Chapter 38 No reason to be in doubt
"This is where we are meeting our new member...we should have just been happy with the mist swordsman hmm." Deidara stated, while eyeing the dump of a place that was known as a popular 24 hour bar he and Ronan had entered.
Due to their sudden detour, they were already running behind schedule, the chances were fairly high the person they were looking for had already left. Judging from the condition of the premises, Deidara quickly concluded him and Ronan must have missed one hell of a party. From what he could see from the dimly lit room, there were empty jugs of beer littered across the dozens of tables, with some of its contents spilled dripping onto the wooden floor, that an exhausted attendant was mopping up.
It was then that Deidara realised something, he didn't have the slightest clue as to what their contact even looked like, nor their name. Deidara was about to voice his question to Ronan, but the older man had already darted away to an unoccupied and fortunately, freshly cleaned table.
Deidara slid across the seat on the opposite side of Ronan, "Do you really think they are still here hmm?"
The older Uchiha eyed the other people in the bar, seeing if he could spot their target. Ronan took note of several men, exchanging stories with the bartender while being served, but dismissed them as he moved onto another group he found interest in. There a few rows away from them, were two figures whose faces could only be seen under the dim lamps. From what he could determine from the expressions on the middle aged men's faces, it appeared they were having a business meeting of some kind.
After a few more moments of sweeping with his eyes, he snapped back to Deidara, "The chances are remote, but we can wait for the time being." The pair were then greeted by an attendant, who took their orders for lunch, but served them drinks first. Ronan had ordered water, but Deidara shrugged and ordered some sake. While Deidara was gulping a mouthful of his drink, he felt his seat weigh down by his side.
The missing nin turned to meet a pair of cheerful blue-gray eyes that belonged to a shoulder lengthened, jet black haired woman, with two long bangs running down the side of her face leading to her in a way innocent and charming smile. The young woman appeared to be in her early twenties judging by her features and curves. She was roughly a foot shorter than Ronan, and was wearing an olive green long sleeved shirt that traced her thin yet finely tone frame.
She was also wearing an oddly patterned brown skirt, with a mixture of dark red and silver linings, which matched her brown sandals. Ronan watched as the strange woman began a conversation with Deidara, who seemed far too open with information for Ronan's taste. Time ticked by as the pair continued with a conversation Ronan held no interest in, as he sat there and watched the two in front of him interact, neither showing him any recognition.
Deidara lowered his cup of sake and held a grin, "So, what would a babe like you be doing in such a drag of a place, hmm?"
The woman took the cup and raised it to her lips to take a sip, before lowering it and giving a giggle, "Oh just hanging around, getting to know the few people in this small town...the question is though, what is a charmer like you doing here?"
Ronan had to resist snorting at the pair's exchange of flirts back and forth, it was tiring at best...but what he was really finding pathetic was how Deidara missed a little something being slipped into the remainder of the cup from his new found acquaintance.
The blond scooped up the cup for another drink, "We are here looking for somebody hmm, but it seems that whoever they are is long gone no-"
"I wouldn't do that if I was you, Deidara." Ronan interrupted, causing Deidara to stop himself from having a mouthful of his shared drink, the alcoholic beverage only centimetres away from his lips.
"Ehh? What are you talking about?" Ronan sighed, while he answered in a disturbingly casual way.
"It would be a pity for you to suddenly die from poisoning now would it not?" That made the blonds' one visible eye widen in terror, as he on reflex flicked the now deadly liquid away as if the fumes would kill him, causing it to shatter on the wall next to them.
"W-W-"
"Ruin the fun why don't you?" The woman replied, speaking in the opposite manner from the sweet and innocent like woman she had been giving the now stunned blond next to her the impression. Her smile was now gone, and replaced with a frown along with her once innocent eyes losing their twinkle to morph into harsh, cold, and deeply annoyed glare at Ronan.
Ronan cared little of the women's threat, "Fun or not, you job is not to assassinate your own new team now is it...Tsuta Claara?"
"Even when my team is full of such gullible idiots?"
"WAIT A SECOND!" Deidara shouted, his eyes darting back and forth between the two that were looking at him with a neutral expression.
"Y-You're...our contact, hmm?!" Claara clicked her tongue as she laughed at the confused blond.
"Do you really think women would be interested in such a clown like you, hmm?" She mocked, with a smirk that only added insult to injury.
"What did you just s-"
"Enough, both of you." Ronan butted in.
Deidara then turned to Ronan, "You knew and didn't say a thing?!"
Ronan snickered, "I suspected who she was the moment she came here, but I only reached my conclusion when she added in the poison into your drink."
Deidara didn't know what to feel, betrayal for Ronan basically just sitting back and observing him getting fooled or gratefulness for Ronan saving his life.
While Deidara was still trying to catch up to what had just happened, Ronan returned his attention to Claara, "We apologise for keeping you waiting so long, we had an unexpected factor that needed to be dealt with before arriving."
"That is fine by me, Ronan-san." When Ronan perked his eyebrow in question, the kunoichi answered his brewing question.
"Danzou told me who you are...and who were your associates...I assume Danzou at least told you my name?"
"Indeed, he informed me of your specialties, and your status. But he didn't provide a photo or a description."
"Who the hell are you?" Deidara now jumped into the conversation, his voice still slithering with anger. Claara did not look at Deidara, but answered while more so addressing Ronan.
"I am Tsuta Claara, I am an ex-jounin from the grass village, I have been a missing nin for over a couple of years now...and anything else is none of your concern."
That seemed to open up more questions than answers for Deidara. What made her turn her back on her village? What were her skills and talents? Why was this woman so important that both he and Ronan had to come and personally meet her on the border of grass country?
And why was she such a bitch?
"Your specialty is in assassinations, but you also possess talents in information gathering and medicines. You have been known under several aliases, which you use as a calling card to mark your handiwork. Both how do they relate to your handiwork, or to who they are addressed to is a matter of debate. You were marked a traitor for when you killed the head of one of grasses strongest clans, who was said to be your-"
"Enough!" Claara growled at Ronan, with murderous intent burning like a roaring fire in her eyes.
"...Does that answer your question Deidara?" Ronan prompted, finding this whole situation more of a setback than anything.
