I'm so sorry i uploaded chapter for 10 here's the right one!The mission! I didn't really want to spend too much time on it doing unnecessary things so everything in here is condensed. Enjoy!
They had arrived. The city was moderate sized and bustling with the day's activities. Tourists were seen in and out of the plethora of shops. Children were frolicking in the sun lit streets laughing and playing with each other. There was a small carnival set up on the western edge attracting many of the city's inhabitants and visitors. But the Leaf Shinobi only had eyes on the southern edge, the one part of the city that visitors and tourists always knew to steer clear of. It was either the large gothic styled building that gave off a suffocating aura or the shady travelers that came and went from that area that naturally had people evading that portion of the city. But it was that same building that five pairs of eyes were studying.
"That last person that entered I didn't recognize from any bingo books," Sai commented.
Kakashi sighed, "Aa, me either and he's the only one for about an hour."
"We will probably see more at night," Sakura said, "Most wanted shinobi will want to enter under the cover of darkness to protect their identities."
"Sakura-chan is right, and we should find a non-descript place to make a base camp," Naruto chimed in fidgeting on his tree limb.
"We should enter at different intervals so we don't arouse suspicion," Sasuke interjected staring at the gothic building.
"Sasuke is right," Kakashi stretched before leaning against the tree, "Whoever goes in first will need to scout a good base location. We can all meet up at that dango restaurant and the scouts can give us the information."
"Naruto and I will share a room," Sakura turned and looked at her blonde teammate, "Just in case we get found out they can storm our room and not find the others."
"Sounds good Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled at her.
"Sakura you and Naruto will enter together as a couple and be the scouts, find a place to stay then we will meet up with you in an hour," Kakashi ordered.
"I finally get a date with Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked excitedly.
Sakura rolled her eyes, "Soak it up while you can. We're both taken you hyperactive idiot."
Naruto winked at her, "No worries, I like the little lady I'm with right now."
The pink haired girl just giggled while removing her leaf hitai-ate, "Hand me yours Naruto we need to be discrete."
He removed his headband and handed it to his partner where she stored it into a feminine traveling pack that she removed from her traditional pack. Next she removed her short pink medic apron and replaced it with a long wrap around white and red flowered skirt then placed a long brown haired wig to cover her pink locks.
"Change Naruto," Sakura told him.
"Can't I just use a henge?" he whined.
"No there are high level shinobi in this village," Kakashi told him, "Henge is out of the question since we need to blend in."
"Fine," the whiskered blonde grumbled and changed into a pair of cargo shorts and orange t-shirt.
"Do you own any other colors?" Sai asked looking at the bright orange shirt.
"Hey don't hate because I can wear this color and you can't," Naruto retorted placing his traditional orange get-up into Sakura large travel bag.
"Alright Naruto, make this look real," Sakura eyed him with a small glint in her eyes.
"You kidding me Sakura-chan, I've been asking you out for years," he replied with a large smile making her laugh.
Anyone who would have looked at them would immediately have thought they were a vacationing couple. They held hands and cuddled together on the streets, even windowed shopped. What the civilians didn't realize was that by using the windows the two shinobi would use the reflection to scout for possible inn's for their base. And when they couple would hug in plain view it was a discrete way for each of them to scan the street for anyone potentially following them. Occasionally Sakura would notice they needed to step up their game when she detected a controlled chakra presence indicating they were being watched by a shinobi. But their ploy would always deter the onlooker once Naruto placed a sweet kiss on her hand or a tender lingering kiss on her cheek. Sakura was secretly grateful that Naruto could pull off this assignment without having to actually kiss her. She wasn't entirely sure what or how she would feel kissing her best friend…but if the situation called for it then she would, it was for the mission and it had to be a success.
After their allotted hour they settled into the specified dango restaurant and ordered a dish to share, keeping up with their couple in love and on vacation ploy. The waiter brought out their ordered dessert and they began to indulge when Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sai each sat at a different table next to them.
"There's a quaint little inn by that bakery," Sakura trilled to her date, "Easy place to get breakfast if we decide to sleep in."
Naruto gave her a foxy grin, "You plan on staying up late?"
"Oh you know," she winked.
He chuckled then, "Think it's private enough for us?"
She shrugged, "There were only a couple of birds lingering around but nothing we can't handle. We can always ask the receptionist for a corner room. The view looked great and it was super private."
"Well then darling shall we go see what rooms they have available?" he asked wiping a small amount of syrup from her chin then wiping it on his napkin.
She scoffed, "Not until I have finished my dessert sweet boy, I'll want to taste it on you later." She grinned biting around one supple ball of dessert then pulled it slowly off all the while eyeing her date.
Naruto's gaze stayed fixated and in character throughout her sensual display, "You are going to get me in trouble woman…hurry up and finish before I do something we both will regret in public."
Sakura smirked at him, causing Naruto to roll his eyes at her. He whispered under his breath, "An Uchiha smirk…really?"
"Spend enough time around them and they begin to rub off on you," she whispered in kind and winked at him.
Naruto rolled his eyes then started laughing, "Crazy girl."
"Don't you know it," she replied then casually glanced around her. The team had dispersed, no doubt going to the inn they specified in their conversation and most likely renting the rooms they indicated as well.
The waiter brought out their check and Naruto dropped the cash then stood, "Shall we, my lady."
