Notes: Okay. Before we go on, I'd like to clear up a few things that have come to my attention. I'm not angry, so please don't take it that way, but I feel that I have to explain my reasoning for some things in the story, and I'm a little disappointed that I have to resort to defending myself. Bear with me, as this might be a little long. If you're satisfied with the story and have no concerns with it, please feel free to skip this part.
One – I mentioned in the very first author's note that I was going to change Sasuke's overall character personality. After running away from his emotions all these years, killing his brother, struggling to rekindle his shattered relationships, getting married, and having children, Sasuke has to begin the VERY slow process of "learning to love", and as cliché as that sounds, that's what I tried to bring out in my writing. So when people mention Sasuke is acting very OOC, yes, I know that. But give the guy a little credit—he purposefully ignored and suppressed his every emotion for (in this story) almost twenty eight years, and it finally took Naruto and the twins to turn him around. It's a struggle to write a Sasuke that is both cynical and sweet, and I think I've balanced that as best as I could.
Two – Naruto is OOC. Flat out, I admit that. He's not the Naruto that I intended to write, and I admitted to that in an earlier note. But I also think that any normal person would become swept up and struggle the way that he has when all these issues are thrust upon him all at once. It's easier to write Naruto when he's not in his office, but he's been there since the beginning of the story, so keeping him strong-willed but making him appear vulnerable was probably one of the most challenging things I've done in this story. I've had moments that I've erased whole chapters where I felt Naruto came off too weak and helpless, so I'm sorry about that. I could have done that better, but I was struggling with Sasuke most of all, seeing as it's his story…kind of.
Three – The biggest issue of all, I feel, is the involvement of the twins. I know they're NOT original Naruto characters, and for all the readers that looked past that I appreciate you guys so much, and thank you for your support. Hana and Haku have come the farthest in character development, and believe me when I say that was not my original intention at all. The children were going to have a more subdued role, but when I saw how I could change Sasuke with them, they started to develop too. I was told that the twins were becoming "MarySue-ish" and that actually really bothered me, because I tried to make them as real to the Naruto world as possible. Twins share this incredible bond that I've seen, and I've marveled at, and I've tried my hardest to duplicate here. The extent that they go through for one another is more severe because of the ninja world, I believe. I'm going to break their cases down separately:
-Hana- She has not have a chance to show her amazing potential in the story yet—I was hoping to get to that in this upcoming chapter. Hana is the "extroverted" twin, the one who's confident and strong-minded and has an 'in-your-face' attitude that makes her tomboyishly endearing. But, like any child, she has her doubts and struggles with her uncertainty, especially because she's a gifted child of the mixed Uchiha-Hyuuga bloodlines. She's ridiculed and teased, and has to have the strength and confidence to support not only herself, but her twin brother. Her Sharinagn-based eye is what gives her the ability to do as amazingly as she has so far, and will be doing in a later chapter. So, I don't think I've made her "too powerful". I think it's a natural evolution of stress, wanting to prove herself, the Sharingan, the love for her family (especially her brother), and a mix of prestigious bloodlines, making her more-gifted than most.
-Haku- Unlike his sister, Haku has shown his full potential in the story, and his role in it is closing. He's the "introvert"—shy, quiet, reserved, and thoughtful, and has gone through some major growth. Usually being the one protected due to his "weak" personality, Haku has watched his entire family stand up to fight for him, and he's struggled with his inferiority complex, and risen above it to unlock his potential. The jitsu he researched for months and finally created is a show of his genius (Shikamaru can't really be the only genius in the entire village, can he?). Thanks to the mix of powerful bloodlines, his Byakuugan-influenced eye gives him the advantage in chakra manipulation techniques like this. I feel that he developed beautifully as he helped his father come into his own feelings throughout the story.
I'm absolutely sorry that this note has run on forever. We're moving on—I just had to get it out of my system. If you read this, thanks for listening to my concerns, and sticking with my story for so long.
5
Not bothering to cover their tracks anymore, the two Leaf nins left their cave at early dawn. While breathing sometimes sent a slight twitch of pain through his abdomen, Uchiha Sasuke was a hundred percent operational. Before they headed out, his partner had informed him briefly on the status of the perimeter. Uzumaki Naruto's conditioned had worsened; he had grown pointed ears, visible fangs, and a thick chakra tail, but had still retained his consciousness as a human. Sasuke hid his worry behind his mask, suggesting that they run full speed toward the Heaven's Guard location and then quietly infiltrate their base and free the Raikage, using the captured kagebunshin as a distraction. Naruto had merely nodded, turned away from him, and took off on all fours, blasting snow out from his path. Sasuke paused, still unsure about the Kyuubi's influence over the blond. Although Naruto had reached similar forms before (and worse, he had heard), he was unsure if the overlapping chakras had actually been together for such a long time. If there were any side effects...
He was falling behind. Sasuke shook his head to rid the jumble of confusing thoughts from his mind and took off after his partner.