Deidara nodded his head, while wondering exactly what Ronan was about to say that caused the kunoichi to get so angry.
"Your little act earlier...you were giving me a demonstration before of your talents?" Ronan's words seemed to have made the angered woman do a one eighty, causing a very genuine grin to form.
"More or less...I assume I passed your test?"
'Is this woman bipolar or something?...wait a damn minute!'
"You used ME as a demonstration?!" Deidara spat out in disbelief.
Claara this time glared at Deidara as she hissed out her response in a dismissive, and chillingly cold manner, "It is not my fault you are so weak willed like most men, at least take it like a man and quit crying about it."
'You little-' Deidara clenched his teeth shut and found the wall an interesting object to vent his anger out at through mumbled curses.
Ronan shook his head at what he could see was going to be trouble in the future with these two, which is if they didn't kill each other before leaving this place.
"Well you pass on your spying and information gathering skills, since in your flirts you were rifling Deidara for information, even though he was too...occupied, to notice. But I am interested, what would have happened if Deidara had taken a drink?"
Claara pointed a thumb behind her, to what appeared to be the attendant. Deidara did not like where this was going, as he intensively listened.
"He would have felt no different, but found that he was getting more and more tired as he went about his day-" Almost as if on cue, the exhausted attendant wobbled from his sides as if he was indeed finding it hard to stay awake, earning a shiver creeping down Deidara's spine.
"-Eventually after a couple of hours, he would have no longer won his struggle to stay awake, and would fall asleep...and soon after go into a coma." Deidara gulped, while watching the poor attendant continue his duty, not knowing what silent yet lethal fate was coming for him.
"Interesting...how long does he have left?"
"Roughly half a day, you want me to remove the poison?"
"Do so before we leave. Have you been briefed yet on your task?"
"Danzou has explained everything to me, I am more than happy to assist you with killing this 'jinkuriki'."
"Excellent, will this cover your fees?" Ronan then presented another small sack that jingled as he passed it over, which Claara first looked around in caution, then opened.
"...More than enough."
"Ok, please remove the poison from that man and we will be heading back. Danzou is expected to be meeting with us soon."
"Hai, give me ..." She eyed her target, as if she was running off a checklist or something behind her focused orbs.
"...Ten minutes." She then stood up from the seat and approached the man, while falling back into that innocent act that Deidara fell for before.
"She is completely crazy hmm!" Deidara whispered to Ronan in panic.
Ronan shrugged, "While she does appear 'unusual'...her talents are unquestionable Deidara."
As much as he hated to admit it, it definitely was true, "Before...who did she kill?"
Ronan casted a quick glance to make sure she was not listening, then talked without taking his eyes off Claara.
"It was her husband. What caused her to kill him is still a mystery from today, there was no history of any conflict between the two of them or anything...or so it appeared."
Deidara shrugged it off, while now his interest was perking, "I don't understand, how does this Danzou know so many people?"
"Let me ask you this, have you ever encountered shinobi from other countries...more specifically, old rivalling countries of Iwa?"
The blond nodded, "Yes, but I assumed they were hunter-nin and took them all out."
Ronan snickered at Deidara's predictable response, "They were not coming to kill you Deidara, they were coming to make a deal with you."
Deidara raised a confused eyebrow, causing Ronan to elaborate, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Missing nin's turn their backs on their villages, they are hunted down for more than just protecting bloodline...but also for protecting vital information they know."
"You mean-"
"Danzou has spies that keep track of recent events happening in other countries, including the updates in their bingo books...Claara simply was a missing nin that he bargained with for information on grass country."
"...So you're saying I missed out on a chance to make a hell of a lot of money, hmm?!"
"Not just money Deidara, anything that can be bargained with. Protection from your old village, accommodation...the list goes on and on." Deidara groaned in annoyance at Ronan's explanation, if he had known that he could have made a small fortune for just opening his trap, he would never have killed the ninja's that tracked him down so quick in the first place.
Dismissing his now void opportunities with a sigh, he focused back on the crazed Kunoichi, "Hey...What was her latest alias anyway?"
"...Monkshood."
Naruto released a deep breath along with a cough, as he walked through the trees into the clearing and grinned softly at the sight, "We are here." He announced to his teammate staying close to him.
"Yeah...but how are you doing?"
"I'm fine." Sakura was about to pursue, but decided to let him off for now.
Before them was a cliff with most of the wave country in sight, along with the blue of the ocean, and with the clear sunny sky it almost reflected a white shine over the horizon. When Sakura narrowed her eyes in focus, she could make out trade ships coming in from the east and docking in at the harbour Wave had built. The pair lowered their marvelled gaze, to a few meters away, where two familiar graves with two wooden crosses, along with a familiar long scarf and the giant sword of Momochi Zabuza.
There was clear evidence that somebody had kept a close eye on the graves, as the loose scarf and man sized sword were still in mint condition, even after two years. Naruto and Sakura in union bowed their head in respect and said a silent prayer in peaceful silence for several moments. Once they felt the other was done, they lifted their heads up and walked to the edge to look at the view.
Sakura smiled, "I know I have said this already...but I can't believe that Wave has changed this much in so little time just because of what we all did." She said as she could remember most of the details of the deserted small town, and how it had flourished in so little time.
Naruto nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything, as both admired the view for what seemed like minutes.
Finally Sakura broke the calm silence, "Now then...How are you REALLY going?"
Naruto grinned, "As I told you before, I am fine Sakura-chan."
"Oh? And your coughing on the journey up here was just all an act was it?" She teased.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Sakura shook her head, while the blond gave in.
"I'm just a bit short of breath, that's all I swear." Sakura nodded, at least glad he wasn't trying to hide the truth.
"Ok, let's just take it slow on the way back then."
"Leaving so soon? But I only just got here."
Both teens turned behind to be greeted by a lone U shaped smile, "Kakashi-sensei!"
"Yo!"
"What are you doing here sensei?" Kakashi shrugged at Sakura's question.
"Well you see, I saw this black cat, and just to be safe I took the much longer, and scenic route back to the hotel." Naruto scoffed at his lie, but decided not to comment.
