Notes: I'm really sorry this chapter's so short. This is all just filler, to give you a little more information. Damn you filler!! -shakes fist- Chapter three should be a little more exciting. Sorry. =)

Oh!! And no one ever informed me that I was spelling Tsunade's name incorrectly!! XD Guys! Come on!!

2

Uchiha Sasuke paused at the edge of the river, his head lifted attentively and eyes wide as they instantaneously turned red. He scanned the area thoroughly while listening for the noise that had first alerted him, halting his breath and tuning out his heartbeat. A full two minutes passed--that was his limit--and he relaxed again, deactivating the Sharingan. He hefted the swollen canteen so that it wouldn't slosh on his uphill trek and went back to the cave he'd left his partner in.

Uzumaki Naruto felt the first swell of Sasuke's chakra as the other man reached the top of the hill. Another couple of minutes and he was back inside with the water (Naruto had originally gone to get ice chunks so they could melt them over their tiny fire but Sasuke didn't want to wait for dinner that long so he went to gather it from the patches of thin ice near the center of the half-frozen river).

"What took you so long?" he asked. "I thought you were hungry."

"I heard something," he grunted, settling himself down on the cold cave floor beside the blond. He passed the water over to Naruto who poured it into the pre-heated steel pot sitting over the flames and then capped the rest, placing it in the sack beside him.

"What was it?" he asked, feeling around blindly for his small pack of spices. "Stewed or boiled?"

"Whichever," Sasuke shrugged, leaning back on his uncovered hands. His fingertips were cold but he really didn't care. The noise had unsettled him. "It was a rustling, like movement in the underbrush."

"There's snow, there is no underbrush," Naruto gave him a sideways glance.

"I know that, but you asked what it was and I told you," Sasuke frowned. "It was around the riverbank so maybe it wasn't all completely buried in snow yet."

"Wanna eat and run or do you want to risk staying here the night?" the blond had undone the twine around his small parcel and was adding some generous amounts of ground stuff to the slightly-bubbling water. Sasuke's nose twitched: salt, pepper, rosemary, and garlic.

"We can spend the night," the raven-haired shinobi shrugged slightly. "We'll take turns on look-out duty. I want to do a perimeter sweep before we turn in though."

"Fair enough," his companion nodded, reaching past his belongings and grabbing the hind leg of the already-skinned rabbit. "I'm going to boil it. I feel like eating something slightly solid, if that's okay."

"I said whatever," Sasuke reiterated.

"Just telling," Naruto wrinkled his nose defensively.

Haruno Sakura was upset to say the least. She was, by now, nearly a hundred percent sure there were Anbu trailing her. And not just one Anbu, but three of them: a whole team. An orange-haired girl she knew for sure--the one that took her home after her breakdown in the hokage's office. At first she had believed it was a coincidence, her mind playing games with her and making the Anbu uniform more noticeable to her conscious eye. But by the end of the week she knew they were following her, most likely under the Hokage's orders, and she couldn't help but be exasperated by Naruto's thoroughness. She was really about ready to run up to the next one she saw and punch them in the face...but maybe not the orange-haired girl.

She almost tripped over someone in her contemplation. They gave out a cry and fell backward. She shook herself out of it to see little Uchiha Haku rubbing his backside.

"Hey! Watch where you're--! Oh, it's Sakura-san," his sister Hana was beside him, first glaring then looking apprehensive. "Why aren't you watching where you're going?"

"I'm sorry," she smiled apologetically and lowered a hand to the fallen boy. He took it and she pulled him easily to his feet (He's so light...) and helped brush him off.

"It's alright, Sakura-san," he shook his head. "I was...distracted."

"Me too," she laughed slightly.

"Is that why you're bumping into people?" Hana frowned. "Are you chakra-tired too?"

"Chakra-tired?" Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion. Why would these kids be chakra exhausted?

"We've been training a lot," Haku elaborated, giving his sister a side glance. "To take our mind off things."

"Yeah, that," Hana waved a dismissive hand. "What have you been doing that you're so tired, Sakura-san? Work?"

"I'm not really tired," she shook her head, "just...distracted."

"You mean like thinking?"

"Yeah."

"What are you so preoccupied about, Sakura-san?" Haku asked.