She had stopped briefly at her house, changed into warm travel clothes, thrown on a cloak, and packed all her stolen supplies into a lightweight backpack. She was out again without even waking her parents. Now, as she strode quickly toward Konoha's large wooden gates, she felt three figures trailing her. Two of them flanked her on either side and one was directly behind her, trailing her doggedly. She knew she was going to have to face off against them. By herself...she wasn't sure she could do it. But she had to try.
The Anbu on her right pulled ahead and cut her off, appearing beneath the huge arc of the doorway with their arms crossed. "Haruno Sakura," he said in a commanding voice. "You are not permitted to leave the city-state of Konoha. You have already been informed of this by the Godaime Hokage-sama. Do you still wish to leave?"
"I do," she said defiantly, planting her feet firmly and squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. It made her feel braver than she really was. "Please move."
"I can't do that," he lowered his arms, one hand settling on the hilt of his long-bladed katana.
"Haruno-san, please," the Anbu that had been at the rear had caught up. She stepped forward, a gesture that was very unprofessional--it made them seem human, vulnerable. "Turn back. We don't wish to hurt you."
"I can't," she shook her head, not taking her eyes from the leader. "My teammates are in danger, and I'm going to help them."
"Then by order of the temporary Hokage, Godaime-sama, we will resort to using force to stop you," he concluded and fully drew his weapon. The silver blade gleamed warningly in the early morning sunrise. Sakura forced her eyes not to give away her rising panic. What was she going to do? Against three Anbu? Her heart began to sink low in her chest.
A rush of hurried footfalls made the four present glance around for the source. Streaks of black bulleted past Sakura on both sides and rushed collectively onto the leader.
"Shishi Rendan!"
Sakura watched in amazement as four small figures surrounded him, dropped to their hands, and upper thrust kicked him into the air. They all leapt after him, and suddenly all the figures turned into Hana. The first bunshin appeared beneath him and performed a crescent kick, but was blocked. The second appeared above them while he was distracted and did a rear-kick that connected with his chest—she heard him grunt in surprise rather than pain. The third bunshin came up behind the second and had a clenched fist swirling with chakra waiting. She struck him with a powerful punch directly in the pit of his stomach; the surprise now turned into pain. The last figure—the real Hana—jumped highest and drew back her leg (Sakura could see the mass of chakra swirling along her calf), crying out with the effort of her swinging kick that hooked him in the chest and sent him rocketing back down to the ground. She recalled her three bunshin and dropped a final devastating chakra-infused kick onto his torso that made a mixture of blood and spit spray out from under the Anbu's mask. His sword clattered out from his hand and spun out into the collection of trees flanking the city gates. Hana tumbled forward, handsprung, and slid back to Sakura's side, panting a bit, her face plastered with a fierce little grin.
"Haiyu!" the other two Anbu chimed in surprise. The one at the rear rushed past them to check on her comrade. The third—female—sprang at the young girl, taking her katana still inside its sheath and striking at the back of her small head. Sakura gave out a little shriek of surprise as Hana fell forward and glared up into the attacker's masked face.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" she yelled frantically. "She's just a—!" Poof! The body was gone. Both of the women were caught by surprise, and the Anbu whirled to find the oncoming attack. It came from behind, Hana arching through the air toward her with a fist drawn back. The Anbu—with longer reach—counterattacked and followed through first, connecting with Hana's face. She fell to the pavement, dazed. Then, poof! Gone again. From the right side, the Anbu swift-kicked, connected, and poof! From the left, backhand, poof! She's using her own bunshin as substitution for the kawarimi techinique, Sakura watched in amazement, flashing back briefly to her own substitution trick during the Chuunin Exams. Did Naruto teach her the kagebunshin…? Behind, counter, poof! Above, counter, poof! How many times had she substituted already?
"Cherry Bombs!"
Little red handmade bombs suddenly peppered the floor around them and Sakura leapt back out of the attack's way. The Anbu shielded her face, but thick pink smoke billowed up from the firecracker blasts and engulfed her, making her cough. Sakura saw Hana pause outside the smoke cloud. Their eyes met. Hana nodded. Sakura nodded back. Hana darted into the cloud—a startled "Hey!" from the Anbu—and she reappeared out of the smoke with the sword in hand. Sakura pulled back her own fist, infused it with a powerful concentration of chakra, and punched blindly into the column of dissipating smoke. She connected with something—from the crack that sounded when the hit connected, it was most likely the ribs—and the Anbu dropped to her knees, clutching at her side. Hana tossed Sakura the sword; she caught it, yanked it free, and lined it up with the kneeling Anbu's eye level. The first Anbu—the leader that Hana had initially attacked—came to his teammate's aid. Sakura ducked under his high kick and the female Anbu grabbed her wrist and pulled her off her balance, drawing her arm out and preparing to deliver a bone-snapping chop when Hana saved her again.
