Chapter 2: Land of Lightning
Sakura couldn't help but feel giddy but apprehensive at the same time. She looked over the team that Shikamaru had put together. There was her long time friend and rival Ino. Her long blonde hair was bound into a long ponytail. Ino's teammate, Choji, had been chosen to back her up. Ino's specialty was mind transfer jutsu. Usually she teamed up with Shikamaru's shadow paralysis jutsu to immobilize her target, allowing herself to enter their mind. However since Shikamaru was unable to accompany the group to the Land of Lightning. Choji was sent to essentially be Ino's bodyguard. Speaking of bodyguards, she glanced ahead to the rest of the squad. Kiba and Akamaru were leading the formation with Ino and Sakura in the middle and Choji bringing up the rear. She looked down at the large palm sized emerald in her hand. It pulsed steadily as they headed towards the Land of Lightning.
They were on board a trade ship that supplied the Land of Lightning with wood in exchange for the vast quantity of ore and minerals found throughout the great mountains of the Land of Lightning. Their party was to be met at the dock by a Cloud escort team as prearranged by the Hokage. This was a S rank mission with high stakes.
Her thoughts drifted back to when Shikamaru showed her the missive from the Raikage basically declaring Sasuke enemy number one due to an attack he supposedly made on the daimyo of the Land of Lightning. The Raikage had ordered Sasuke's apprehension with lethal force if necessary. She remembered how her hand had automatically crushed the paper after reading the contents.
There was no way Sasuke would do such a thing! She thought. However her inner voice spoke up, How can you be so sure? You knew Sasuke the boy, not Sasuke the man.
Sakura sighed. Her inner voice was right after all. She had fallen in love with the boy, but she was no longer that girl and he was so far from being that boy. When he had first walked away from the village, set on his path towards revenge, she had desperately wanted him to come back. She even petitioned Naruto in that desperation, knowing that she herself was not strong enough. Her heart had ruled her head completely back in those days. After years went by with no contact, she tried to come to terms with her obsession over Sasuke. He had been her first love and due to her unwavering nature she couldn't let him go, her head reasoned. Sakura realized that her mission to bring Sasuke home was futile, but her heart wouldn't listen.
However the day came when her heart finally broke and with it her head took over. That day was when after years of searching, they were able to track Sasuke to one of Orochimaru's hideouts. There, her teammates led by Yamato sensei, came face to face with Sasuke. Just to look into his face after so long caused her heart to squeeze in anguish. She couldn't breathe and could barely speak. He looked down at her with such cold, loathing eyes. At that moment, all her childish dreams shattered along with her heart. She did not know this man and could not find even a shred of the boy that she once loved standing in front of her. He was gone, never to return. Sasuke had moved on without her.
Her stubbornness though would not allow her to totally give up on her mission to save Sasuke. However she now recognized that this new drive to stop her old teammate from his evil intentions was more driven by sense of duty than by love. The love that she had felt for that boy would always be there but that boy was gone. The man before her had killed that boy and in essence had shattered her heart into a million pieces.
Therefore, it came as such a surprise, when Sasuke expressed an interest in her after the Fourth Great Ninja War. He had finally been brought around to see the truth of things by Naruto and his brother, Itachi, who once revived, took it upon himself to show his brother the path that he wished for him to take. After the war, to atone for the atrocities he had performed in his quest for revenge against the Leaf, Sasuke decided to help Naruto by traveling outside the Village and gaining intel on those cells who sought to disrupt this new found peace.
However before he left he had apologized for his behavior to Sakura and of course she had accepted it readily. She waited for her heart to swell and her eyes to fill with love at the way he looked at her….. But it didn't happen. She waited for her skin to tingle as he took her hands in his and kissed her palm while staring deeply into her eyes…..But again it didn't happen.
Yes she felt relieved that he was back on the side of the village and she wouldn't have to worry for him anymore. And yes her cheeks turned pink when he kissed her palm so affectionately, but it was more from embarrassment cause they were at the dumpling shop and several people saw them and were eyeing them curiously.
She still had not worked out how she really felt about this older Sasuke by the time he left the village on his mission. Word had spread quickly due to the scene at the dumpling shop that she and Sasuke were apparently an item. Sasuke had even stopped by Ino's flower shop to buy her roses before he left. Her inner voice was stoked. Hey Forehead! You got the boy! Yippee! Her head said "Now what?" Her inner voice countered, What do you mean 'Now what?' You've spent the entirety of your shinobi life running after this boy and now that you caught him, you want to throw him back?!
Sakura sighed. Ino gave her a curious look as they continued their long journey to the Land of Lightning. They were both looking over the rail on the top deck. Enjoying the sea breeze as the ship skimmed along the waves. They both seemed lost in thought and neither spoke much to each other. Sakura gave a little reassuring smile to her friend then resumed her thoughts as she looked out towards the never ceasing water.
The problem was the boy that she had chased, no longer existed and the man she caught was a total enigma. Yes he did all the right things, flowers, and hand holding, but what did he really know about her or vice versa? Her heart tried to flutter to life from the rubble it now was but her cynical head ruled and it could not be easily swayed. Her cheeks did pinken a bit at the thought of how the emerald had come to be in her possession. It had been a gift from Sasuke. He had sent it to her via a hawk on her seventeenth birthday along with a message that said 'This reminds me of the eyes I see when my eyes are closed'. He had also infused it with his chakra. She would always be able to know his general location by the emerald's glow. In this regards it acted as a sort of Sasuke compass. It was such a romantic thing to say and do. No one had ever said anything like that to her before and she knew that the mere act of sending her a device that could give away his position was an act of immeasurable trust. Her heart had fluttered to life a bit more. She would often stare off in the direction that the emerald glowed the brightest every night and say a soft goodnight. She felt that this connected her somehow to him and that maybe he was saying the same thing back to her as well.