Sakura took his proffered hand then linked their fingers as the exited the restaurant. Naruto shouldered their large traveling pack with his other hand as they navigated their way through the large crowd of civilians. They walked up to the small inn located next to the bakery and opened the door revealing a modest reception desk.
A middle aged woman greeted them with a small smile, "Hello and welcome to Akane's Cottage. How may I help you?"
"We need a room," Naruto replied smiling at the friendly lady. Sakura continued to hang on his arm smiling softly at the woman.
"Name?" she asked.
"Uzumaki," he replied before feeling the pressure on his arm from Sakura for giving his name away without thinking. Oh he was soooooo going to hear about it when they got into their room.
"Oh your room was paid for by a nice man named Umino Obito," the lady replied smiling and very ignorant of the tension between the two acting lovers, "Here is the room key and have a pleasant stay here at our Cottage. The bakery next door is the best place for breakfast if I do say so myself."
"Thank you," Sakura smiled at the lady while dragging Naruto up the stairs to their room.
Once they entered they found a note waiting on the vanity in the corner. Sakura opened it and read.
"Kakashi wanted us to meet them in the room directly above to go over the mission from here on out," she told him in a hard voice.
Naruto scratched the back of his head nervous about sharing a room with his favorite kunoichi, "Ummm Sakura-chan, I'm really sorry about earlier."
"Whatever, Kakashi obviously knew you'd do this so we're fine," she replied while burning the note as she spied some incense in the corner. She lit a stick and placed it in the holder to cover up the smell of burnt paper. "Let's go they are expecting us."
Opening the window Sakura glanced up seeing the room directly above them. Pumping chakra into her hands and feet she crept swiftly up the wall and into the open window with Naruto following directly behind her.
"Judging from your disgruntled face Ugly, I'd say Dickless did exactly as Senpai predicted," Sai sent them both a fake smile.
"If you mean giving his own damn name to the receptionist then yes, you'd be correct," she replied bitterly.
"Knew it," Sasuke gloated earning a glare from Naruto.
"I'm sorry ok! Sakura-chan come on, I apologized."
She just shrugged as she plopped down next to Sasuke on the bed and folded her arms. Naruto just sighed as Kakashi walked into the main room from the bathroom.
"Oh good you guys got your room keys right?" he asked sitting at the table in the room.
"Yessssss," Sakura ground out.
"Sasuke was right then," he commented smiling at Naruto.
The blonde groaned, "I'm never living this down am I?"
"Nope," Sai replied with a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Let's just get to the mission…Naruto and I have more to cover on personality before tomorrow," Sakura switched positions to lying on her stomach.
"Alright so reconnaissance and kidnapping," Kakashi began, "The leader of this mercenary group is named Tetsu. He is the user of this poison jutsu that Sakura has discovered. If we find this man we are to apprehend him and take him back to Konoha for interrogation. If he's not here then we have to try to ascertain his location which will most likely be his main base of operations. If we cannot discover that information here or if we are discovered as enemy shinobi we are to kidnap one of their own and bring him or her in for interrogation. Any questions?"
"Yes what does the leader look like?" Sasuke asked in a disinterested tone.
"He will look like this," Sakura pulled out a picture of a man with sandy blonde hair and light blue eyes. He was of average build with a small friendly smile.
"How did we get a picture of him?" Sai asked looking at Sakura.
She sighed, "Well…because according to my mother's note he's my father's brother…his identical twin."
"Wait…this man is your uncle?" Sasuke asked in a hard tone.
"Don't take that tone with me Sasuke," Sakura glared at him, "I didn't even know this bastard existed until my mother died ok. He's not family…we just share the same damn name."
"Regardless," Kakashi intervened putting out the fire between the two of them, "It's convenient that they share such a resemblance that way we already know who and what to look for. So while Naruto and Sakura are undercover we will be covering their backs and trying to determine where this man is from the outside. Sakura, Naruto, look for Sai's ink drawings for information or an abort. If we call an abort grab whoever you can and meet us at that river we first camped at, agreed?"
"Hai," they both responded.
"Alright, while you're inside we need you to figure out what type of men Tetsu has for his kunoichi. If we can determine the stud then we can have a better idea of this group's abilities. If you can find something on paper that would be good, if not then you'll have to keep a mental list. Also scout potential kidnapping targets male and female."
"Hai."
"Sai, you're the main communicator between our two groups. If you spot anyone from the bingo book enter this place alert them immediately. You are their first back up." Sai nodded. "Sasuke, you and I will try getting information on this group from the outside; they have to travel to and from this location regularly to supply it with kunoichi. Any information on them is helpful at this point. At the same time if they aren't here at all then we leave and have to try another location."
"This dirt bag is a collector," Sakura interjected, "It makes sense that he would supply a high end place like this because it ensures that they get the best customers with the least amount of risks. These men are paying for good clean girls and service."
"Agreed Sakura which is why we are here first," Kakashi nodded, "Akane's brothel is known throughout the world for this reason. Any other questions?"
"Only a request," Sakura looked at Sai, "Can you send in some mice for a preliminary report of the general demeanor of the women in there. I need to know exactly what kind of character I need to be in."
Sai nodded then pulled out his scroll drawing a few mice then sent them on their way. "They will be in your room after they have gathered the information. Just pull out your scroll and they will tell you what you need to know."
Sakura nodded then stretched on the bed.
