of the girls.
"Naruto have you seen Sakura this morning?" Moegi asked.
"No…our training session isn't until this evening," he answered, "Have you guys tried the hospital?"
"Hai, we started there and we've checked the Academy, her home and she didn't answer, her favorite training grounds, Hokage Tower and all of her favorite restaurants," Reiko answered a little concerned.
"You know her well enough that this is very abnormal behavior," Moegi sounded calm but she was sure that her face betrayed her true apprehensive feelings.
Naruto's eyes narrowed, this was strange behavior for Sakura and it probably had to do with the incident at the Uchiha compound yesterday.
Hinata straightened as she felt Naruto's body tense up with the news. His eyes were narrowed in concentration as he stood up slowly placing Hinata gently on her feet.
"Naruto?" she asked tentatively.
"Moegi, take the team and go to Hokage Tower…" he started.
"But we've already been there," Reiko interjected.
He nodded softening his gaze, "I know go and report what you know to Tsunade-sama my team will meet you there."
Moegi nodded as she and her team turned and left the hyperactive blonde.
Hinata placed a soft hand on his chest, "Naruto…is something wrong with Sakura?"
He turned and looked into her wide and concerned lavender eyes, "I don't know Hinata-chan…will you help me find her?"
She smiled and placed a soft kiss on his cheeks, "Of course I will. She's my friend too."
Naruto smiled and paid for his ramen before taking off to find the rest of his team.
Sai sat near a large window with a blank canvas in front of him. He looked out over the small park outside debating on what he would like to paint today. It seemed he had a lot of extra time just to himself and the only appointment he had was training from 6-9 with his team…other than that he spent his time in his studio apartment, mixing paint while staring out his bay window trying to capture something new every day.
A frantic knock interrupted his search and he narrowed his eyes in questioning.
"Open up Sai!" He heard Naruto call from the other side of the door.
Two things had Sai suspicious then; one, Naruto only called him by his first name during a serious situation or conversation and two, he would never come looking for him unless there was something important. He unlocked the door and was slightly surprised to see Hinata with him but it didn't register on his face.
"Hurry up and get dressed," Naruto looked Sai straight in the eye, "Sakura-chan didn't show up for work this morning we need to go find her."
Sai's eyes widened in the initial shock before narrowing in suspicion. There was one thing he knew about each of his teammates that would never change; Naruto will always be loud and slightly idiotic, Sasuke will always be at the training grounds to keep his number one spot as the best, Kakashi will always be late to everything, and Sakura will always put her work before herself. So if Sakura wasn't at work and she didn't have scheduled time off…then something was seriously wrong.
Sai turned around leaving his door open and crossed his living room to his dresser. He took off the wife beater he usually wears when he paints and threw it into the top drawer. He then opened the second drawer and quickly put on his typical half shirt and grabbed his tanto and ink scroll from the top of the dresser. He turned and joined Naruto and Hinata as he locked the door and ran to their next location.
"Has Sasuke been told yet?" he asked.
"No Sakura's team found me at Ichiraku's with Hinata then I came to find you. I figured Sasuke to be at the training grounds so he'd be the farthest to get to."
Sai nodded, "So next is Kakashi then Sasuke."
Naruto nodded as they landed outside Kakashi's apartment complex. They all walked up to the fifth floor and Naruto pounded on the door.
"Kakashi-sensei!" he yelled then waited for the man to open up.
Sai started a mental count to see how long it would take for the lazy man to show up. If he wasn't such a legend he'd be very irritated with his attitude. Thirty seconds later Kakashi opened the door his nose in an orange book.
"Hmmm," he looked up eyes widening slightly, "How do you know where I live?"
Naruto growled, "We've known for years Kakashi-sensei we're not Genin anymore."
Kakashi sighed, "I supposed that's true…so why are you here?"
"Sakura's missing," Sai stated.
Kakashi whipped his head to look at Sai and noticed his slightly tense stance. This was serious…she was really missing.
"How long?" Kakashi asked putting his book away and grabbing his vest that he kept by the door.
"Moegi found me a few minutes ago. Sakura's medic team checked all the usual spots and she's not there. She didn't show up for work and we both know that's very not like Sakura-chan," Naruto answered.