However as the weeks and months continued on with no further contact, the small ember started to die out. She became envious of friends' relationships, namely Naruto. He talked non stop about his plans with Hinata and then seeing them so happy together back at the village after a tiring mission, acted like a stab to her heart. Although she was happy that Naruto had found someone, her inner voice would chime in and say, That should be you and Sasuke. When will you get your happy ever after?
Sakura gave another long sigh which resulted in another curious look thrown her way by Ino.
"Can't wait to see him? Huh" Ino said with a little wiggle of her eyebrows. Her long hair was blowing in the wind.
"Um yeah!" Sakura said brightly, maybe a little too brightly as she turned to look at her friend, her short hair momentarily blinding her with the force of the wind. She hadn't even told her best friend about the quandary of her thoughts. She had a mission to do. It was two fold. First and foremost was to secure Sasuke's safety out of the Land of Lightning and bring him back to the village. This task fell to her and Kiba and Akumaru. The second was to question the witnesses of the attack on the daimyo. This was obviously a frame job with Sasuke as the target but who was behind it and why. This was Ino and Choji's mission. Kakashi had convinced the Raikage to let Ino interrogate the eyewitnesses to ensure that their memories had not been tampered with. The Raikage had reluctantly agreed. He disliked Sasuke immensely, however, the thought that he, the Raikage, could be used as someone's pawn was even more distasteful.
The squad was suppose to be met by an escort team which would take them to the Village Hidden in the Clouds. The two konoichi shielded their eyes at the same time. The mountains, which signaled the border of the Land of Lightning, could be seen up ahead.
Here we go, Sakura thought and despite her reservations felt a little jump start to her heart.
::
As soon as the Leaf shinobi stepped off the ship and onto the soil of the Land of Lightning, they were met by a squad of Hidden Cloud shinobi led by Karui.
"Oi Leaf Shinobi! You will be under my command from this point on until we reach the village." Karui had a confident swagger as she approached the group, eyeing them up and down.
"So much for alliances." Ino muttered to Choji. Choji grunted in agreement.
Sakura stepped forward amicably, "Hi Karui. I'm Sakura Haruno. We've met before.."
Karui interrupted, "Oi yeah the Sasuke lover! I'm surprised that they didn't send the fox kid too. In fact, Killer Bee sensei will be disappointed. As I was saying, follow me to the village." Karui turned abruptly and started to assemble her team. The four Leaf shinobi turned as one to follow.
Everything was going as planned. Once their mission to ascertain the truth of the Intel was established, then upon departure, Sakura and Kiba would find a way to slip off the ship and search for Sasuke. Ino and Choji would then take the information back to the village. The main problem would be getting Akamaru off the ship. Hiding a gigantic dog would not be easy. However Sakura needed a tracker and her choices were quite limited. Sai was off on a mission and Hinata was needed in the village to occupy Naruto. If Naruto found out that Sasuke might be in trouble then he would race here immediately which might play right into the hands of whoever was behind this ploy. Therefore her best option lay with a boy and his dog.
They arrived at the Hidden Cloud village and were led immediately into the Intel room. The Raikage was there to greet them.
Sakura gave a small bow. She had met the Raikage several times since the war. In fact he had become one of Tsunade-sama's favorite drinking buddies.
"Sakura" the Raikage addressed her in his usual stern manner.
"Thank you for honoring our request to come and question the witnesses. We, just like you, want to get to the bottom of this atrocity. We are all relieved that no one was killed in the incident." Sakura stood aside and began to introduce her three fellow shinobi.
"Yamanaka? You say. Are you the daughter of Inoichi Yamanaka?" The Raikage asked peering at the young kunoichi.
"Yes sir" Ino said proudly with her shoulders straightening.
"Your father was a fine man and shinobi. I'm sorry for your loss." The Raikage said gruffly.
"Thank you sir. He taught me everything that I know." Ino said proudly.
"Well then. I suppose we will get to the bottom of this after all. Karui take them to the main Intel chamber. I will get Omoi to bring the guards who witnessed the attack to you shortly."
As the shinobi turned to follow Karui down the hall, the Raikage put a staying hand on Sakura's arm.
The Raikage cleared his throat and in a gesture that seemed most unlike him, he fidgeted with the empty sleeve of his amputated arm.
"How's Tsunade doing?" He asked in his usual gruff manner.
Sakura couldn't help but smile. "Lady Tsunade is fine. She wanted me to tell you that she is enjoying retirement."
The Raikage smiled as if remembering a fond memory, "She is, is she? I was hoping that she would accompany you." Then as if embarrassed he coughed. Sakura swore that his face had gone quite red. He then continued on, "And where's Naruto? Bee was wanting to show him some new jutsu."
Sakura made her face impassive. She didn't want to discomfort the Raikage with the knowing smile that was plastered all over her Inner Sakura's face so instead she answered his question referring to Naruto,"I'm afraid until we can ascertain the extent of this new threat then we need to limit Naruto to the village."
This produced a snort and hearty laugh from the Raikage. "Limit that boy to the village you say? Ha! There's no way that's going to happen! He'll probably be here in a day or two if I know that kid!"
Outer Sakura tilted her head and gave the Raikage a smile in response. Inner Sakura however growled That idiot better stay in the village!
::
Back in Konoha, Naruto suddenly sneezed. It was so loud and unexpected that Hinata yelped, nearly knocking over her bowl of Ramen.
"Naruto, do you feel alright? I hope you aren't getting sick. " she put her hand to his forehead in concern.