"If nothing else then get some rest and set up traps around your room," Kakashi stood up and removed his Jounin vest before settling in on one of the beds his orange book in hand.
"Remember what we talked about?" Sakura asked one last time.
"Yes Sakura-chan let's just do this," Naruto answered.
Sakura gave his appearance a critical eye. She dressed him in her light blue yukata with the red and white printed flowers as before with the same red obi and getas. As requested with Naruto changed in his female form he made sure his whisker marks were gone. Sakura had done his make up to give him a younger appearance than his true age. She even added long silky ribbons tied with jewels into his typical pigtails to help with the younger appearance.
"Wow, I think I made you look real good if I do say so myself…too bad I don't have a camera," Sakura winked at him.
"No cameras for you! I never want anyone but my mission team to see me like this!" Naruto complained shifting in his outfit. He was clearly uncomfortable with her compliment so Sakura just decide to play it off by rolling her eyes.
"Relax Naruto…or I guess I should be calling you by your female name, Naruko."
He rolled his eyes again, "Even I have to admit that's not a very impressive cover name. It sounds too similar."
"Would you rather I give you a flower name like mine?" Sakura did her own check. She was also sporting the red yukata from their earlier training.
"Sure…maybe then you wouldn't have to change yours and it can sound more on purpose you know," he replied.
"Hmmm, not a half bad idea," Sakura turned back studying him for a proper flower name, "Your name will be Haruno Suisen. Suisen is the yellow daffodil, it's fitting since I'm named for my hair. When presented with that flower it means someone, usually the giver, respects you."
Naruto stared at Sakura for a good ten seconds before a small smile found its way to his lips, "Thanks Sakura-chan."
"Thank you Naruto…I know doing this is tough and for you and your general personality it'll be extra tough. It means a lot that you're not letting me go in there alone," Sakura smiled back before giving him a big hug.
"You're walking into a lion's den here, filled with either creepy perverts or evil clan members," he told her as he held her tight, "You need the back up."
"Yeah…but thanks, I know out of everyone you really were the best one for this," she smiled placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Is that your roundabout way of saying I make a good girl?"
Sakura laughed then, "No I'm saying you make a good whore."
He scoffed before growling at her which only caused Sakura to laugh harder, "I'm kidding Naruto come on I had to lighten the atmosphere."
"Yeah yeah let's get going," he grumbled while checking his sleeves to make sure he had all of his accessories.
Jumping out of the window Sakura landed easily down onto the ground. Naruto followed only after creating two shadow clones to keep up their appearances throughout the city. Naruto joined her then they kept to the shadows while weaving their way closer to their destination.
"Maybe you should change your name Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered.
"Too late for that, I didn't dye my hair and no way am I gonna henge it."
"Still it's not safe, if that bastard is here he's specifically going to seek us out and know that we're intruders." They paused waiting for a group of people to walk past before continuing their journey.
"Good then we won't have to be undercover for long." Emerald eyes scanned the street before walking again.
Naruto paused watching her intently, "Sakura, what are you planning?"
She paused mid-step taken slightly aback by his tone and the fact that he dropped the –chan from her name. Turning slowly she faced him with a blank expression.
"Don't look at me like that you know I hate it," he glared at her, "What are you planning with this?"
After holding her breath for a long period of time she released it finally allowing her true anger over the matter to show.
"When I find this son of a bitch I'm going to kill him with my own two hands."
Naruto stared long into her eyes and was shocked but also slightly pleased to see that they stayed her traditional emerald green. If they had the slightest hints of gray or silver then he knew she probably really didn't mean it but they weren't. Her eyes stayed green…he knew she was serious.
He nodded, "Alright, let's get this bastard shall we?"
She smirked at his change in attitude.
Ocean blues eyes rolled in response, "Seriously you need to stop that…it's going to give me nightmares."
Sakura's only response was to chuckle.
Five minutes later they stood at the beginning of the large walkway leading directly to the gothic building. They stopped briefly taking in the intimidating feeling that radiated from before them.
"Well here goes nothing," Sakura whispered then adjusted her yukata exposing her leg, "Never make eye contact, use your peripheral vision and do exactly what I do."
Naruto nodded, "I got your back Sakura-chan, believe it."
Sakura felt comforted at his words because she knew he didn't mean just this…he was also referring to her early declaration of vengeance. She led the way up the lengthy dirt walkway toward their mission.
"Take out your fan and practice. You're going to need it out soon anyway," she ordered and heard him comply.
They approached at a steady pace casually scanning their surrounding for any sign of their other teammates. The long walkway was lined with large imposing trees that made concealing one-self the easiest job on the planet. If they spotted Sai or Kakashi or Sasuke in these trees then Sakura was going to launch a shruiken at them as a warning. Sakura pulled out her fan from her sleeve easily slipping into character as she approach the main door. There was a man guarding it and stood in front of them as they approached.
"State your business," he demanded his hand on his sword.
"We're Haruno-sama's new girls," Sakura replied smoothly with her head bowed in a sign of submission as she and Naruto snapped their fans shut. She waited knowing her long creamy white leg was on display, on purpose, helping to sway the man to allow them entry. A few seconds later she heard the door open and she nodded her thanks to the guard. Naruto followed her closely and wanted nothing more than to knock that dirty man into next century. But he was under strict instructions from Sakura not to allow any form of ki to leak through his system. Their cover would be blown before the mission would even get started.