Kakashi nodded, "Sasuke been told yet?"
"He's next to find," Sai stated.
"Itachi?"
Nobody spoke and the atmosphere became really tense.
"I don't know if it's wise to bring him in," Naruto stated tight jawed.
"Personal feelings aside he does have a strong attachment to her," Kakashi locked up as they descended the stairs, "Sai if Sasuke's at the training grounds send a message to him to scan the rest around him then to meet us at the bridge."
Sai nodded then wrote out his orders and created a bird that took off in search of his target.
"By the way, hi Hinata," Kakashi turned and waved at the Hyuuga with a smile.
"Hello Kakashi-sensei," she replied with a small smile.
"It's nice that you're already here, your Byakugan will be very useful," he said as they jumped up onto the flat apartment roof.
She smiled at his meaning, "I'll do my best." She sat down in the middle as assumed a meditative position. She closed her eyes in concentration then brought her hands up to her face, "Byakugan."
The men watched as her blood vessels popped out of her skin and her eyes opened. She had a faraway look not specifically focusing on thing or person.
"So while she's searching I want to double check everywhere Sakura is known to frequent. Not that I doubt her team didn't do it properly but she may have just missed them," Kakashi turned to look over the city with his hands in his pockets.
"I don't want to leave Hinata alone," Naruto told him, "If someone took Sakura-chan…"
"I'll leave some protection for her Naruto," Sai bent down to draw two lions and two snakes. They took up defensive positions around Hinata.
"Go Naruto-kun," Hinata said not looking at him directly, "I'll be fine."
Naruto smiled and kissed the top of her head, "Find me if you find her ok."
"I will," she replied.
"I sent Moegi and the team to Hokage tower to inform Tsunade so we don't need to check there," Naruto walked up to Kakashi followed by Sai.
Kakashi nodded, "Alright, Naruto you take the hospital. Sai, Medical Academy and known eating places. I'll take her home and recreational areas. Naruto talk to nurses and everything and if all else fails…take Sasuke and go search in the Uchiha compound."
Naruto growled, "If they hurt her…"
"Don't start anything," Kakashi warned.
"I won't," he replied.
"Scatter."
Sasuke sensed the small chakra signature a second before the ink bird came into view. He was at the Uchiha dojo brushing up on his kenjutsu but seeing the bird made him stop and pull out a scroll. The bird splattered on the scroll and he read Sai's message.
Sakura is missing. Check all training grounds then meet up with team at bridge.
Sasuke's nostrils flared as he grabbed his belongings and took off. He raced through each of the training grounds keeping his sharingan activated for speed and reconnaissance. He stopped once at the Forest of Death but figured Sakura would have to be out of her mind to actually go in there, even with her Inner in control. He finished his round and had to double back before Gai and Lee spotted him and wanted to join his "fun". Growling to himself since he only spotted Genin teams training he followed orders and went to the bridge. He found another ink bird waiting for him so he pulled out his scroll to read his new orders.
Naruto is checking the hospital, Kakashi her home and parks, I'm checking restaurants and the Medic Academy. You are to meet up with Naruto at the hospital and discretely check the Uchiha compound.
He growled again, They better not have done anything stupid…
He took off from the bridge and reached the hospital to see Naruto exiting.
"Anything?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto shook his head, "Nothing…I checked the night shift check in's and she wasn't here. Nobody saw her."
"Only Genins at the training grounds for me."
"No Lee and Gai?"
Sasuke shot him a pointed look, "I said Genins didn't I?"
Naruto chuckled, "You get used to them eventually."
"Nobody gets used to them…"
Naruto chuckled again before turning slightly serious, "You don't think…"
"I don't know," he answered honestly, "If they did anything…"
"But they wouldn't, not like this."
"That's true, they have a social standing to think about and the Hokage doesn't like them as it is because of the whole Sakura issue," Sasuke ran his hands through his hair, "Let's just get this over with."
"Agreed, we have to meet with Tsunade when we're done," Naruto told him as they took off over the rooftops.