Naruto just laughed and grabbed her hand giving it a big kiss. This produced a blush from Hinata. She always did that when Naruto showed her attention in public.
"No I think someone must be thinking of me. I hope it's not Kakashi or Shikamaru. I don't want to go on another mission so soon. I'd much rather stay here." He gave her hand a big squeeze. Hinata blushed again and gave him a sweet smile. Which made him lean over and give her a quick kiss on the lips. Hinata hit his hand with hers, "Enough, Naruto!" She ordered trying to look stern even though her cheeks were on fire.
Naruto laughed and put his hand up to rub his neck. Then he looked up suddenly as if something just occurred to him.
"Hey have you seen Sakura lately?"
::
By the time Sakura had caught up with the group, Ino and Choji were already setting up the machinery that they had brought with them. The Yamanaka clan had developed a way to project the image in the linked mind to a screen that allowed all to witness the memory that Ino was tapping into. The Yamanaka had strove to invent this to prevent the whole "he said, she said" debacle which occurred when the memory extracted differed from its holder. With the screen, all who were present, could witness the Intel bias free.
Sakura stood to the side, allowing the Raikage and his trusted staff to have the front row seats. Ino began to explain how everything worked and the procedure involved.
"What will this do to the guards being questioned? Will their minds be wiped? Will there be pain?" Sakura smiled at the confident Ino standing in front of her. Ino fielded all their questions like the pro she was.
"If it's okay with you, we will have our own medical staff monitor the well being of our people." The Raikage gestured to two of the medical staff in the corner, a man and a woman.
"If there are no other questions, then we can proceed." Ino said. She was eager to get back to the village. Sai only stayed in the village a few days in between missions. By her accounts, he had been gone 2 weeks on his current mission assuming of course that he wasn't back already.
"Pardon me, Sakura." Said a masculine voice from behind her. Sakura turned at the unfamiliar voice and faced a young man about her age. His face looked vaguely familiar.
The man laughed and put his hand behind his head in a very Naruto-esque style. "I guess it was too much to ask for that you'd actually remember me." He clutched dramatically at his heart and said, "I'm crushed!"
Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "Um do I know you? You do look familiar…"
A feminine voice cut in, "Hi I'm Junko. Ignore this fanboy! Junichi here has been in love with you since you stitched him up in the war. We are the medical corps assigned to the mind probe jutsu user of yours. We are suppose to insure that she doesn't fry any brain cells. Got it!" Junko snapped her fingers and winked at Sakura to get her point across.
Sakura laughed, "Well you shouldn't have much to do but study vitals. Ino's a pro and taught by the best of her clan."
Junko sighed, "Yeah that's what I figured. Come on Junichi, they are bringing in the first of the witnesses." Junko started to walk away. "It was nice to finally meet the great Sakura Haruno!"
"Nice to meet you too." Sakura called back politely. Then she turned and realized that Junichi was still standing next to her. His brown hair had fallen across his eyes and his light brown eyes were still crinkled in mirth.
"Sakura, I know that this might take awhile." Gesturing towards the first of the guards as he entered into the room looking quite frightened. Ino was doing her best to reassure him. The seasoned guard actually began to smile. Sakura turned back to Junichi, he took an audible breath and continued, "I was wondering if I could show you around the village while you are here. Maybe pick your mind on some medical jutsu that I was toying around with. Just get your opinion, you know."
Sakura couldn't help but smile at how flustered she apparently made the man. Before she knew what she was saying, the words, "Sounds great" were out of her mouth. As soon as the words were out she wished them back.
Junichi beamed and went to stand next to Junko. His eyes were bright with excitement. He even punched Junko in the arm. She just rolled her eyes but then gave Sakura a pleased smile.
Now what was that? Inner questioned, Thought you were saving yourself for Sasuke? Oh shut up! Sakura said to her Inner self. If Kiba and I are to find Sasuke we'll need to know the lay out of the village. Hah! Keep telling yourself that! I know you! You were interested. Sakura shushed her inner dialogue and began to focus on the big screen in front of them as Ino began her mind probe jutsu.
The screen remained dark for a while. Ino always was conscious of a person's privacy. Diving into someone's memories took a certain finesse. The less time that passed from the time of the event to the probe was crucial. In this case, more than 10 days had passed since the assault on the daimyo's party. Ten days worth of memories. Finally after an hour or so, she signaled Choji to project what she could see.
The screen flickered to life and the hum of hushed conversation stopped immediately. Sakura found herself leaning forward as a man in a dark cloak flew in from one side cutting down the guard in front of him. From this man's position he could only make out the assailant's back which did indeed show the Uchiha crest. Then the man turned, and even Sakura couldn't hide her sudden intake of air. The attacker suddenly turned and there staring them all in the face was none other than eyes displaying the Mangekyo sharingan, then suddenly all went black. The man had passed out.
Ino suddenly came to herself again and her eyes instantly sought out Sakura's. No question. Those cold eyes that stared right into that man's soul was housed in the chiseled face of Sasuke Uchiha.
Sakura was at a loss. There had to be some mistake and she said as much to the Raikage as he roared with satisfaction. He had no love for Sasuke Uchiha, the man who had taken his left arm when Sasuke, under the guidance of Madara Uchiha, deemed to attack the Five Kage Summit.
The Raikage then graciously offered that each witness could be questioned by the Leaf Shinobi to validate the findings of the first.
::
Two more guards were brought forth in the next few days. All eyewitnesses to the assault. Ino searched each for memories and each again pinpointed Sasuke as the perpetrator.
"Still not convinced I see. Even though the evidence is staring you in the face. The man is and will always be a criminal!" Shouted the Raikage at the end of the last interrogation. He had walked up to Sakura and was noticing how she stood still in thought with her arms crossed and her hand rubbing her chin in consternation.