Keeping his head bowed he follow Sakura's lead up to the front desk where an older woman, he assumed was the Madam that Sakura said ran a place like this, was scribbling some nonsense on a piece of paper.
The older woman looked up taking in the two young prospects with a critical eye, "You two young ladies are far from home what brings you here?"
"We were sent from Haruno-sama as replacements for anyone that needs replacing," Sakura answered looking up at the woman. She could tell she used to be a beautiful and that she had aged really well. Her neck was adorned with a large jewel-covered necklace that hung just above her large breasts. She wore a dark red fitted bodice with a sweet heart neck line that fell beautifully around her perfect figure.
"Huh," the Madam placed her tongue between her teeth, "Usually we don't get just two replacements."
"Well my sister here isn't old enough, but he wanted her with me…to learn," Sakura explained bowing her head again.
Chocolate brown eyes narrowed at the explanation. It was odd to say the least but it had been a while since new girls had arrived. Maybe he had a huge age gap that he's trying to fill in.
"Well Tetsu always did keep his own damn council but my clients do love his girls," the Madam said walking around the reception desk to appraise the two beauties before her.
Sakura could have jumped for joy, their initial instinct was right, high end brothels means good collecting, the perfect profile. Her chin was jerked up roughly by a delicate but firm hand. Chocolate met green and Sakura fought to keep the submissive blank expression that Sai reported was a prominent characteristic for all women in the brothel.
"You have very unique features and it'll be pleasing for my clients. You definitely know how to dress…definitely better than some of the other submissive whores that he brings. But every girl that he does bring isn't pure…he usually takes it upon himself to rid them of that disability. It's a pity really, because I can charge more for virgins." She dropped Sakura's chin and did the same appraisal on Naruto.
"Huh," she smiled, "You are definitely innocent. Wide, doe-like eyes, you haven't seen anything yet have you. Tetsu never brings tag-a-longs but I guess he has something else in mind. It'd be nice if he'd actually include me in his plans but I guess the ones I have now have been here for a little longer than normal. Whatever, go upstairs you'll find the rest of your kin and I'll send for you when I have a client."
Sakura and Naruto both bowed and proceeded up the one main staircase behind the large circular reception desk. Once they were out of hearing range Naruto whispered to Sakura, "She didn't even ask for our names."
Sakura shrugged, "Madam's don't care, the clients prefer physical descriptions to names…makes it less personal for both parties."
Blue eyes narrowed at the insinuation, "Pieces of meat..."
Sakura nodded, "Exactly. And remember, scan for potential studs. We need the information to predict strength. We need to locate her office and check out that reception desk. We need as many names as we can get."
"No worries Sakura-chan," Naruto chanced a wink at her, "We got this."
"This is getting risky, we need to call the mission soon," Sasuke conversed with his two partners.
"We still have time and according to Sakura and Naruto's recent report the leader might show his face soon," Kakashi said.
"Doesn't matter now," Sasuke argued back, "Last night was a close call. It's a good thing I was around to help Sakura cast that genjutsu or we would have had a serious problem."
Kakashi sighed, "I know…it was ultimately her call whether or not we abort and she decided to tough it out."
"But should she really be making those decisions," Sai interjected, "This mission and this whole situation in general is obviously very personal to her. When her mother died we heard her claim of vengeance in the Hokage's office. Now we know that the mercenary group were tracking is responsible for the death."
"You make a valid argument Sai, but this goes beyond just Sakura and her personal vengeance. This poison is affecting other shinobi as well. Sakura knows this and right now we have to trust her to put personal feelings aside and succeed in the mission, specifically for the mission," Kakashi answered.
Sasuke growled, "We have a decent list of potential male partners that they collected from the office. According to their reports there are at least ten kunoichis there all belonging to the Haruno clan and each of them are easy pickings. Naruto is miraculously keeping cover but that much time under that jutsu is bound to drive him crazy. And Sakura…"
Kakashi sighed again, "Women are brave creatures…"
Sai nodded in agreement, "We will wait per the request from our UC's. Since the kunoichi's aren't very sociable we will end up having to apprehend one or two. Hopefully they can give us the information we need in interrogation."
Kakashi nodded, "From Sakura's intel as well she's not surprised at the lack of information gathering. These women are trained to be cautious and submissive. It's almost eerily similar to brain washing."
"Doesn't help either that we don't know any specifics to try and break the ice. I know my clan is so big that even I don't know everybody on a personal basis but this…it's like they don't even know each other," Sasuke commented.
Folding up the latest batch of intel Kakashi stored it in his pocket before settling against one of their appointed lookout trees. It was a large willow overlooking the main entrance from 100 yards away. There hadn't been any recent activity or clients that had entered the establishment in over 24 hours. But that never meant there wasn't trouble because last night was proof.
The Madam had entered into a large common room and called Sakura over to her. The kunoichi was informed that she would have a client to entertain that evening and since it was her first time in the establishment the Madam went into detail about protocol. Luckily for Sakura she didn't have to stay until the client woke the next morning. Most of the time the clients left after the deed was done and stayed in the more…masculine accommodations reserved for the higher paying customers that was above the in-house restaurant and bar. The Madam instructed her to wait in one of the suites for her guest then serve him a dinner with sake and bed him. Sakura nodded obediently then left to inform Naruto of her assignment. Needless to the say her blonde companion was not pleased…but this was the mission and they had to accomplish it, somehow.