Tsunade sat in her chair tapping her fingers against the hard wood of her desk while staring out the nearby window. Moegi, Reiko, and TingTing had come to her earlier giving her a full report of everything they knew. She was about to send an ANBU out to locate the rest of her team when Sai entered giving a full report. Kakashi entered next and was followed in by Itachi. Kakashi explained that he ran into Itachi at Sakura's home and when they entered they found something curious.
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi stated watching the older woman think, "Something happened in that house yesterday."
"Yes…but with the only evidence being Sakura's mother's clothes strewn around the kitchen floor the only thing we can reasonably assume is that she walked around her house naked," she bit back.
"Every door in the house was opened," Itachi told her, "Sakura must have felt something was off when she entered her home yesterday."
"Are you implying something Itachi?" Tsunade turned and looked him dead in the eye.
He nodded, "Sakura's noticeable chakra signature was found around her mother's door and room, but it was strongest in the kitchen where the clothing was found."
"Are you suggesting murder?"
"It's a reasonable presumption that Sakura walked in on it and that's why she's missing."
"But it doesn't explain why there isn't a body," she clicked her teeth together when Naruto burst through the door followed by Sasuke.
"Nothing, not at the hospital and not at the compound," Naruto complained.
"Training grounds are clear as well," Sasuke's voce was hard fighting to contain his rage.
"Then it's reasonable to conclude that she's not in the city," Itachi stated.
Both Sasuke and Naruto's eyes shot up to the voice then narrowed.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Naruto asked slightly perturbed.
"He found me at Sakura's home," Kakashi explained, "Evidence in her home leads us to believe something happened there last night."
"Any word from Hinata?" Sasuke asked looking at Naruto.
"I told her to find me when she found something," Naruto answered, "Her Byakugan is strong…she'll find something."
"Moegi," Tsunade called out to the apprentice, "You said all the poison files were missing?"
"Hai Tsunade-sama."
"Naruto did you check the lab?" she asked.
"Yeah I felt some chakra disruption but nothing major, it'd been a while since she's been there," he answered folding his arms.
"Chakra disruption?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah her chakra was in there but a little agitated."
"Instability?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto shook his head, "No just…off mostly. I would've known if she was unstable in there."
Itachi's eyes narrowed at their conversation. They were talking about the incident in a roundabout way. He glanced around and noticed the medic team remained ignorant of whatever was happening with their master. Reiko was smart enough to adhere to the last demand his father made after Naruto and Sakura's dramatic exit. No one was allowed to speak about this incident until the matter was resolved. But further observation told him that Sakura's Jounin comrades knew intimately what was happening and so did the Hokage.
Sasuke noticed Itachi's calculating eyes and stared at him, waiting for those eyes to turn on him. They did eventually and Itachi glared at his younger brother.
"What don't I know?" Itachi asked.
"We're not permitted to say," Sasuke answered back stubbornly.
"She hasn't told you?" Tsunade asked a little shocked.
"No…if this has something to do with the incident at the compound I have a right to know," he stated.
"It doesn't," Kakashi answered, "When Naruto reported her chakra wasn't unstable…"
"We will not get into an explanation right now," Tsunade ordered, "Our top priority is to locate Sakura and once you do bring her to me."
They all nodded.
"Kakashi," she eyed the silver haired man, "Find my apprentice."
He nodded at the seriousness of her voice then turned to exit.
"Before you go, I want to hear about what happened at the Uchiha compound yesterday."
"As you wish Hokage-sama," Kakashi stood before the Hokage at the center with Itachi and his team on either side, "As ordered we met Sakura for a training session."
"I wasn't able to stay the entire time because of a clan meeting," Sasuke added.
"What was the meeting about?" Tsunade asked hands crossed in front of her face.
"It was a public trial about my relationship with her and my insubordination as the clan heir," Itachi answered hearing a gasp from the medics in the room.
"You three will be silent throughout this entire conversation," Tsunade looked at the three who nodded quickly and sat quietly together.
"We finished our training session about seven in the evening and tried to talk to her about her poison," Kakashi continued, "She showed us her trials with the volunteers and we went over possible scenarios to make this a success."
"Failed at that," Naruto added, "The only thing we could think of after an hour was that it had to be a Kekkei Genkai."
"It was the only reasonable explanation for why she cannot duplicate it," Sai said.