Sakura was at a loss. She looked up at the Raikage and asked the question that had puzzled her from the moment she had heard about the assault. "If this truly was Sasuke's doing why are they still alive? Even you were barely a match for him. There's no way these guards could have posed any threat to him gaining his objective. And what would his objective be in attacking your daimyo in the first place?"
The Raikage seemed to ponder her words. "Yes I know what you mean. Despite wanting to see that Uchiha pup dead for what he has done to me, I too had that same thought. The only thing that I could think of was that he was sending a message. And as for motive, well obviously he would like for the Lightning and Fire to be at war once again with each other."
Sakura humphed, "You don't even sound convinced of your own theory. You and I both know that you don't need four men to tell a tale, only one would suffice. Wait!" A sudden thought hit her. There are normally four guards on escort for the daimyo. They had only questioned three.
"Where is your fourth guard?" She asked the Raikage suddenly.
"He's in a coma." The Raikage said simply with a shrug. "Apparently that eye jutsu hit him harder than the rest."
Sakura turned to the Raikage with a smile, "Reconvene your advisors. Hopefully Ino will be up for one more mind probe today. I think we might suddenly get some answers. Also can you draw a vial of blood from each of the guards?"
The Raikage looked puzzled but turned to an assistant and nodded.
"Hopefully it's not too late". Sakura muttered to herself.
Ino looked tired but agreed readily to try once more. The unconscious man was wheeled into the forum and was hooked up to the monitors. Ino started the process of mind probe for the fourth time in three days. It had taken quite a toll on her. Her normally made up face could not hide the bags under her eyes. Her chakra was severely depleted. However she persevered for Sasuke and more importantly, Sakura.
Most of the man's memories were of darkness given his unconscious state. However soon she came to a scene where the men were at a restaurant. They were centered around a barbeque grill cooking their dinner when a waiter came up to their table bearing a couple of bottles of wine.
"The man over there asked me to give you these. Compliments of the house." The waiter indicated a man at the far end of the restaurant's bar. The man lifted his glass in salute to them. "He recognized you as guards for the daimyo of the Land of Lightning. He wanted to show his appreciation for all you do." The guards waved their thanks.
The guards started to proceed to pop open the wine bottles and began pouring it into glasses.
"Hey we aren't suppose to be drinking on duty" the man rebuked his colleagues.
"Ha! Your just jealous cause you can't drink any alcohol without it making you sick. You're such a pansy!" The rest of the group laughed.
"Guess I know who's taking guard duty since you guys will be wasted. You better remember this."
That was the last memory. From there on everything was darkness.
Ino came back out of the man's mind.
Sakura came to stand next to Junko and Junichi. "You were treating this man under the assumption that he was under genjutsu when in actuality he was poisoned." At the same time, a Cloud medic entered with the blood samples from the other three guards. Sakura took the vials and handed them to Junko. Please compare these samples to the blood sample of this guard. I believe that you will find that this guard has a gene that doesn't allow him to process alcohol. Therefore it acts as a poison which can induce coma and eventually death."
"So the man couldn't hold his liquor? This shows that he didn't even have anything to drink." Declared a Cloud advisor.
"Precisely. If anything this proves that this man was drugged. He didn't drink yet I believe him to be in an alcohol induced coma. Many hallucinates are non soluble and need to be mixed with alcohol to get them into solution. Incidentally this is why many are administered via liquor to mask their taste. This man didn't drink the drug, he was injected with it." Sakura said pointedly. "Ino, do any of the other men have this memory of being offered wine to drink?"
Ino thought carefully. "Well to be honest I was concentrating more on the event a few hours later when they left the hostel and were heading back to the daimyo's residence. I will have to question these men again I'm afraid." Ino looked dismayed at the prospect.
"I'm afraid so Ino. However the blood analysis I requested should come back soon. I asked for a hallucinants panel to be performed. The half life of those drugs are about 14 days give or take. We would be at the edge of detection but I believe that we will indeed find evidence that these men were drugged."
The Raikage stepped forward and said, "Sakura, what do you think happened here?"
Sakura looked the Raikage straight in the eye and said,"I believe that these men were drugged and memories were implanted. They never were accosted by anyone on the road because they were kidnapped hours before and the bodies staged to look as if an assault had occurred."
The Raikage nodded gravely. "Ino is there any way that you can confirm this?"
Ino straightened her shoulders. She was tired but none the less resolute. She stood up from her chair to address the Raikage. "Yes sir. I can go through their memories one more time. Starting…" All of a sudden Ino's knees buckled and she began to fall. The Raikage was there to catch her before anyone could blink.
Choji quickly rushed over to take a worn out Ino from the arms of the Raikage.
"Poor kid. We have worn her out. We will reconvene tomorrow afternoon. We will let Yamanaka rest and resume our quest into this matter then."
With that everyone abruptly began to file out. Sakura ran over to Ino and checked her over. She infused a bit of her chakra into her friend. Ino slowly opened her eyes. The shocked look on her face when she found out that she was being carried by Choji was priceless.
"Hey let me down! I can walk you know! What happened? The last thing I remember was talking to the Raikage then blank"
Choji snorted, "You fainted!"
"What?! No way!" Ino's face displayed her mortification.
"Yep! You went out like a light on a cold windy day. Good thing the Raikage was there to catch you!" Choji said as he opened a bag of chips now that his hands were free of his teammate.
"Huh? What? Where were you?" She asked as she gave Choji's arm a thorough beating.
"Hey stop! He was closer. Okay!" Choji whined.
"Yeah some bodyguard you are!" Ino continued.