"Ah...this is so nostalgic isn't it?" Kakashi voiced his thoughts, feeling he didn't have to worry about his words causing any harm in memory of who was missing to complete this repeat in history.
The silence from the two was starting to raise his concern, until he eyed the soft smile formed on the kunoichi's face.
"You are right...it really is sensei." Sakura didn't voice it, but she couldn't resist the thought of wondering if things would ever return to normal again. Kakashi told her that life changing day on the hospital roof two years ago that things would turn normal again, but it obviously wasn't the case. While she knew better than to doubt their goal to reunite all of team 7, it was always a sort of thing that stalked in the shadows of her mind.
"Soon...it will be exactly like it used to be." There was her reason she always brushed off her disbelief, what allowed her to not throw in the towel and give up...the stubborn blond that would never call it quits. As long as he never showed signs of defeat, she damn well would make sure she herself would do the same...and return the favour if he ever did begin to doubt their promise.
Sakura didn't voice her acknowledgement, but their exchange of smiles showed her true opinion.
Kakashi decided to change to topic, although his was more than pleased to see the strong confidence in his two students, "...I heard from Lee-kun Naruto is not doing too well, is that true?" Sakura chuckled while sharing a glance with the blond, "Not exactly sensei...Naruto is quite fine, we are spending today to see if he is fit enough to travel."
"Oh...I see. Can he do any training?"
"Hai, but only with my approval sensei." Kakashi turned to his students with a neutral expression.
"That is a smart move...he does have a habit of overexerting himself."
"Agreed."
"W-Wha?! No I don-" Sakura's snort interrupted her teammates defence.
"Please... you NOT overdoing it should be considered heresy."
The blond formed a victorious grin, "Neh, you can't speak so highly right now Sakura-chan."
The kunoichi had opened her mouth to respond, but found she had no comeback to that, "Precisely!"
Kakashi concluded with amusement, while Sakura muttered incoherent words that sounded like 'no I don't'.
"Then I guess I will be in charge then of what you will be doing today."
"Yosha! Maybe we can sta-"
"I just have a few things to do first."
"O-Oh..."
'So basically...we will be waiting a hell of a long time then.' Naruto concluded, noticing his teammate seemed to be showing a similar expression.
"I will meet you two at the park, see you soon." Before either could respond, Kakashi formed a seal and shunshined away, leaving behind a trail of leaves where he once stood. Moments before that though, his students raised an eyebrow in puzzlement at the long twisted line underneath his mask that looked like a smirk on his face before disappearing.
"...Ok?" Naruto replied to the empty space, while wondering why Kakashi was in such a hurry, or why he had that strange smile.
"Kakashi-sensei doesn't usually do that, I wonder what's gotten into him?"
"Yeah, odd...anyway, shall we wait for sensei or..."
Sakura shook her head as she followed Naruto down the path back to town, "We might as well go back to the hotel then if we do that, we will start without him...I may not be able to speak for myself, but I am responsible enough to know what you can and can't do in your condition."
"I was only teasing."
"Hehe I know, so what is it that you were thinking to try first?"
"Kage bunshin training!"
'Perhaps waiting for sensei isn't such a bad idea.'
'It is obvious, she isn't coming.' Shikamaru reluctantly admitted, as he stared at the dirt to see fresh tracks that looked very familiar to him.
When did he get up from his spot to pace back and forth again?
Growing frustrated, the Nara surveyed over the trees, but once again caught no glimpse of the blond haired kunoichi.
'What could have happened?' Controlling his surprisingly jumpy nerves, Shikamaru dragged himself back down into his 'spot' by the statue, and formed that seal he did out of habit.
Only this time he encountered a strange anomaly...he was struggling to focus.
His brows furrowed as he tried to flush out his thoughts, eventually succeeding and began running through so many possibilities that could explain what had happened. Quite a large amount of possible scenarios to his horror were mostly pointing to one thing, and that was that Temari was in trouble, or worse...
"Sakura-chan...WHAT THE HELL?!" The kunoichi grinned sheepishly, while rubbing the back of her neck and releasing a nervous chuckle.
"Ok...so maybe a 'bit over the top' was being umm....generous."
"Generous?! Sakura-chan this place....that bench was on the other side of the park!"
"Hey! That wasn't my doing! I already apologised to Tazuna-san, and he completely understands."
'More like he just wanted to get out of your way!' Naruto mused, but knew better than to share his opinion.
"Whatever...let's just start already!" The blond already was forming his seal in excitement to test out his new found knowledge, but the glaring emerald set of eyes in his face demanded he didn't finish his jutsu.
"Ahem!"
"Err...please?"
The sound of Sakura's face colliding with her forehead was taken as a 'no!'.
"We talked about this on the way here...you want to try it so bad, then create four at most."
"...Four dozen?"
"Naruto!"
"...Ten?"
"Bah! Fine then!" The blond then created ten doppelgangers that stood by his sides. Sakura waited for them to do something, but they just stood there...looking at her in blankness.
After several moments of awkward staring, Sakura spoke, "W-What is it?"
"...Now what?"
Sakura was beginning to wonder if a bruise was going to form on her forehead at the end of this day.
"...Well, let's see if this memory thing works....umm, you!" She pointed at one of the doppelgangers who widened his eyes, and even did the 'who me' gesture.
"Yes, you. Come here."
The blond stepped forward and Sakura leaned in and whispered something in his ear, then donged the clone hard on the head, causing it to disperse, "What did I say?"
The remaining Naruto's seemed to perk their heads, as if some form of realisation washed over them...then in perfect synchronisation, they let their shoulders slump.
"I am a hopeless baka." The original announced dryly.
Sakura chuckled and nodded, "Hai that is right...both in recollection, and reality."
"Sakura-chan."
"Oh come on, I'm only joking Naruto."
She then put a hand to her chin, and started to think. If she could perform numerous things at once, what would she do?
'There are so many things I could do. I could read heaps of medical books, I could practice many jutsu's...fill out those horrid papers Tsunade-sama makes me do in a matter of minutes.' She quickly shook her head clear, realising that no matter how much she thought about it, something like this was never going to happen. Deciding not to dwell any further on her misfortune, she focused on what Naruto could do.
"Well...what do you think Naruto? What is it that you could learn?" The blond ran a hand through his hair, while surprisingly a clone replied, "Rasengan practice?"