Tsunade sighed, "It would make sense…carry on."
Nobody said anything knowing that the next thing would probably incur the wrath of the Hokage.
"Speak!"
"I let slip that Itachi was keeping secrets and she found out about political action the Uchiha's were taking against her. She got pissed, activated her Yin Seal and sped off towards the compound," Naruto answered in a firm voice.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed at the blonde and he met her hard glare with his own.
"She arrived at the Uchiha compound completely unbalanced," Sasuke stated so Tsunade wouldn't kill her successor, "I kept her from killing anyone until the rest arrived."
"We tried to neutralize her while Naruto entered Sennin mode but she made a bee-line for the Elders," Kakashi said.
"I stood in front of her cutting off her direct line a sight to them," Itachi interjected, "Her eyes were bright silver almost white."
"I stepped in front of her before she annihilated Itachi and the Elders and drove her back to the opening in the roof she created when she entered," Naruto said, "She wouldn't listen to reason so we fought…and I drove her from the proximity." His voice caught slightly at the end.
Tsunade's eyes softened slightly at his declaration knowing that he had to seriously hurt her in order to get her away.
"Uchiha Fugaku ordered complete silence about the incident until the matter concerning myself and Sakura was resolved," Itachi said.
"When we found her, she was her typical self again," Kakashi ended watching Tsunade's face for any indication of her feelings.
"I arrived at their location to see Sakura healing herself and I stayed with her in that area until close to midnight," Itachi concluded.
Tsunade's brow quirked, "Pray tell what you were doing with her for four hours in the middle of a forest."
"Comforting her," he replied simply in a soft voice.
"And she didn't tell you?"
He shook his head, "She said we would talk about it today when she was rested and thinking clearly. I was at her home to meet with her when I ran into Kakashi-senpai."
Tsunade nodded then turned to face the window again. "Sakura what have you gotten yourself into…" she muttered to herself.
"Oi baa-chan can we continue our search?" Naruto asked.
"I want everything in the village searched for any traces of her. We must know without a doubt that Sakura no longer resides in the village before we begin searching the forests," Tsunade ordered turning back to her ninjas, "Keep this discrete. I don't want anyone knowing about this until her kidnapping is confirmed do you understand?"
"Hai." Everyone replied in unison.
"Dismissed, I want your report and answers before sundown."
"I'm going to go check in with Hinata and see what she has to say," Naruto stretched his back causing it to pop.
Kakashi nodded, "Let's all go since she could give us potential leads."
They bounded across the roof tops and landed near Hinata startling the lions and snakes Sai had left as protection. With a small chakra flare Sai sent out the ink animals stood down and resumed their lazing positions.
"Hey Hinata, find anything?" Naruto asked kneeling next to her.
"One second," she replied.
"Moegi go to the hospital I'm sure Sakura's patients need looking after," Kakashi smiled at the medic team.
"Hai Kakashi-sensei," Moegi bowed and lead Reiko and TingTing to the hospital.
"I've thoroughly checked sixty percent of the city and I haven't been able to locate Sakura's chakra signature anywhere. I found latent traces of it at her home and in the hospital, with the highest concentration at the hospital. I have one more sector to check in the city then I'm going to check the surrounding forests for her chakra signature," Hinata reported as she deactivated her bloodline limit and rubbing her eyes.
"Don't stress yourself Hinata-chan," Naruto grabbed her hand, "Our eyes might not be as good as yours but we still got some."
She giggled as he kissed her forehead, "I won't we train our Byakugan like this to help increase our range of sight."
"So still the highest chakra concentrations are at her home and the hospital," Kakashi surmised.
"I want to recheck her home…something about it doesn't sit right with me," Itachi stated looking at the unofficial team leader, Kakashi.
He nodded, "I agree it's suspicious…you don't remember anything from walking her home."
Itachi shook his head, "We parted ways before getting to her home. She said she wanted time to think and clear her mind."
"After what just happened I wouldn't be surprised," Sasuke stated sighing, "Her body was probably in a state of shock over what just happened…she was trying to deal."
Just then a small pug poofed into existence right at Kakashi's feet.
"Yo," Pakkun greeted his master.