Sakura began to laugh as she watched the scene of an irate Ino bashing a very unapologetic Choji. Suddenly there was a tap on her shoulder.
"So you want to take that tour of the village tonight?" Junichi was smiling as he asked.
He really is cute, she couldn't help but think. "Sure. Why not? Pick me up in a few hours okay?" She said.
"Sure thing. See you then". She watched Junichi as he sauntered off whistling a catchy tune. She couldn't help but shake her head and smile.
::
Kiba and Akamaru returned to the room set aside for the visiting leaf shinobi. A good thing about having a dog is that no one questioned your need to take the dog for a walk. He pretty much had had total leave of the whole village. He had just finished his reconnaissance and was excited to let Sakura know that he had found a way that they could exit the village without being detected. As he entered the room, he noticed Choji sitting on the couch munching on a bag of chips.
"Hey where is everyone?" He demanded.
"Ino's passed out on the bed in there." He said with a nod in the direction of one of the four bedrooms. "Sakura's out on a date." He continued.
"A date! No way!" Kiba exclaimed. Choji just shrugged he didn't know what else to call it especially when the dude showed up with flowers. He pointed at the vase filled with flowers on the table.
Kiba sprawled out on the couch adjacent to Choji and ran his hands through his hair, "Tell me what I missed."
Just then there was a crisp knock at the door. Kiba sprang up to get it. Karui stood at the threshold.
"Why hello" Kiba said with a sort of leer. He even had a fang that peeked out as he smiled.
"Oi I've been ordered to show you lot around the village. Raikage-sama is concerned about your well being." Karui said stiffly as she looked around Kiba and spied Choji sitting on the couch.
"Is that so?" Kiba said as he peered down at the girl with the pretty dark complexion. Her yellow eyes were almost feral. Kiba was definitely in love.
The girl, however, was still ignoring him and staring at Choji. Kiba took the hint and asked, "Hey Choji you ready for a night on the town?"
Choji didn't even look up from his bag of chips,"Sorry, can't. Got to watch after Ino."
Kiba put his hand up to the door frame which caused Karui to look up, basically into his armpit, "Looks like it's just you and me and Akamaru, gorgeous"
Karui couldn't help the look of disgust that came over her face. "Fine. Follow me."
As they turned to leave, Choji called out, "Bring back some barbeque for me!"
Karui turned to see a smiling Choji. It was the first time she had ever seen the big guy smile. He had dimples that creased the sides of his mouth and the smile at the thought of the food that lit his eyes was almost magical. She was utterly transfixed. However the moment was short lived as she felt Kiba shoving her out the door with a wave to his comrade, "Yeah will do" he yelled back.
As they walked to the barbeque place, she didn't even hear what Kiba was prattling on about. She couldn't get the image of the smiling giant out of her mind. Finally when they sat down to order, she asked the question most fervent on her mind interrupting whatever it was that Kiba was saying.
"So what's the story with the big guy and the mind girl? Are they an item or something?"
The thought of Choji and Ino being a couple made Kiba double over in a fit of laughter. Once he was able to talk, he wiped the tears from his eyes, and answered her,"Nah, they are just teammates. Choji takes his job as bodyguard really serious is all."
This seemed to satisfy Karui. She could respect a man who took his job so seriously. She thought that it was quite a noble thing.
Just then, Kiba made a big production of yawning.
"You know it's just you and me here. It must be fate."Kiba said as he slid close to Karui on the bench.
His arm was about to go around her when she quietly but unmistakably uttered, "You do it, you lose it, wolf boy! Not interested!"
Kiba sighed and moved back to his original position.
He sighed."Why do I keep getting shot down by the ladies?!"
Karui couldn't help but laugh at the total downtrodden look on the dog boy's face.
"Seriously," Kiba couldn't help but mutter,"Why?"
Karui couldn't believe this guy. Was this some kind of ploy. She peered deeply into his face and found that he was being quite genuine. She stifled her mirth and looked him straight in the eye, "Well for one thing, you stink! Your dog even smells better than you!" She told him quite truthfully.
"No way! Is that true Akamaru?" Akamaru looked away unable to look Kiba in the eye.
Karui couldn't help but laugh some more. "Even your dog knows I'm right. When was your last trip to the bathhouse?"
Kiba couldn't help but sputter, "Well you see, they don't allow dogs to enter and I don't go anywhere without Akamaru. Come on! It can't be that bad! I'd know after all. My nose…"
Karui's laugh turned into a snort and she interrupted him, "Your nose has been so sensitized to the scents around you, that it has DE-sensitized itself from your own scent. Try it! Really try to smell yourself!"
"Fine!" Kiba said getting tired of her laugh. He opened his jacket and stuck his nose right into his armpit and inhaled deeply. He started to cough and turned green. He looked up with a shocked expression and declared, "I stink!"
Karui smiled and said, "Told ya"
::
Choji had just checked in on Ino when he heard a knock at the door. He strode over to answer it and was shocked to find Karui standing all alone with two large bags which suspiciously smelled like barbeque. Choji leaned over her and looked up and down the corridor.
"Where's Kiba and Akamaru?" He asked her as he took the bags from her hands.
"I left them at the spa. Boy needed a bath bad!" She indicated this with a wave in front of her nose. Choji started to laugh heartily and opened the door wider for her to come in.
::
Sakura and Junichi walked down the street. Junichi had taken her to see the Cloud Medical Library. Sakura could have spent years in there, an hour was definitely not enough. Afterwards he had taken her to a nice dumpling shop. By that time, the sun was gone and it was turning cool. Sakura shivered. She had definitely forgotten how the temperature dropped at night in the mountains. Suddenly, Junichi had his jacket wrapped around her shoulders and she felt warm again.