Sakura nodded her head in approval, as another clone spoke up, "New jutsu?"
"What would you learn? It's not like I can show you anything?" She rebutted dismissively, as now the real Naruto spoke up.
"Toruko rasengan?" Sakura nodded her head while she concluded the best course of action.
"Alright...maybe have your clones practice rasengan, and we will focus on toruko?" "Yosha!...umm..."
Sakura's raised an eyebrow in question to Naruto now scratching his head, "But what about you Sakura-chan?"
The kunoichi at first went agape in surprise and then grinned in assurance, "This is your training, I am just here to supervise and help."
"But it isn't fair that you get nothing out of wasting time here with me."
Sakura winced at his words, even though she knew what he meant, "Naruto, I don't mind."
The blond shaking his head only caused her to frown, "But I do, there has to be something we can do that will help us both."
Sakura crossed her arms while digging the tip of her sandal into the dirt behind her in frustration, "What can I do Naruto? It's not like I can just do two or more things at once like you can." She snapped, but quickly regretted it.
Getting angry at Naruto was just being immature and stupid. The blond had done nothing wrong but possess the stamina she practically was starving for. Sakura sighed as she dropped her gaze, while not seeing that the Naruto's in front of her all looked like something clicked.
"Listen...don't worry about me, I can train in my own ti-"
"I got it!" Said kunoichi looked up in surprise at the crowd of blonds, as the real one now took charge.
"You guys, practice rasengan forming..." Naruto then nodded his head to the closest, who returned the gesture, and then both turned to the now confused Sakura.
'Was it something I said?'
"I got an idea Sakura-chan."
The sound of a sword being sheathed with a loud 'click' awoke Kabuto from his slumber. Orochimaru had assigned Kabuto to watch over Sasuke's training in case the Uchiha did anything that Orochimaru defined as 'rash'. After a quick clean of his lenses with his shirt, Kabuto focused on the destruction left behind by the raging teenager.
'Heh...Sasuke-kun sure knows how to blow steam.' Kabuto commented.
The echoing sound of footsteps caused his eyes to snap attention to Sasuke, who was walking towards the large double doors.
"And just where are you going Sasuke-kun?" The Uchiha did not seem to show acknowledgement to his words as he continued his paced walk.
When Sasuke's fingers were enwrapped around the rusted hinge, Kabuto decided to poke, "Is being defeated by a girl that dramatising for you, Sasuke-kun?"
The Uchiha completely froze, causing a sadistic smirk to form across Kabuto's face, as his glasses bloomed impossibly bright as he lifted them.
"...I wonder Sasuke-kun, how do you hope to defeat Itachi-san, if you cannot even defeat Sakura-chan?...perhaps you should ask her for assistance?"
Kabuto wasn't exactly sure when Sasuke got from the door to in his face in a split second, as he was certain he didn't blink. The sound ninja could see just how large of a nerve he just struck in the Uchiha, as the murderous intent was radiating from Sasuke's sharingan eyes. What Kabuto did not expect was the Uchiha to laugh in that sickening cold way that sounded similar to his respectful leader.
'Has he gone mad?' The henchman wondered at the hysterical laughter erupting from the teen in front of him.
Almost as if on cue, Sasuke instantly stopped laughing and glared, "I know what you...and Orochimaru are trying to make me do."
Kabuto raised a curious eyebrow, while his smirk seemed to defy odds and widened, "Oh? Why I am only concerned Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke's dry 'hn' was leading to the impression that Kabuto was not convincing him at all.
The Uchiha scratched at an itch on the side of his neck, "You are trying to use the curse seal to control me...you want me to go after them."
Kabuto feigned innocence, "I have no idea what you are talki-"
"The curse seal is driven by dark thoughts...do you really think I would not know that?" the Uchiha scolded as if addressing a troublemaking child.
Having his plan discovered, Kabuto dropped his act, "...How very impressive that you saw that Sasuke-kun."
"Enough of you and Orochimaru's games. I have no interest in either of those two anymore."
Kabuto could not hold his tongue as he laughed at the Uchiha's words, "With all due respect Sasuke-kun...you sounded very unconvincing just then."
Interest was dawning for Kabuto however, when Sasuke was not taking his bait, "Sakura got a lucky hit from my mistake...that is all there is to it. I will ensure it will never happen again." Sasuke said conclusively, as he turned and began walking back to the door.
He stopped though after several steps when Kabuto snickered like a snake, "Hmmm...but I wonder..." Kabuto hung his words, with the only sound able to be heard being the flaming torches roaring from parts of the chamber.
Sasuke after several moments decided to bite, "Wonder what?"
"...Oh, it's nothing" growing tired of this cat and mouse game, the Uchiha tilted his head so one eye was visible by the henchman.
"Wonder what?" he repeated, now with irritation clear.
"I just wonder...if you knew that the curse seal can influence your judgements...then why are you here...surely Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun are examples that show you don't need Orochimaru-sama's guidance and tutorage." Sasuke knew when he was being lied to, and this was no exception. Losing interest, he decided to play dumb and let out a dry 'hn' while walking back to the door and swinging it open.
"I chose to come seek out Orochimaru so my ambition would not diminish. Life in Konoha was doing nothing but destroying that, which is why I left. The curse seal had no influence on my decision...I simply am choosing to embrace its power that is only helping me get that step closer to success regardless of its consequences...and neither Naruto or Sakura understand why this is something I must do alone." Before Kabuto could give a snide remark, the loud bang of the door slamming shut overruled his voice.
When silence returned in the empty chamber, Kabuto spoke into the darkness, "I see...but Sasuke-kun, I wonder...if you can truly put your money where your mouth is and do just that...don't you think the same too, Orochimaru-sama."
The familiar 'Kukuku' laughter echoed throughout the chamber, as the snake sannin formed out from one of the large support pillars.
"Sasuke-kun will give in to its calling eventually...The curse seal is too irresistible for an avengers nature."
"What should we do Orochimaru-sama?"
"...Entice him."
Sakura once again found herself amazed by her teammate. She should have started to expect these sorts of things from him, but yet again she was caught off guard. She looked up from the turquoise sphere to look at the grinning wide blond.