"Hey Pakkun you got anything for me?" Kakashi asked.
"When did you send him out?" Naruto asked a little shocked.
"After leaving Sakura's home," Kakashi answered not looking at Naruto, "So anything?"
"I found her scent easily enough although she was trying very hard to conceal herself. But it's hard to do that with smell, she definitely wouldn't have gotten past an Inuzuka's nose," Pakkun explained, "Once I isolated it, I followed her scent to the hospital and it hasn't changed."
"So she's at the hospital?" Sai questioned.
Pakkun nodded, "I searched around the hospital for any indication of her leaving and none. I even ran around the village to make sure."
"Any specific room in the hospital?" Kakashi asked.
Pskkun shook his head, "With all the sterilization and cleaning equipment I couldn't officially follow it to one specific room. The nurses also didn't look too happy to see me there but I paid them no mind. But I am certain that she didn't leave the hospital."
"Thanks Pakkun," Kakashi smiled as the dog poofed away.
"So our lead is the hospital," Sai stated disabling his lions and snakes.
"Let's go and be discrete," Kakashi led the way across the roof tops towards the hospital.
He stopped the team just before entering on the roof of a small business across the street.
"Hinata, where was Sakura's chakra concentrated?" he asked staring at the large white building with a red cross.
"Her lab area and there was one room in the basement that I couldn't see into," she reported.
Kakashi nodded, "So that room is sealed could you see anything around it?"
She nodded, "I couldn't see the seal but the red light above the door was on signaling that a body is being autopsied and it's toxic."
"I want you to check in at the nurse's station and let me know of any bodies recently being brought it."
"Hai," she replied.
"Sasuke check in her lab, Sai her office, Naruto you get the second floor, Itachi the third, I'll take the top and if we find nothing I think we can reasonably conclude that Sakura has sealed herself in that basement room."
"Why would she do that?" Naruto wondered out loud.
Kakashi shrugged, "Doesn't matter at the moment."
The team dispersed, entering the hospital at different intervals so as not to look suspicious, and went about their assigned jobs. Sasuke entered the lab and activated his sharingan trying to see what Naruto felt.
"I've checked it over and I couldn't feel anything." Sasuke turned to see his cousin Reiko standing there.
"Give it time Reiko your two tomoes need to develop more to be able to detect latent chakra signatures," he explained.
She huffed, "Teach me."
"Not now."
"Can I just watch then?"
He shrugged focusing his eyes on the empty shelves, "What's supposed to be here?"
"Those shelves contained all the information about the poison, they are all missing," she explained.
"She spent the most time here gathering the information, this is the one place in the lab that still has a chakra signature," he told her, "And her chakra is disrupted like Naruto said."
"How do you know?"
He glanced at her, "When your tomoes advance from two to three it's easier to see genjutsus."
"So Sakura was under a genjutsu when she entered here?"
"Seems like it…that would explain the chakra disruption. Now the question is…did she cast is on herself or was she placed under one," Sasuke looked at Reiko waiting for her answer.
"Oh um…well," Reiko thought it over, "Sakura-shishou is really good at genjutsu so I would assume she placed it on herself."
"My thoughts exactly," Sasuke turned and left the room Reiko hot on his heels.
They walked down to the basement to wait for the rest of the team. Hinata came next.
"Anything?" Sasuke asked.
Hinata shook her head, "No bodies were checked in last night."
He nodded sitting back down on the floor. Hinata joined him then turned to stare at the seal door with the red light above it. She stood again and walked up to the door placing a gentle hand on it. Sasuke walked up behind her as he watched her insert a small amount of chakra into the door.
"What?" he asked.
"Watch," she told him as she inserted chakra into the door only to have it repelled.
"No jutsu can open the door," he noticed.
"No jutsu can penetrate it, not even my eyes," she backed off still staring at the door.
"What is she trying to hide?" Sasuke mused.
"That's the question isn't it?" Kakashi said walking up to them.
Sasuke turned to see the rest of the team congregated outside the door.
"I take it we're all here for the same reason?" he asked.
"Would seem reasonable no?" Kakashi smiled at him.
"Why haven't you opened the door?" Naruto asked.