"Thank you" she said politely hugging his jacket around her cold shoulders and gave him a smile.
"No thank you. I probably won't ever wash it again." He lifted his hand to his eyes in a dramatic fashion. "My jacket has touched the great Sakura Haruno's shoulders."
Sakura giggled, "You really know how to make a girl feel special."
Suddenly Junichi looked serious, "I owe who I am today to you Sakura. It is you that made me special and gave this not so extraordinary shinobi a chance to be something greater."As he spoke he had taken hold of her shoulders with both his hands. His eyes were so intense. She felt the tension in the air and took a step back.
Inner Sakura snorted. You really aren't ready yet, are you? Told you so.
Sakura put her hand up to Junichi's chest as he moved a step closer. She bowed her head and stared down at his shoes to compose her thoughts.
She looked up and met his serious gaze. She plastered a smile on her face as she started to say…
Junichi beat her to the punch, "You're not ready yet." Sakura felt her smile falter. How did he know?
Junichi grabbed the hand that she had placed on his chest and began walking with her once again. It was getting late and he was walking her back to the visitor housing.
"It's Sasuke right?" He asked quietly.
Sakura was speechless. "Uh yes, I mean no. I mean how do you know about Sasuke?" She stopped walking and stared up into his face. He just shook his head in reminiscence and pulled her to keep walking.
"In the war, many of us who were your patients had crushes on you but were too chicken to actually approach you. One shinobi actually went as far as to tell you his feelings and you apparently told him that your heart belonged to someone else. He asked us if we knew who the lucky fellow was but none of us had a clue. Apparently he asked some Leaf shinobi and the answer came back as Sasuke Uchiha."
He stopped suddenly and turned to face her, "Sakura don't you see that he's not good enough by any stretch of the imagination. You could have any man in all of the five nations! Why waste yourself on the likes of Uchiha, a criminal, a man that no one can really trust!"
Sakura was taken aback by his fervor. She waited for that indignant anger of hers to rise to the surface. She waited for that need to defend the man that she loved and the reasons why she loved him to plow to the forefront of her mind. However nothing happened. She stood like a fish in front of Junichi. Her mouth agape and her mind utterly blank.
The next thing she knew, Junichi was kissing her and she felt her arms going around him.
What are you doing?! Her mind seemed to cry out.
Wait, why did her mind sound like Kiba?
She pulled away from Junichi breaking off contact to find Kiba and Akamaru stopped in utter shock having witnessed the display.
Sakura tried to look dignified but couldn't quite pull it off as Kiba and Akamaru stepped closer.
"Problem Sakura?" Kiba asked eyeing Junichi.
"Nothing that I can't handle." She said with more confidence than she felt. Inside her, her emotions were in total turmoil.
Kiba nodded and walked by them into the housing building.
Junichi had the grace to blush. "Sakura I hope I didn't offend you. Sometimes my emotions take over. I like you. I've liked you for a long time. To have you for once on my home soil, well I guess, I just wanted you to have something to remember me by." He again put his arm up in a very Naruto-esque subconscious way.
"Well I guess you succeeded!" They both laughed.
"Look I had a great time tonight. I really did! And you know what?," Sakura couldn't believe she was saying this but she continued, "I like you too. However," she said as she stepped backwards towards the entry to the building with her hands up, "I'm not at the right place for a relationship right now. To be honest, I don't even know what I want from a relationship right now"
Liar, Inner Sakura echoed in her mind. Sakura dutifully ignored her.
She stuck out her hand to Junichi, "Friends? Peers?"
Junichi laughed and took her hand in his giving it a swift kiss, "Maybe more one day?" He said with his eyebrows twitching in a dramatic fashion.
Sakura just laughed and turned to enter the building.
"Sakura" he said once more quite seriously. She couldn't help but turn to see him one last time. "I'll be here when you are ready."
She started to say for him to not wait but then he put up his hand and yelled, "until then Sakura Haruno, until then" and then ran off into the night.
What a weirdo! Inner Sakura chimed but Outer Sakura couldn't contain the smile on her lips. For all intensive purposes, that had actually been her first date with someone who's name wasn't Sasuke Uchiha. She realized with a mild shock that she actually really enjoyed it.
::
Sakura walked into their quarters to find a party going on. Kiba was talking about a day at a spa where both he and Akamaru got groomed. She didn't quite understand what happened but after taking a quick whiff of the air, she was really glad that it did. Ino was up and eating barbeque with Choji and Karui.
"Hi everyone!" Sakura called out as she came into the room.
"How was your big date?" Kiba asked with a feral grin plastered on his face. "I didn't mean to intrude. You guys were just blocking the walkway that's all"
Choji and Ino looked up curiously which caused Karui to look puzzled. With all eyes glued on her, she felt a bit self conscious as she pulled off her gloves.
"It wasn't a date." She said weakly.
Kiba snorted, "Then why are you wearing his jacket and what was all that k..?!" Sakura had him in a head lock before he could finish.
"Mutter another word and you won't live to see daylight! Got it!"
Kiba nodded. He was beginning to turn blue.
Sakura released him and then straightened her shirt.
"Karui what are you doing here?" Sakura asked pleasantly. Karui looked at everyone. She was still unsure what had gone on here.
Karui stood up. "I just brought some food for everyone. I guess it's getting late. I probably should go."
Choji stood up as well, "You don't need to go already do you?" All eyes suddenly turned to look at Choji. He cleared his throat and said, "Can I walk you home? I mean it is really late and a girl shouldn't walk alone."
Karui laughed at that and then said, "Sure. I wouldn't mind some extra muscle on the way."
Choji helped Karui on with her coat and then grabbed his own. "I'll be back soon."