"I see now what I said to give you this idea." She voiced, while turning her head to see how she was going with her second task, forming another toruko rasengan with the clone.
"How are you coping Sakura-chan?"
"Fine, fine, it just-"
Sakura's words were interrupted when the small tennis ball sized sphere her and the original Naruto were creating went unstable and dissipated with a gust of wind, causing her to lose focus as the other dispersed in a chain reaction.
"It's hard to maintain my chakra for two different jutsu's at once." She finished her sentence with an annoyed huff.
"It's not too much chakra for you is it? We can make them smaller if need be."
Sakura shook her head with a smile, "Its fine Naruto, I am using quite little chakra as is with these small rasengan's...and it seems you are getting better at doing more of the work yourself."
The original scratched his head with a sheepish grin, while the clone behind her was doing a similar action.
"Again?" he prompted, as they set up again, and two turquoise spheres were glowing.
'It is a great idea. Naruto is taking advantage of his clones to help me do this. By me maintaining and controlling two rasengan's, not only am I helping him with his control, but he is helping me too.' Sakura's thoughts were halted when the rasengan her and the clone were maintaining dissipated, while the other started to emit sparks of chakra, but held.
"This...is really hard." When she finally made the remaining rasengan stabilise, she decided to share her thoughts.
"But if I can get this down...do you know what this can possibly open up for me Naruto?"
The blond couldn't resist the fox wide smile at just how happy she sounded while he played along, "What Sakura-chan?"
"Amazing things, great things...healing two different injuries at once and possibly on two different patients, being able to efficiently maintain two different jutsu's at once..." Sakura was too ecstatic to even finish her sentence, and the blond could see it clear in both her voice and posture.
"Performing two different jutsu's at once, that sounds incredible Sakura-chan!"
Sakura nodded, but the harsh reality sunk in, "But that is something that probably won't happen for a long, long time Naruto. This is hard as is, but medical jutsu's are a different ball game all together...a person's health is something that requires top precision, which is why even though we can heal with one hand, we only focus on one injury at a time...a mistake can mean a person's life."
"Sakura-chan...By doubting yourself, it will never become a reality."
"...Naruto."
"Did you forget what I told you before already?...you know what Ero-sennin tells me all the time? If you say you can't do it, then no matter how much time you spend, you never will make it happen...but if you don't show doubt, if you say you can do it, and put everything you have into it...you will eventually get it done."
"..."
'This is Naruto!?'
"You know..." Naruto dropped his gaze to the spiralling sphere between them as a proud memory came back to him.
"That it took the Yondaime three years to master rasengan?" Sakura averted her gaze now on the sphere and shook her head.
"No...I didn't."
"Do you know that I baa-err Tsunade-sama believed it was impossible for me to effectively use this technique?"
The kunoichi had heard this from Tsunade and nodded ,"Hai, she said that is why you own her necklace, because she betted you could not perform rasengan."
Naruto nodded with a grin as he continued, "Yep, that's right. Against all odds, I mastered rasengan...in less than one month." That Sakura did not even expect at all, Tsunade had said he completed it, but never mentioned the fact he did it in a single month.
"O-One Month?!!"
The blond grinned sheepishly at her shocked face, but nodded, "Let me ask you something Sakura-chan."
"...Sure?"
"...Do you believe in me Sakura-chan?"
"I-I...of course I do Naruto." Even though he knew the answer already, hearing her say it brought to the blond a warming sensation that he portrayed in his smile and continued softly with a slight pink hue.
"I believe in you Sakura-chan. You can do anything you want to do...the only thing that is stopping you, is not a lack of chakra, nor talent...it is yourself. Stop shooting yourself down Sakura-chan, I don't care if I say it like a broken record or something, because it is the truth! There is only one limit that we all have... That only limit is the sky!"
Her mouth hung wide open at his sincere words. She should start keeping count of just how often Naruto was going paralyse her with shock, this time though, she really was frozen, those words really had touched her deep.
'This was the boy I once scoffed at....god I was such an idiot.'
Sakura was once again lost in his oceanic blue eyes, which only made her smile and feel a strange flopping feeling in her stomach, which coupled with a comforting feeling of warmth from his own returning smile.
'This feeling...it can't be brotherly...it just can't be.'
She could have sworn he was starting to blur in her vision, as if some liquid was blocking her orbs sight.
"...Naruto...Tha-" She never was able to finish her thanks, as she seemed to lose control of the rasengan and it exploded in a violent burst of wind between the two of them, pulling her out of her shock.
"Naruto are you ok?!"
"Hehe, your welcome Sakura-chan." the kunoichi felt her cheeks heat up, but she couldn't hold back her smile, or her laughter.
"Come on, let's try it again."
"Hai!"
While the two continued, they were unaware of the lone eyed scarecrow look alike watching them from his hiding spot in the distance with a smile underneath his mask.
He was also aware by the recent development they all had seen, with the exception of the clueless blond. Kakashi could not be more than happy for his student, dare he say he was relieved to see Sakura was finally starting to let go of the missing Uchiha. Her eyes' opening up to Naruto however, really is something he honestly never saw coming. He didn't show disagreement though, since he could see very clearly that his students did get along well.
"So...you believe me now Kakashi, no?"
Kakashi turned from his hiding spot to address an ear to ear grinning sannin, "I knew that something had changed the moment I had arrived here Jiraiya-sama."
The older man chuckled, "Sure you did."
"I wonder what is troubling Sakura though?" Kakashi jumped to the point, not wanting to play this pointless game with the sannin.
Jiraiya sighed as he dropped his playfulness and got serious, "It is obvious, she can't decide between the knuckle head and Sasuke." Kakashi's one eye stared blankly, but then surprised even the sannin by shaking his head.
"I don't believe so."
"Then what?"
"...I think she is afraid."
Jiraiya was about to deny it, but then ran a hand through his hair and groaned, "You are right...she got so worked up about the things in the past, it wouldn't surprise me if she is scared she will inflict more of this 'harm' on him....kids these days, complicating even the most trivial of things."
Kakashi shrugged dismissively, but Jiraiya continued, "Maybe one of us should talk to her?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Kakashi ran a hand through his silver hair, "I think she will come around eventually...just give her time to sort herself out. More importantly though...I think you are the LAST person she would discuss something like this to."