"It's protected, the seal prevents the use of any jutsu to break it open," Hinata explained, "We have to wait for her to open it."
"And it's sealed from the inside," Itachi walked up placing his own hand on the door, "Sakura?" he called.
She could hear them outside her door; talking, plotting, trying to call out to her. She wasn't finished and she wasn't leaving until she was finished. A few times her seal glowed bright orange indicating someone inserting chakra into the door or using a jutsu. But she couldn't stop…she wasn't done.
Her latex gloves were covered in bodily fluids and left over blood as she continued to scrape the poison off her mother's organs and placing them into separate vials. Her mother's chest was opened in the typical Y-incision used in all autopsies, her innards opened hiding nothing from the probing medic.
"My team has finally caught up with me if the orange glow of my seal is any indication at around 2pm. I will not exit this area until my investigation is finished. With this last vial of poison contained I can now focus on the chakra system to determine point of entry and analyze the functioning of the rapidly spreading substance…"
Tsuande received word of Sakura's whereabouts at 3pm. Four hours later she received word again that Sakura was unresponsive and the door still remained closed. Finally fed up with the situation Tsunade stormed down to the hospital.
"Kakashi report," she ordered standing before the door.
"Chakra seals. Hinata can't see in and all jutsu to try and get into the room has been neutralized," he reported.
She tsked before banging on the door, "Sakura open this door now!"
No response.
"Sakura! By direct order from your Hokage open this goddamned door!"
Still no response.
Tsunade tsked, "Stubborn, bullheaded woman…" she muttered, "Have you tried talking to her?"
"No response for any of us," Naruto answered a little sad.
Tsuande turned back and growled at the door, "No jutsu huh?"
Naruto turned to see a cheeky smile on her face, "Hey baa-chan you're not going to…"
"Everyone stand back the hospital is going to need a new door." Tsuande channeled chakra to her fist and slammed it into the metal contraption. It caved creating a large dent and Tsunade growled, "Damn seal…" Channeling more chakra into her fist she hit the door again breaking into the autopsy room.
What she saw next had her stopping a few feet from the entering the room. Naruto was by her side in an instant the smile he had been wearing turning to that of shock. Sasuke and Sai both narrowed their eyes watching Sakura notate furiously on a scroll. Hinata gasped at seeing the body opened on the table and a bucket of blood sealed underneath. Kakashi and Itachi couldn't wipe the shock off their faces their eyes taking in everything around the room in an instant. The missing scrolls were there, some lab equipment, one large scroll that Sakura was working feverishly on, and her mother's open body.
Sakura turned then startling a few as she reach over with a slightly bloody gloved hand and lifted a seal on her mother's stomach and placing it on the scroll. She wrote down more notes and continued to transcribe before speaking again:
"Autopsy is concluded on the victim Haruno Kya with all known causes of death and analysis concluded. It is now 7:13pm on September 17th Doctor Haruno Sakura, attending physician, is finished."
Sakura removed her gloves and turned off the microphone above the autopsy table. She grabbed a new set of gloves and began placing the organs from her mother's body back in place sealing them with chakra. Then everyone watched in muted horror and shock as she pulled the open skin back to the center of the body.
"Sakura," Tsunade walked up to her student standing on the opposite side of the table, "Sakura look at me."
The pink haired woman replaced all of the skin from the Y-incision into its proper place and started to seal the skin closed before looking up at her mentor.
Tsunade sighed seeing the dull gray eye color that hid what she knew must be a very broken Sakura underneath.
"What happened here Sakura?" she asked in a very gentle voice.
Turning her head back down she finished sealing the body shut then removed her gloves and body apron that was stained with blood and body fluids.
"Sakura…answer me," the Hokage used a stricter voice but still retained some of the gentleness from before.
"She was murdered," Sakura stated no louder than a whisper, "By my poison."
So i had totally cool font picked out for Sai's and Kya's hand writing and it didn't even transfer and i'm totally bummed :( So you guys just got with boring italics and bold...ugh i'm still irked about that but i guess that there's nothing i can do...anyway please review!
For reviewer LorematerLia
I just wanted to let you know that you're amazing and since you don't have a PM i'm telling you here :) Thanks for being an awesome reviewer!