"Take your time Choji. I think love is in the air tonight." Kiba said with a snicker and a sidelong look to Sakura.
Sakura balled up her fist, Akamaru cowered behind Kiba and Kiba put up his hands to fend off the attack.
Ino turned to the two as they scuffled. Her face was a picture of shock. "I think Choji is smitten and I think the feeling is returned." She looked to see if anyone else was as amazed as she was but her two comrades, or rather Sakura, was too busy pounding on Kiba to hear her.
::
The next day Sakura was called into the Raikage's office. As she came in, she noted the Raikage sitting at his desk with a mountain of paperwork. She sighed. It reminded her of how Tsunade-sama's desk used to be.
"Sakura", the Raikage addressed her, "looks like your suspicions were correct. We found small traces of a known hallucinant that has been shown to be instrumental in memory loss in all four of the guards. Looks like your man was set up after all."
Sakura couldn't help but be pleased. However outwardly she showed no reaction to the news and waited for the Raikage to continue.
"Next is to find the perpetrators who dared to try to have me do their dirty work. I need Ino to search through these guards memories once again. We need to try to see if we can get a good ID on the man at the bar. I've already sent men to that village to find the waiter and to ask around for Intel."
"Got it , sir. I will notify Ino at once. Can you please have your people notify the guards and prepare them?" Sakura requested.
"Already done." The Raikage said gruffly. Sakura turned to head out the door when the Raikage called her name. She turned back around.
"Good work! You made me and Tsunade very proud." Sakura smiled and headed back out the door. Figures that he would have already sent word to Tsunade-sama, she thought with a smile.
::
Three days had past. Ino had finally finished with the guards. Unfortunately the only memory of the night at the restaurant was with the comatose guard. All others, had had that night omitted from their memories. The daimyo was very distressed to find out that he too had been drugged by the assailant. This was alarming on all levels of security and finding the culprits became priority number one. The comatose guard, once his blood was purified, came to. However whether it was due to the drug or the coma, couldn't even remember the journey at all.
The Raikage held up the photo of both the waiter and the man at the bar.
He crumpled up the photo of the waiter and threw it in the trash bin, "That won't help us now" he muttered. The shinobi that were sent to the near by village to question the waiter were informed that he had been killed a week ago, suicide apparently, or so the owner of the restaurant said. The man was no help in identifying the other man. However he did remember the daimyo's party that had arrived to drink. He had attended to them personally, he had said. They did appear a bit inebriated when they left, he added.
This had all led to a dead end.
There was a knock at his office door. He called for them to enter. One of his guards announced that Sakura was asking for an audience. He waved for them to let her in.
"What is it, Sakura? You wish to bid me farewell. Your ship sails early tomorrow morning."
"Raikage-sama I happen to notice that the posters for Sasuke's arrest are still up." She let her sentence hang, giving him the opportunity to admit some form of absent mindedness.
"Yes?" he said eyeing her.
"Well sir since you know that he is not the culprit here, shouldn't you take down the posters."
"Hah and let the enemy know that we are on to them. No way! In fact I have shinobi combing the area to find that little Uchiha brat. He's bound to know some information that could lead us to whoever did this."
Sakura cleared her throat, "About that. I have thought that if I could be allowed the opportunity to search for Sasuke myself then we might be able to help you as well."
"Hah! No way!" He practically shouted and then he came around the desk, "Sakura, if I ever had had a daughter I think she would be like you. So let me give you some fatherly advice. Uchiha is a loner and will always be that way. I know the type. They don't change. Anyway," he said gruffly and a bit embarrassed like he had said too much,"Tsunade would have my head if anything happened to you. Let the Cloud handle this. We know these lands better than you. You would just be a hindrance! Now if that's all. I suggest that you enjoy one last night here in the village. Ha I know of one medic who will be sad to see you go."
Sakura couldn't help but blush. The Raikage noticed and roared with laughter. He then dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
Sakura stopped off at the hospital on the way back to the visitor quarters. She was directed to Junichi's office.
"Wow you never said that you were the Assistant Director of Operations here at the hospital." Sakura said as she stepped into his office.
His face instantly lit up and then looked a bit chagrined.
"You know how it is…fancy title for more work with no extra pay. I was the dumb one who accepted it." He said with a dismissive shrug.
Sakura sauntered over and handed him back his jacket, "Well I'm impressed! Here's your jacket. I keep forgetting to give it back to you."
They had gone out once more since their first date. He had actually taken her to the lab. He had picked her brains about poisons and antidotes. He was thinking of even taking a sabbatical to become more proficient.
"Who knows? I might end up in the Leaf one day as one of your students." He said.
"I think I'd like that." She said with a smile and realized that she meant it.
They had held hands on the way to her building and enjoyed the companionable silence that comes when you are comfortable with one another. Neither mentioned a certain red eyed shinobi but his presence was felt regardless. He walked her to the door and kissed her hand.
Sakura sighed in memory. She actually felt her heart start to awaken a bit. Then she snapped herself out of it and promptly set his jacket on the desk.
"Hey what about dinner tonight? I get off here at 6 and…" Sakura just shook her head.
"We said our goodbyes last night. I have a lot of last minute duties. I need to keep a clear head and…"her head answered. It was time to cut this off before someone gets hurt, she thought.
"Wait a minute! Are you saying that I cloud your judgement? Woohoo! Success!" He jumped out of his chair and did a happy dance.
"Shut up, you! Seriously I've enjoyed this." Indicating the two of them with a wave of her hand, "This friendship that we seem to have."