The sannin couldn't argue with that, and the last thing he wanted to do was have another encounter with 'the green eyed monster.
Deciding to change the topic, Jiraiya smirked, "Interesting idea the gaki has come up with hey?"
Kakashi returned his gaze to his students, who were struggling to keep the two rasengan's stable, "Trust Naruto to think of something like that...I think I remember Tsunade-sama being able to heal more than one individual at one time."
Jiraiya scoffed at the severe understatement, "She once healed over a hundred injured shinobi at once in combination with her summon...but I don't think she attempted to heal more than one target by herself."
Kakashi sighed, "The new generation is growing up fast isn't it?...reaching new limits and bounds neither of us could obtain at such a young age." Jiraiya perked an eyebrow at Kakashi speaking like he was an old man.
Jiraiya wasn't THAT old, but in comparison to Kakashi, the silver haired jounin was a kid in comparison to him, "Hey Kakashi, last time I checked, you don't exactly count in the 'old' generation...me though...-"
"Did the legendary Jiraiya-sama just admit he was old? I must tell Naruto about this."
Jiraiya growled at the sarcastic remark, but continued, "ANYWAY! Yes...it really is amazing isn't it, how the young begin to catch up and even surpass their elders' no?" Kakashi nodded, while noticing Sakura was starting to keep both the rasengan's stable.
"Ah...the new generation will surpass the old."
'just like you said to us, sensei.'
"GAH!" Both older men were pulled out of their deep musing when Sakura yelped in surprise when both exploded at the same time.
"....DAMN IT SHANNARO!"
'...But the new generation won't be surpassing us just yet...not without us elders still here to guide them.'
Sakura wiped her sweating forehead and looked up at the sun, "It's been three hours now Naruto...how do you feel?"
"Awesome Sakura-chan, you?"
"I'm ok...but can we just take a break?"
The blond nodded, while his clones dispersed in union.
"Now then, that was g- Naruto!" Sakura lunged in front to stop the suddenly exhausted blond from buckling over.
"What happened? Are you ok?!"
"My head...hurts...dizzy..." Sakura was beginning to think he was going to faint, and quickly huffed him over to a tree and leaned him back against it.
"Are you ok?" Naruto put a hand on his pounding forehead.
"I...think so."
'What the hell happened, he dispersed his clone's and then suddenly-...oh.' Sakura chuckled while sitting next to him.
"We forgot about the kage bunshin's Naruto...you had eight practicing rasengan for three hours, then one with me practicing toruko...so that's over a entire day's worth of training you just did."
"....Oops." Sakura couldn't resist laughing, but calmed and reached into her pouch.
"Would you like something for your headache?"
"No thanks, it's getting better already."
Sakura nodded, but kept a cautious eye on him, "So much for sensei coming."
"Heh, he probably is too engrossed in that lame book." Sakura paled at mention of the book, and quickly steered the topic away.
"I wonder if Temari-san has arrived yet. I am sure Shikamaru and the others know we are here."
"Maybe she is running late?"
"Yeah...probably." The small talk died down soon after that as the teens sat there in peaceful silence. Eventually what felt like minutes, the kunoichi turned her head to look at the blond.
"Want to see how far we have come with our efforts?"
"Hehe, sure thing!" Naruto then held out a palm in front of him, and started forming rasengan with one hand. Sakura noticed straight away that Naruto had really improved, the rasengan was around half the usual size, and was rotating at blurring speed, emitting a loud 'swish' like noise from the sphere.
"...Wow, very impressive Naruto." The blond scratched the back of his head and sheepishly gave his thanks.
Sakura raised a puzzled eyebrow when Naruto stood up and offered her a hand, "Now let's see about you." Sakura grinned and took his hand up.
'He always is thinking of me'
"Where's the kage bunshin?" The blond chuckled and held out both his hands.
"I have made two rasengan's before, this shouldn't be too different." The kunoichi shrugged and got to work. The bright glow of two toruko spheres shone from their hands.
Sakura noted that it seemed easier this time, then remembered that Naruto before didn't have his clones dispersed, meaning this was a fresh new attempt. Both had the forming of a victorious grin grow across their faces when neither of the two rasengan's showed signs of dissipating.
"You are getting it Sakura-chan!"
The kunoichi gritted her teeth when she felt the one in their right starting to go unstable, but quickly adjusted.
Now feeling more confident she smiled wide, "I think I got it!"
"Want to try increasing their speeds?"
"Umm...I will try." From this point, Sakura had been trying to visualise both rasengan's as the same, and it showed when instead of one spinning faster, both of them did.
"...Give me a second."
"Take all the time you need." Sakura closed her eyes to help concentrate, the only sound she could hear was of the violently turning spheres.
'Visualise the chakra, see them, feel it.' Naruto noticed his left handed rasengan was glowing brighter, and could feel more weight of foreign chakra against his own.
'Now...go faster.' The blonds sharp gasp in surprise could be heard in her ears, causing her to smirk but she didn't open her eyes.
"Well?"
"It's-"
BANG.
Both spheres exploded violently with an outburst of chakra at the same time, releasing a strong current of wind between them. Once the wind died down, Sakura groaned.
"Damn it!" She cursed.
"It was turning faster Sakura-chan, you are getting there."
"I know. But I just can't work out how to visualise it. I tried looking at them as the same jutsu, which helps me concentrate on keeping them stable, but making one go faster than the other..."
"Again?"
"...We are meant to be taking a break..."
Sakura gave in to temptation though and tried again, "Ok Sakura-chan, can I try something?"
"Sure." Sakura blinked in surprise then when she felt the chakra in both resisting her own, and went agape in shock.
Was Naruto asking to lead?
"a-are you-"
"May I take over?"
"O-ok." Sakura noticed straight off hand that the rasengan's were not rotating as fast, and there was more of a blue glow than turquoise.
"What are we doing exactly N...Naruto you genius!"
'By him being in control, I am merely pouring in chakra to be part of the jutsu...I can now focus more on understanding how it works than trying to keep them stable.'
The blond chuckled, "I said I have done this before, while I don't know how to explain it to you in words how I do it, maybe an example will help you with picturing it." After several changes of speed back and forth, Sakura nodded now keen.