Naruto, instead of shadowing his superior as he was supposed to do, discretely snuck out and informed Sasuke, who was on look out at the time, of their predicament. Sasuke immediately got Kakashi and Sai on board while Naruto went back to his assignment trying hard to suppress the nerves threatening to consume him. Sai immediately identified the supposed stud meant for Sakura and pulled out his bingo book reviewing the strengths and weaknesses. They determined that this particular shinobi wasn't the greatest at genjutsu and even more specifically couldn't release himself from one if he never suspected he was in one. Sasuke was able to get Sakura alone in the suite before the man arrived and they came up with an immediate plan of action. Sakura would entertain the guest with the dinner and sake to dull his senses to his surroundings using the kunoichi aura. When he was sufficiently fixated on her then Sasuke would cast the genjutsu making the man believe he was enjoying the luscious body of a certain pink haired treasure. Thankfully, the team assessed, these rooms were sound proof so they wouldn't know the difference between someone having a wild night to someone passed out having a wet dream. Once their target was out she quickly stripped him and rumpled up the sheets in accordance to whatever Sasuke said would be sufficient evidence of their night. Sakura then reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small bottle, it was a mixture of her strawberry scent and other pheromones to convince their patron that he indeed had a pleasing night.
"Kakashi-senpai, incoming carriage four o'clock," Sai said from his perch under the still willow branches.
Kakashi and Sasuke immediately took notice of the impending horse drawn carriage analyzing it. It was longer than a typical carriage owned by upper class citizens but it was also plain looking so as not to draw too much attention.
"See anything Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.
"Blocked…" he replied, "I can't even detect a chakra signature."
"High level shinobi then, any guesses Sai?"
The artist pulled out his black bingo book and began flipping through it. He didn't get very far until he felt his two comrades still. Sai looked up and saw the man in the picture…the one Sakura showed them four days ago. He was here…and he came with a new batch of fresh kunoichis.
"Sai inform Naruto and Sakura now…it's time to break cover," Kakashi ordered.
Sai scribbled the message onto a black crow and sent it flying towards the mansion. Kakashi and Sasuke continued to observe watching and waiting analyzing their opponents every move. Thirty seconds went by then the Madam appeared in all her busty glory and she greeted their target with two kisses to his cheek in a traditional greeting.
"Well, well Tetsu," she appraised with a glint in her eye, "Looking mighty fine today. Special occasion?"
Tetsu chuckled darkly, "My dear Mami, it is always a special occasion when I get to see a radiant flower such as yourself."
"I see," she purred trailing a blood red nail across his lips then down his neck hooking into the top of his shirt, "Shall I have the usual brought up?"
He grinned then lifted one of her hands and kissed her knuckles, "You know me too well. But business first as always my dear."
"Of course, business," she turned her attention to the ten women standing before her, "Anything special I should know?"
"Ryuu, step forward," Tetsu ordered. A taller, muscular kunoichi stepped forward with dark and thick auburn hair that she had tied in a high pony tail. "This one here is one of the special packages, only give her the best."
The Madam's eyes widened at his meaning, "Of course, only the best. Look at me girl."
Ryuu looked up meeting the woman's gaze perfectly since they were the same 70 inches in height.
"Gold eyes, that's not something you see every day. I know plenty of men who would love to be captivated by those eyes for the night," she grinned wickedly at the kunoichi before turning back to Tetsu, "Oh and by the way I had two of your girls arrive a few days ago, one was taken last night and the other you sent was green. I didn't know you wanted observers, I found it very odd."
Silver eyes narrowed in confusion, "Two girls you said? They called themselves Harunos?"
"Yes, and one was still pure."
Madam Mami watched the blank expression on Tetsu's face wondering what he was thinking when all of a sudden he smirked.
"What did these two women look like Mami?"
"Why are they not yours?"
"Answer my question," he tone changed from curious to hard in a second.
Mami sighed, "The virgin was a well blessed blonde with long pigtails and electric blue eyes. The elder had shoulder length pink hair with dark emerald eyes."
Tetsu chuckled darkly to himself. "Silly little flower…" he mused, "Mami I wish to be graced with both of my runaways in my usual room."
Mami eyed him curiously but shrugged it off; it wasn't her job to question him, "As you wish. Follow me ladies I'll show you where to go."
"He knows Kakashi! We need to get out now!" Sasuke whispered fiercely from up in the trees.
Kakashi nodded, "He's our target if we can we need to apprehend him instead of a second party."
"He has help though," Sai pointed, "Those three there."
"If those kunoichi's actually fight then we are grossly outnumbered," Sasuke surmised.
"We need a location first and foremost," Sai said, "If we can get that we can take down the entire operation."
Kakashi nodded as Sai's ink bird flapped back and splattered over his scroll. Sai communication was using one ink drawing initiated by him to send a message, then the responses would be spoken to the animal and after a couple of signs would immediately change back into animal form and report back to the original creator.
"They've been summoned to meet with him," Sai informed them, "They want to know our plan ASAP."
"If they are meeting with him then he will be alone with them. Let's us that to our advantage. Tell them to go and be ready to apprehend him at our signal," Kakashi ordered moving discretely through the tree, "Sasuke follow his chakra signature so we know what room he's heading to."
"Already have him, he's in a suite and luckily it has a large window," Sasuke responded.