"Friendship, eh? Oh this isn't sounding good." He groaned dramatically and flopped back into his seat, "Okay you win! For now I will settle for your friendship. And just to let you know, I will put in for that sabbatical ." He said with a smile. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet on his desk with his arms folded back behind his head. He was going for nonchalance and cool. It would have worked too except his chair chose that moment to flip backwards landing him on the floor.
Sakura started to laugh in earnest, "Until we meet again Junichi, until we meet again." And with that she left him on the floor.
She had to get her act together. Her true mission was just about to start and she had to make sure everything was in order. The Raikage was going to make it difficult for them. If she wasn't careful she could start an international incident and that's the last thing that any of them would want.
::
"Well, are we a go?" Kiba asked as Sakura entered the room. Sakura signaled "Plan B" with her hands, you never knew if the walls had ears. Out loud she said, "I tried but the Raikage thinks we would just get in the way. They seem to have everything under control here. We did our job. Time to leave in the morning."
Ino came out from one of the bedrooms. She still looked completely worn out. She nodded in understanding.
"Where's Choji?" Sakura asked noticing for the first time that the big guy was not around.
Kiba snorted, "Where do you think? Karui is taking him to another barbeque place. They wanted to try all the barbeque places in the village. I think they had two left. Karui said that she saved the best ones for last."
Sakura gave Kiba a curious look, "I thought you'd want to go with them."
Kiba shrugged, "Three's a crowd." At the same time he motioned for her to come check the supplies he had been covertly amassing during their week long stay.
Sakura checked the gear. It all looked in order and ready to go.
"Are you feeling up to this? The trip going home." Sakura asked Ino which was code for "Would you have the energy to detain someone if needed?"
Ino smiled. "Yes. I think I can manage.." Sakura smiled and signed 'thanks for having my back'.
::
First thing in the morning Karui showed up leading a group of four guards. They were to escort the Konoha shinobi onto their ship back home or rather ensure that they departed the Land of Lightning. They walked along amicably enough being flanked by the escort guard. Karui and Choji kept up a constant hum of conversation as they compared the different barbeque restaurants. They discussed sauces, spices, and even cuts of meat. Who knew that this pretty girl was that into barbeque, Sakura thought and then smiled, or maybe she's that into Choji.
They boarded the ship and made a big to do about checking the equipment and baggage. Sakura kept giving Choji the signal to wrap things up with Karui. The ship was about to leave at any moment. Finally he got the hint and told Karui that he would walk her up onto the top deck to say goodbye.
When the two had left. Ino, Kiba and Akamaru turned towards Sakura.
"I hope this works." Kiba said.
"Quit your worrying. I'm the one that's doing all the work here."Sakura countered. She closed her eyes in concentration and signed with her hands.
Poof!
Sakura was gone and in her place was a perfect copy of Karui.
"Well how do I look?" Sakura asked as she turned around.
"Great" Ino said. Choji entered the room quietly and shut the door. He looked over at Sakura with a look of surprise, "Wow you're good Sakura!"
"We got to hurry. I can't hold this for long. Bye guys!" Sakura said and gave a wave. Kiba grabbed their gear. Sakura turned and opened the door. There standing at the threshold was an open mouthed Karui carrying a carry out bag of barbeque.
"What? What is this?" Karui questions were drowned out by the sound of the ship's foghorn signaling that the ship would depart in 10 minutes.
"We're out of time" Sakura yelled, "Choji, Ino!"
"Hai" they both said at once.
"Expansion jutsu" Choji's arms turned massive as he reached past Sakura to hold the real Karui tightly by the shoulders, his eyes grew soft as he met Karui's still confused gaze,"I'm sorry" he said softly at the same time Ino's mind transfer jutsu took over Karui's body.
"Go now!" Ino/Karui yelled. "Good luck!"
Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru raced by the immobilized girl and made it up to top deck in less than a minute. They departed the ship and started to make their way to the dock.
Karui's body went limp and Choji rushed to catch her.
Ino returned back to her body, "I put her mind to sleep for a while. I don't think she will wake up for a day or so. That should give Sakura and Kiba enough time to get out of the village.
Choji gently hoisted Karui up into his arms. "Let me take care of her." He left to take Karui off the ship.
"Hey Karui! Stop!" The guard ran over to Sakura and Kiba, "What are they doing off the ship? Our orders were to make sure that they departed." Sakura halted and turned with a stern look that she had witnessed from the original Karui and had secretly practiced.
"Oi, the dog needs to take a piss! I got this! You can go!"
"But our orders…."
Sakura cut in, "You want to make him miss the ship? No, right?! Then make yourself useful and go around to the other side of the dock. Make sure that no one is trying to make a run for it. While I hurry up and see to his guy and his dog. The ship's about to leave!"
"Yes sir" the guard said and with the reassignment took off down the dock.
"Where to?"Kiba asked.
"First things first. Let's get out of here." They could hear the blast of the ship's foghorn indicating its departure. The ramp was being pulled up.
"Right!" Kiba said and led the way. He had found the perfect blind spot in the village's defenses. It was time to test them out.
Sakura pulled the emerald from its hiding spot in her pouch. She hadn't touched it in over a week. She felt its warmth and knew that Sasuke was definitely nearby.
Wait for me Sasuke I'm coming, she thought, as she followed Kiba and Akamaru's brisk pace.
::
Choji reached the top deck a minute too late. The plank was already being retracted and the ship had begun to depart the dock.
He sighed and looked down at Karui. Part of him felt apprehension of what the consequences of his actions would be when she woke up. However another part of him was elated that he didn't need to let her go quite yet.
He started back towards his room below deck. It was not going to be a boring boat trip that's for sure, he thought.
Hello everyone! I'm new to writing fan fiction. If you liked the story, then please hit follow. If I know that someone may be waiting for the next chapter then I will try to update quicker.
Thank you all!