"Duh, Haku," Hana made a face. "She's obviously worried about Daddy and Uncle Naruto."

"Yes," she nodded, "that's part of the reason."

"We're worried too," Haku admitted.

"Yeah, we're not sure if our good luck charm will help or anything," Hana agreed.

"Hana!" her brother hissed.

"What?" she snapped defensively. "I didn't tell her what was in it!"

"In what?" she pressed. She was slowly getting the feeling that the kids had done something they really shouldn't have. Why else would Haku be so hasty to cover Hana's slip-ups?

"A good luck charm we gave Daddy," Haku averted his eyes nervously. "It's hollow. We wrote a note in it for him."

"A note," she repeated, doubt coloring her words.

"Yep!" Hana nodded affirmatively. "It says how much we love him!"

"Oh... Okay, then," she retreated, not entirely convinced that was the exact truth. But Haku seemed to be desperately trying to hide something about this "good luck charm" of theirs. It made her very curious. "Are you guys headed home now?"

"Yeah," Hana wrinkled her nose. "Mommy wants us to go home right away, 'cause she's worried about how we're all chakra-tired."

"That's right," Sakura nodded. "Chakra exhaustion requires plenty of bed rest and nutritious food."

"So, chakra exhaustion can be treated with rest and strict diet?" Haku suddenly perked up in interest.

She blinked. Why so interested? Is he planning on being chakra exhausted again? "Well, yes," she answered, "but it's not healthy.Whenever you do daily tasks and missions, you burn chakra. The more you do, the more you burn, and the longer it takes for you to recover all of your spent chakra." She explained to both of them, hoping it would deter them from whatever it was they were doing. "If your spending rate is faster than your healing rate, you deplete everything you have, and become ill. You can also mentally hurt yourself too," she tapped the side of her head.

"We'll be fine," Hana waved her hand dismissively once again. That made Sakura worry even more.

"Come on, Hana," Haku was tugging on her arm. "Mommy's going to get upset if we're late." He nodded his head up at her. "It was nice talking with you, Sakura-san."

"You too," she ruffled both of their heads. "See you guys later."

They headed for the hill that separated the middle-class district from the former upper-class one, holding hands with their heads tilted toward one another. She watched them walk away, that suspicious feeling creeping into her gut and settling there heavily. The twins had temporarily distracted her from her anger, and now she was worried about four people instead of two... And not one of them trusted her to help. Haruno Sakura suddenly felt like the loneliest person in the world.

Sasuke watched his companion, his chin propped in his hands. Naruto's eyes were closed in concentration. They had mutually agreed that it was way too cold outside to leave the warmth of the cave, and it would be relatively safer to send a couple of bunshin to scout out the area around their hiding place anyway. Naruto had sent out four of them, and all Sasuke could do was wait. Although he had agreed to it, all this waiting was driving him quietly crazy. When Naruto suddenly fidgeted and opened his eyes, he verbally pounced on the blond.

"Well?"

Naruto gave him a funny look. "Chill out, Sasuke."

"Did you find anything?" he ignored the other man's comment.

"Footprints," he answered. "Headed northeast." He gave Sasuke a slightly confused look. "They're fresh."

"Not yours or mine?"

Now Naruto looked bemused. "I'm not stupid, Sasuke. No, they're not ours."

"Your bunshin's?"

"No!" he said crossly.

"You didn't see anyone?"

"No," he was still annoyed.

Sasuke sighed, ignoring Naruto's impatience with him. "We may have to follow them. Can you remember where they were tomorrow?"

"My bunshin left a marking in a nearby tree," the blond scowled.

"We'll follow their trail," Sasuke nodded his approval. "If it was a scout for the Heaven's Guard, they'll lead us back to something. It'll be someplace to start our search for the Raikage."

"Mm... What if it wasthe Raikage?" Naruto mused.

"Why wouldn't she approach us, then?" Sasuke countered.

"Well, she's been on the run for months now," the blond argued softly. "If I were her, I wouldn't just saunter up to the first unfamiliar uniformed person I saw. I'd want to know who they were and why they were there, for starters."

"Point taken," Sasuke agreed. "But it's still highly unlikely. This close to the Fire Country's border, the rebels must be watching it thoroughly."

"True enough," Naruto nodded. "We'll follow the trail tomorrow."