"Let's get into position, Sai issue the orders," Kakashi was on the move with Sasuke hot on his heels. Sasuke took the lead after leaving their perch in the willow tree directing them to the appropriate window that held their target. Sai followed as soon as his part was finished and landed easily near the two shinobi.
"He's alone right now, but very alert," Sasuke reported.
"Chakra?" Kakashi asked.
"Slightly masked…like he's either hiding it from Sakura or he knows she's not alone and doesn't want us to know his true reserves."
"Stay alert, the moment may pass soon so be ready to act accordingly."
Sasuke and Sai both nodded and sat at the ready to burst through that large ornate window at their leader's command.
Sakura was clearly shocked when she and Naruto received a summons to meet with their master. Then a second later Naruto spotted a black crow and her fears were confirmed. Tetsu was here…and if he wanted to meet with them, that meant their cover was probably blown. Before they left to go to the meeting they read Kakashi's orders.
Meet with Tetsu and we will be stationed near to assist in his kidnapping. Use whatever means necessary to subdue him before he can call for reinforcements. He brought ten new kunoichi's for the brothel one was pointed out as a special case, most likely indicating a powerful kunoichi. There are three other shinobi serving as guardians. Cover might already be blown, watch for our signal to break it completely.
Naruto nodded, as soon as the signal was given he would change out of his female form and help Sakura apprehend their target.
"You ok?" he asked her.
She nodded, "Yeah…or I will be."
"Remember we need him alive, Sakura-chan," he told her watching as a sudden darkness crept into her eyes.
"I know."
"If we can't get to him we need to take someone else for information."
"I know."
Naruto nodded not completely believing her statements but not willing to call her out on it. She wanted her revenge and he said he'd help her get it but after not leaving this place since they arrived he talked to her about it. They mutually agreed that the mission was important and that once Tsunade was done interrogating him that she would most likely let Sakura perform the execution. So with reluctance the pink haired kunoichi began refocusing on the best way to capture him instead of going for the instant kill.
Sakura stared into a full length mirror in their shared bunk dorm. She checked her sleeves making sure her hidden weapons were up to par and easily accessible. Turning to Naruto she nodded once then led the way out of their room. She made little to no eye contact with any of the girls but couldn't help it when one stepped in front of her blocking her immediate path. Without another word Sakura took a step to the side apologizing but found her way blocked again. Not wanting to play the dancing game she glanced up only to be met with calculating golden eyes.
"I don't recognize you," the tall woman with auburn hair stated, "Who are you?"
"I'm Haruno Sakura," she bowed her pink head.
The golden eyed girl remained silent then turned her gaze to the blonde, "Who are you?"
"Haruno Suisen," Pigtails bounced up and down as Naruto bowed his head.
Golden eyes flitted from one girl to the other, Why does her name sound familiar…Sakura…Kaminari?
"Please don't keep us long, Haruno-sama is expecting us," Sakura stated in a small voice. That tone was something she picked up quickly from the small amount of conversation with the other women. Every time they mentioned the leader they were terrified, quiet, and anxious as if he would pop in out of nowhere and punish them for speaking about him.
"Your name sounds familiar," the tall woman spoke again, "But I remember Haruno-sama said something about meeting with you outside. I won't keep you any longer."
Sakura looked up thanking the woman and smiling slightly. She immediately took in her appearance admiring her beautiful auburn hair and decent build, definitely not a candidate that would be easy to kidnap, so scratch that idea. But there was something about her that stuck out…this woman was the first one to speak about the leader without paralyzing fear. She either wasn't afraid of him or she just did a great job of hiding it and Sakura was banking on the latter.
They slowly glided through the halls until they walked up to the designated door. She knew he could probably sense their presence so standing around like a scared-y cat wasn't going to help. Naruto placed a steady hand on her shoulder and squeezed.
"They are right outside, you're not alone," he whispered.
Sakura nodded then twisted the handle and entered the room. It was a typical suite that the girls would wait in to entertain their guests only this time the situation was reversed. The guest was waiting for the entertainer.
"Close the door behind you blossom," a deep baritone commanded.
Sakura stiffened at the voice…that voice…the one from her nightmares…the one that now kept her up nights. Her eyes immediately found the owner standing by the window with his hands behind his back. His sandy blonde hair glowed lightly from the light entering through the paned glass and his long brown trench coat covered any other discernible feature. The door clicked softly behind her as Naruto closed it then walked up and stood shoulder to shoulder with his friend. Both of their eyes were hard as the target turned around and faced to two women.
"I guess I did underestimate you after all little Sakura," Tetsu said easily giving her a quick once over, "Your mother was right, you are a smart girl."
Sakura couldn't say a word…she wanted to, she had a lot she wanted to say to this bastard but at this moment she just couldn't find the words.
"Not rising to the occasion I see," he walked away from the window and over to a table with a bottle of sake and two cups waiting, "So who's your friend. I'm not fool enough to believe that your companion is a mere civilian girl."
She was still silent…what the hell was wrong with her? Why wasn't she moving why wasn't she talking. She has been looking forward to this moment for a week. To finally confront the man who murdered her mother and possibly her father, to get her vengeance! She was determined and so sure of herself…so why couldn't she move.