"Can I take over?"
"Yosha!"
The change of hand was noticed by the speed increase and more greenish hue of the rasengan's. Sakura once again closed her eyes, now with a stronger picture in her mind. She was now seeing them as two different rasengan's and not just one intertwined.
"Ok...left one....now."
Picturing it in her mind, she then felt in her hand the sphere spinning faster. Sakura could feel the strain getting to her, but she refused to give in as she continued her concentration.
"Right one, now." Sakura opened her eyes, and saw that her mind was indeed in sync with both rasengan's.
"You have done it!"
"No, you have done it."
'I still have a long way to go. But this is unbelievable progress for the first day.' The blond dispersed both rasengan's and was ecstatic for his oddly silent friend.
"That is so awesome Sakura-chan! We have to try changing them both at the same time next t-"
Naruto froze dead in his tracks when he felt something soft touch his cheek, which sent an electrifying sensation that paralysed him from reacting. The sensation seemed familiar to him, but he was too much in shock to think clearly...but even in his vagueness, he didn't know where or how...there was another anomaly present from the gentle contact that was making his heart skip beats...something he by far was not familiar with. Once an unimaginably long two seconds passed, the soft contact left his cheek, and pulled back to reveal the soft smiling kunoichi that Naruto to his disbelief, identified as his teammate.
"...I know you understood what I was trying to say before, but what you said to me...you have no idea just how much every single word meant to me...Thank you Naruto...words alone could not express my gratitude." The blond took three seconds to feel whatever poison fell upon him leave his system, and was finally able to speak from his statue like form.
"N-No problem Sakura-chan, I was only speaking the truth though." He replied with a mumble, although the kunoichi could decipher just how much her action had just affected him.
'Oh no...What on earth have I done?'
"Umm...I am going to get us something to eat, you wait here ok?"
"Sure thing Sakura-chan." Sakura moved away a lot quicker than necessary, and when she was out of direct sight of her still wide smiling teammate, she frantically shook her head. '
I should not have done that, I should bloody hell have not done that!' She scrutinized herself for her irresponsible actions. She had already concluded what she would do, yet she was constantly making her plan fall apart involuntary, and what was worse, was that a part of her was becoming satisfied with the outcome.
The problem to her situation was child's play to determine, she really enjoyed spending time with the hyperactive ninja...too much time. She had tried to distance herself, but found every attempt to restore the distance they used to have only resulted in failure. What was now on her conscious was that if anything, she was only succeeding in hurting their friendship as she discovered this morning.
She knew the distance was needed, but every part of her refused to follow, 'How the hell did I get myself into this mess...all I had to do was say 'thanks Naruto' and that was it....not do that!'
Almost as if another presence was listening in, her own mind shouted back to her in response as if addressing an idiot, 'Get a grip! Nobody has ever said anything so nice to you ever! You knew exactly what you were doing, and you damn well were thrilled to see his stunned expression!'
Resting a hand on her forehead, she groaned in frustration of her conflicting beliefs. Nothing ever was simple anymore for her, even her own thoughts were now against her.
'I can't do this alone anymore, I need to talk to somebody.'
"Three hours stuck with Naruto was too much for you? I don't blame you."
Sakura literally jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice barging through her deep musing. Placing a hand on her racing heart, she looked at the one responsible for her fright.
"K-Kakashi sensei! Don't do that!"
The silver haired jounin shrugged innocently at her outburst, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
Once the Kunoichi seemed calm, Kakashi voiced his questioning gaze, "Is something the matter Sakura? You looked pretty spaced out then?"
'I was?'
"U-U-Umm..."
'Damn it!'
"Sensei...I...I need your help."
"What about?" Sakura swallowed the lump of hesitation at the back of her throat and mumbled out an incoherent word.
"Sorry? Can you repeat that louder?"
"....Naruto."
"Eh? What about Naruto, Sakura?" Kakashi knew he shouldn't be teasing her by feigning ignorance, but he wanted to be certain she really was saying what he was hearing.
"...I..." Sakura bit her tongue at first, and thought deeply of what she was about to say. Reluctantly with a sigh, she finally spelled it out.
"I like him sensei.......I really like him...a lot."
Kakashi let out a warming chuckle at the news, even if he knew already, admittance was the first step in his eyes.
"I see...and how is this troubling?" For some unknown reason, the kunoichi lost all her strength to speak out her dilemma, as if admitting it aloud had drained her will.
"I-umm-I...."
"Talk to me on the way to where you're heading." Sakura felt the jounin place a comforting hand on her back as he guided her out of the park and into the streets.
"I-umm...Hai...thank you sensei."
'I said we shouldn't interfere...but I didn't say anything about if she came to me for help.'
Meanwhile back with the blond, he felt on top of the world after sitting down under the tree again.
'Sakura-chan really-' He felt his cheek where her soft lips had touched and he felt a impulse to smile from ear to ear. He honestly didn't know what he said or done to earn that, but he was beyond blissful.
Nothing could possibly ruin his day now.
"OH GAKI!"
Well, almost anything.
"Naruto-kun!"
Scratch that. This day just went from being heaven, to nose diving straight down to the flaming pits of hell...and perverts.
"Ero-sennin? Fuzzy Brows? What are you both doing here?"
There was something about that smirk on the sannin's face that was having all of Naruto's alarm bells ringing, but Lee was oblivious to it.
"We are just here to push our bodies to the limit through vigorous training Naruto-kun!"
"Oh..." Lee then held a puzzled expression.
"But...I thought you were unwell Naruto-kun?" The silent Jiraiya emitted by far the most spine chilling chuckle the blond had ever heard form from his perverted tongue.
"Why, isn't it obvious Lee? You were tricked by the gaki and his girl so they could have a 'romantic' time together for the day...how is that going gaki?"
The blond turned a mixture of ghostly white, to then red in the face, "It is not like that Ero-sennin!" Lee lowered his head in deep thought, and then suddenly exploded.
"I WAS DECIEVED?! HAWWW THAT IS SO HIP NARUTO-KUN!"
The sannin felt his sweat drop that Lee was ignoring what he had just said, but continued his poking, "So-o Gaki.....did I miss anything?"