"Katon! Housenka no jitsu!" Her hands flew impossibly fast and her connected fingers rose to her mouth and blew out two powerful fireballs directed at the two Anbu. The one with the grip on Sakura rolled away, twisting the sword out of her hands. It clattered to the floor. The leader Anbu—at such close range—could do nothing but flip backward to avoid the fireball. But she didn't stop there: Hana blew another fireball at the sword, sending it spinning in the opposite direction the first one had disappeared in. It tumbled into the overgrowth and was gone from sight. She continued to launch fireballs at the two until they had regrouped with their med nin, who was merely watching. Why? Sakura wondered cautiously. Hana lowered her hand and swayed unsteadily. Sakura backed over to her side and dropped to one knee to whisper at her.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Hana nodded weakly. "You're pushing yourself—" A negative headshake as she dragged heavy breaths in and out of her mouth, her eyes on the three Anbu standing between them and the gates. She tried to stand straight but her knees gave and she fell to the ground, crying out breathlessly. Sakura saw the tears rising in her eyes and couldn't think of anything to say. Hana had been amazing, but Sakura could only do so much to both attack and defend both her and Hana against their attackers. She had managed to buy Sakura some time, but it hadn't been enough. What could they do? What could shedo now?
"That's Uchiha's daughter, isn't it?" the leader called over to them.
Before Sakura could answer with anything, Hana growled viciously back at him: "Why do you care? Instead of going with my dad to help him, you decided to wuss out and stay here all safe and sound while he and Uncle Naruto might be dying—" She stopped to breathe raggedly, her shaking arms holding her barely upright. "And my brother almost died… And no one's going to help them." She got her feet under her and struggled to stand, waving off Sakura's outstretched hand. "Instead, you're actually trying to stop the only person who really gives a shit if Daddy and Uncle Naruto live or die!"
"You shouldn't stand…" the med nin called meekly.
"She's got a mouth on her," the leader snickered behind his mask, taking a step forward. Sakura instantly threw herself in front of Hana protectively, glaring hard.
"Leave her out of this. If you want to stop me, fine. But leave her out—"
"She attacked two on-duty Anbu," the third one replied coldly, not flinching as her partner began to reinforce the broken rib in her side. "That's illegal, and she needs to be placed under arrest."
"She's seven!" Sakura yelled.
"Jun, maybe that's taking it too far," the medic said to her.
"It's a crime," Jun repeated. "We're taking them both."
"Aunt Sakura," Hana whispered as the two women quarreled over Hana's punishment, "I have some Cherry Bombs left. I could use them and you could make a run for it."
"I don't think they'll be fooled by that a second time," she shook her head apologetically.
"That's okay," Hana grinned her mischievous grin. "I've got an idea." She handed Sakura the homemade bombs. "I want you to throw these, then hide."
"Hana, sweetie, they're Anbu—they'll be able to find me instantly."
"Stop treating me like a child and trust me!"
Sakura blinked. Hana glared back at her. "Will you please trust me?" she asked impatiently. "I'm trusting you to go help my dad, so can you at least trust me on this?" Sakura looked into Hana's tired, angry eyes and nodded slowly.
"Alright, Hana."
"What are you two talking about over there?" the leader asked.
"I'm going home!" Hana spat at him, giving him a spiteful glare. "Whatever, I'm not gonna do it again, okay?"
"It's not that simple—" Jun began.
"It's okay," the med nin overrode her teammate. "Go straight home, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," Hana flipped her hair defiantly at the three Anbu, threw a glance at Sakura, and ran back toward the village proper. Sakura watched her go, holding the tiny bombs in her hand and wondering what Hana had planned. She turned back toward her obstacle.
"Are you ready to come back quietly?" Leader asked her.
"No," she shuffled the bombs behind her back, putting three in each hand and wedging them between her fingers.
"Fine then," Jun crouched. Haiyu did too. The third Anbu opened her mouth to protest and that's when Sakura ran forward, bringing her arms in front of her with her fingers splayed. She flung both sets.
"Not this time," she heard the leader say, and before he could use a jitsu to clear the smoke, she used a variation of a doton jitsu she'd seen Kakashi do once or twice and burrowed into the ground, concealing her chakra signature at the same time and making herself temporarily invisible. Footsteps rushed over her head and there was a scuffle. "Gotcha!" the leader crowed and she jumped, nearly giving away her position. But he couldn't be talking to her—he couldn't see her.
"Let go!" she heard her own voice grunt from overhead.
"No way," he grinned. She wanted to come out of the ground and punch him in the teeth.
"Haruno Sakura, you're under arrest for ignoring a direct order from the Hokage, and purposefully fighting and injuring an Anbu." The voice belonged to the bitchy one. They were arresting her…underground? She waited for the hand to come and pull her up out of her hiding place, but the collection of presences passed over her and went back toward the city. Not being able to resist, she poked the top of her head out of the dirt and looked on as the three Anbu led her—another her—away. It was Hana, using a henge jitsu to look just like Sakura. She retreated back into her hiding place, her head spinning with the implications of what they had just done. If Hana kept up the pretense, Sakura might be able to make it all the way to the Lightning Country before they figured it out. But, with the way Hana's chakra had been waning, Sakura gave the disguise only a few hours. But it was better to work with that than nothing at all.
She waited until the four presences faded from her mental sensors, then unearthed herself and rushed out of the city gates.