"Would you care for a drink, might loosen up that tongue of yours," he down a glass, "From what I've heard, you usually are very talkative almost on the verge of bossy. Reliable sources have told me that the only time you are ever quiet is when you are overcome with so much emotion that it literally renders you speechless. Is this one of those times Sakura? Are you overcome with so much emotion in my presence that the words have literally left you?"
"Shut up you arrogant bastard," she hissed.
"Oh so you decided to speak. Let's get down to it then," he grinned slightly at her, "Do you remember me?"
"Of course I do, how could I forget the face of the man who's haunted my nightmares."
"I'm touched to be remembered as such. So how did you like my recent work? I'm sure it's been quite an eye opening experience for you, to be faced with such a difficult substance and being the top medical ninja in the world and unable to figure it out…I can only imagine the shame," he moved away from the table the strode slowly around the room.
"Enough with the monologue. I have figured it out, for your information, why do you think I'm the one here to apprehend you," she bit back, slowly and surely losing her cool.
Tetsu stopped and stared into her hard emerald eyes. Was she bluffing and only here for her vengeance or did she really crack his secret?
"No, you only think you did but you really haven't. You have only had two bodies to collect information on; one was your ANBU and one was that bitch of a woman that persuaded my brother to defect from his clan!"
Naruto barely reacted in time restrain Sakura from lunging at Tetsu. A second later the window shattered as Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sai took up defensive positions around their target. Naruto used that time to change back into his original form.
"I see…" the silver eyed man clicked his tongue, "So you really were serious about taking me into custody. Unfortunately now is not the time for me to be taken prisoner. I have too many things to accomplish but you little blossom," he grinned at Sakura's glare, "You will belong to me soon enough. Just give me a few weeks to finalize some shipments and I'll be seeing you again soon enough."
In a flash of smoke their suspect was gone only to reappear behind Sai and Sasuke his hands on the back of their necks. He brought them both to their knees with pained yelps and Sakura watched as Sasuke's sharingan flickered out of his wide, pain filled eyes. Tetsu then reappeared behind Naruto and Sakura and they jumped away before he could touch them.
"Be seeing you my blossom," Tetsu bowed his head slightly at her as his three guards stormed into the room.
"Sakura, Naruto, grab Sasuke and Sai we're aborting the mission!" Kakashi ordered lunging forward to confront the three men.
"Sakura! Let's go!" Naruto called picking up Sasuke, "I can't carry them both Sakura-chan!"
Sakura stared at the open door and watched her target walk out easily and not even a mark on him. He fooled her, fooled Sasuke and his activated sharingan. He immobilized Sasuke and Sai before they could counteract. That means her team is poisoned!
Sakura turned immediately and grabbed Sai hoisting him over her shoulders.
"Kaka-sensei we need a prisoner!" she yelled at the silver haired man.
"Roger, get them out of here and a safe distance away, I'll catch up," he called back countering a flurry of taijutsu attacks.
"Naruto he can't do this alone, give me Sasuke and I'll get out of here. You help him then find us," Sakura held an arm out for Sasuke. Naruto debated for another second before placing Sasuke's larger build over Sakura's shoulder.
"Go!" she yelled as her eyes began to fleck with silver around the iris as she stood up straight and jumped through the window with her two teammates over her shoulders. Pumping her inhuman chakra strength through her muscular system she took off through the broken window.
She ran long and hard through the surrounding trees trying to get as far away from the village as possible. She headed straight to the river since it was their designated rendezvous spot for the abort call. She had to get there as soon as possible. Her team needed to get the poison extracted but she didn't want to endanger them by remaining close to the city. Rouge nins might show up to take advantage of a damn girl wearing a revealing yukata trying to aid her two fallen escorts…let's just face it she didn't want to deal with the drama.
"Few more hours guys, just hold on ok," she told her two comrades while flying through the trees.
"Sakura…just-st…stop," Sasuke moaned against her.
"Can't yet Sasuke, not far enough away we need to be safe," she told him.
"I can…draw…" Sai told her through the pain, "Flying faster…than running."
"Sai you need your chakra, just a little longer," Sakura told him.
"Not…a lot used…for birds," he groaned trying to clutch at his stomach.
"Do it," Sasuke choked out.
Sakura sighed but stopped and set both men down.
"Draw fast Sai, this poison is fast acting and I don't know where you guys are affected yet," Sakura held his scroll open as he began to draw.
"Don't worry…Hag…we have…you." Sai held his hand up and called forth the jutsu through his brush. A large and slightly misshapen ink bird appeared and Sakura jumped on its back as it took flight.
"Ok Sai, I'm going to work on you and it's going to hurt," she laid both men down side by side and placing her healing hands over Sai's chest.
Immediately she found traces on three major organs in his body.
"Oh dear Kami…" she whispered, "Sai, I'm so sorry for everything I'm about to put you through."
Sai just smiled and closed his eyes as he prepared for the onslaught of pain. Sakura unzipped Sai's half shirt exposing his entire chest for her to work. Grabbing the nearest water jug Sakura extracted the water with chakra and inserted it directly into his chest. First extraction point was his lungs, and Sai's breathing became more erratic as the touch of the cool water against his poisoned lungs. She pulled it out slowly then extracted the poison from the water, placed it in empty water container, then plunged back into his body now extracting the poison surrounding his liver.
Sai tried keeping breathing steady but the pained groans didn't help matters. He had been through some tough beatings in his life time, first with Danzo's training then a variety of missions and such. But this…this was a whole new kind of pain. The cool water sent a shock into his system and when it surrounded his organs it was like electricity was shooting through his system sending him into a type of shock. He could feel something being pulled off the tender lining of his organs; he could feel the resistance the poison was giving Sakura…like it didn't want to come off. But every time Sakura made sure to prevail and took every small amount of poison out of his body.
"There Sai," she wiped her forehead, "You're clean."
Sai opened his eyes slowly then looked at the medic and smiled softly. Sakura placed a hand on his cheek as she closed his eyes again to sleep.
"Sasuke, your turn," Sakura turned around on the bird and faced her next patient.
"Chakra…Sakura…"
She looked up into his eyes taking in immediately taking notice of the light sheen of sweat on his forehead, "Don't speak, let me work and we can talk later."
"Sharingan…clone…" he groaned.
"Shhh," she stroked his forehead wiping off the sweat, "Just concentrate on breathing for me ok?"
He grunted in response as Sakura ripped his sleeveless shirt down the middle exposing his chest for her to work on. Placing one hand on his chest she shot chakra inside and immediately noticed that the same areas were affected in his body as was in Sai's.
My original prediction has to be correct then, he can't change what's affected after he's started the jutsu. That also means that he did this on purpose…he only infected these organs.
Sakura continued working through her thought process while Sasuke tried his best to keep his pained groans to himself. Lungs, liver, and intestines…those were the three areas affected by the poison.
He has extensive knowledge of the human body he attacked three locations that wouldn't kill them immediately.
Not just that but he planned it. He's probably just trying to piss you off.
Well it's working if you didn't noticed I choked back there!
Of course I noticed but if you didn't notice so did I!
Sakura tossed the water over the side of the bird as she finished extracting all the poison out of Sasuke's body. She then replaced the lid on the container that held the yellow substance and slung it over her shoulder. Glancing over the bird's head at the landscape below Sakura determined that they had passed their designated meeting spot by a few miles. Leaning against the bird's head she redirected the bird's path until she found the bend in the river. She pulled out a kunai and sliced the bird's head causing it to dissipate in the air. Her instincts were perfect as she swiftly grabbed both her comrades in midair and slid down on of the many trees landing lightly on the ground barely disturbing the landscape.
"Pretty impressive since I'm still wearing this damn yukata," she muttered to herself.
She placed Sasuke and Sai near each other as she gathered wood to start a fire. The sun was beginning to set in the west and the night was about to get seriously cold especially since they didn't have their traveling packs with them.
"Body heat it is then," she told herself settling in between the two men.
They were going to have to wait for the bedrolls, the jackets, and the food; hopefully Kakashi and Naruto hurry. Sasuke and Sai were not in a position to defend themselves and they would probably be out for the rest of the night. She can't leave them alone in such a state so going hunting was out of the question. All she could do was wait and try to keep them warm with her body heat and chakra and the fire. Gathering two of her boys closer to her slight body protective as a mother would be watching out for her children, she waited for the rest of her team hoping and praying that they were alright.
Kakashi and Naruto arrived two hours after dark with a prisoner in hand.
"Oh thank the heavens above you guys are alright," Naruto sighed looking at his three teammates.
"Are they stable?" Kakashi asked dropping their unconscious prisoner on the ground.
"Yeah, they're fine just out cold from the extraction and pain. I didn't have any meds on me so they kinda had to endure it without giving away our location," Sakura replied running her hands through two sets of silky raven hair.
"Heh, I'd be out too if you were doing that to my head," Naruto grinned at her.
Sakura just smiled, "It's cold out, I hope you guys brought our bedrolls and jackets and stuff."
Both Kakashi and Naruto paused.
"You can't be serious?" she asked completely surprised, "You both forgot! Are you kidding me?"
"Well you see Sakura…" Kakashi started with a shy guilty smile, "Once we started fighting we tried to capture a prisoner…"
"Then there were a couple of S-rank rouge nins in the place and they saw who we were and started to attack us as well. So we had to high tail it out of there after destroying the clones in the city. We couldn't stop since the rouges were right on our tails," Naruto explained scratching the back of his head.
"So you're saying were stuck out here with no gear and no spare clothes?" she asked slightly irritated.
"Hey it's not too bad at least it's only a day and a half journey back to Konoha," Naruto crossed his arms in defense.
"Yes you're correct but if you haven't noticed you and I are not exactly in traveling clothes," Sakura eyed the torn yukata that hung off his now male body.
Naruto looked down and immediately started screaming, "Kakashi-sensei! Why didn't we stop I can't wear this anymore!"
Kakashi just laughed to himself before striding off into the forest, "I'm going hunting since we have no supplies."
"Sakura-chan," Naruto looked back over at the pink haired woman with a slightly nervous expression, "Since this yukata is already kind of ruined…"
Sakura sighed knowing exactly what he was asking, "Whatever Naruto…"
Her tone caught him off guard and he studied her expression. She gazed into the orange flames without even blinking and kept absent mindedly stroking Sai and Sasuke's heads. It was the way that the flames flickered in the reflection of her eyes that had him staring at her intently. Something was bothering her, bothering her so much that she wanted nothing more than to shut down.
"Hey…do you want to…"
"No."
He sighed silently to himself then proceeded to redress himself in a way that wasn't as…feminine.
70 inches = 5'10" for those that don't know :) Review please they help me write faster and better :)