"NO!"
"You looked so happy when we saw you Naruto-kun...like it was the start to a fresh spring day in your youth."
'What the heck does that mean?!' The sannin wondered, but decided to play along.
"Hehehe, I think SOMEONE brought spring to him, don't you agree Lee? I wonder who it was."
'God help me!'
"Maybe...maybe it was a certain kunoichi...eh Lee?" The miniature Gai scratched his shiny hair in confusion.
"Jiraiya-sama...what are you talking about?"
"Oh forget it you buffoon! And do me three hundred laps of this park, and if you can't do that, then do four hundred push ups!"
"YOSH! I will do six hundred laps instead! I will not let you down, Jiraiya-sama!"
Both looked at the miniature Gai like he was insane, but he was practically gone before either could say a word.
"...o-kay...that is a man that is too far gone for even a woman to save him."
Jiraiya then turned his attention back to the still sweat dropping blond, "Now you on the other hand, still has some time left...so what happened?"
That seemed to return the blond back to his terror with a blush, "N-Nothing!"
"Yeah, and I am really in charge of the snake contract?"
"You are?"
"What?! Of course no-GAKI!-answer the damn question!" Jiraiya demanded, only to receive nothing.
"...Ok, no new jutsu's for you the-"
"SHE KISSED ME! OK!"
"OHHH!" The blond suddenly shook his head in a blur at the sannin, who was reaching for his notepad already.
"NO! NO!...it was only on the cheek. She just wanted to thank me about something like she has done before...that is all."
"Thank you about something indeed, hehehe-"
"Ero-sennin!"
"Gaki, you can't be serious can you?"
'Really, NOBODY can be that dense!'
"Serious about what?"
'Except for a knuckle head by the name of Uzumaki Naruto.'
"Never mind...oh I do have a question actually."
"...Yes?"
"...Does she have any cute relatives-"
"ERO-SENNIN!"
Since it seemed the kunoichi couldn't think straight, it was Kakashi who led them into town. The older jounin decided it was best to sit down and talk, so he settled for a small cafeteria with not many customers. Once settled and with a drink in hand, Sakura felt more comfortable to talk thanks to the calming atmosphere. She started from the beginning about the incident in her time at the market place, then to that very night...along with her dilemma.
"Sensei...I really don't know what to do."
Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, by the sounds of her explanation, it appeared Jiraiya was right, "Sakura...this is something I cannot help you with."
"B-B-"
"I can't tell you who to love...that is your freedom as a person to decide. It is not mine, nor Jiraiya's, or either Naruto's or Sasuke's...just you."
"Sensei umm...that's not what really has me confused."
Kakashi's visible eye blinked in surprise as his interest perked, "You mean you are not stuck in deciding between them?"
"....It's hard to say...I mean I still feel strongly for Sasuke-kun, but Naruto...I can't explain it sensei, I just feel it...it feels different ..."
Sakura hesitated, but recalling what happened earlier gave her strength to finish, "...It feels just right...I know that sounds stupid-"
"No not at all, there is nothing stupid about that."
"R-Really?" Kakashi's nod seemed to make her feel more relaxed to know that she was not going insane.
"But I would like to know why you are so concerned with this? You were quite carefree with showing your affection for Sasuke." Kakashi knew he should know better than to mention the Uchiha, but he genuinely was curious to hear her answer.
The kunoichi tensed at the mention of her old time crush, but did not back down, "Back then...I was an idiot sensei. I am perfectly aware of the actions I did...and I don't want it to happen again, especially if I am only going to hurt the people important to me."
Kakashi formed a wide line under his mask that Sakura guessed was a warming smile, 'She really has matured so much from before...'
"While I partially agree with you..."
Sakura winced at his casual yet so powerful tone, "...You truthfully weren't as bad as you are making it sound. Don't be so harsh on yourself." Sakura's wince softened as she mumbled a 'thank you'.
She had to admit, it felt so comforting to hear approval that her way of thinking in this matter was the right step so far. It was the kind of help she was desperately looking for.
Feeling now eager to press to her matter of concern, she spoke off the thoughts that had not left her head these couple of days.
"What I am worried for is sensei...What if it goes wrong, what if we never speak to each other again? What if...What if I hurt him?...I'm...-"
'Ah...so it is fear.'
"You are afraid of what could happen?" Sakura went agape, but reluctantly nodded, while she sat up straight in anticipation of an answer she desperately wanted to hear.
"Sensei...What do I do? What should I do? Please...this is driving me insane."
"Again Sakura, I am afraid it is something only you can decide on your own."
Seeing his student's shoulders slump in defeat pushed him over the edge, "But, you shouldn't be scared to express your feelings to Naruto."
Sakura's head snapped up so fast, he could have sworn he heard a crack, "I-I shouldn't?"
Kakashi nodded, "Of course not. I can understand your unease, but it is something everybody has to address sometime. There of course is always...a risk with this kind of thing Sakura, but if we don't take those risks, we would be denying ourselves the most magnificent opportunities in life."
"...I think I understand." Kakashi was relieved to see that his student no longer held an expression akin to being lost.
"But more importantly, do you honestly think Naruto and you would just stop talking to each other if something did happen?"
"Well..."
"Who are we talking about again? Because I am pretty sure a certain number one surprising ninja would not allow your friendship to die."
"But Kakashi-sensei, this is different-" The silver haired jounin shook his head in disagreement.
"No...It isn't. Naruto isn't the kind of person that lets friendships slip away for any reason...you and I should know this most of all."
"....Kakashi-sensei."
"...He hasn't given up on Sasuke, and as much as I hate to say it...Sasuke did try and kill Naruto, on more than one occasion. Yet do you see him relenting? Do you honestly and truly believe deep down, a relationship going wrong between you both would tear you apart?"
"...I really am becoming a baka aren't I?"
The jounin ran a hand through his gravity defying hair while chuckling, "Well I can't blame you, you spend time with one, you eventually become one."
"Hey! He is not that bad sensei!" Kakashi's lone eyebrow raised in amusement to that defensive tone he felt slithered in her response.
"....I am detecting some...bias there."
Sakura shrugged sheepishly and drank the rest of her drink, feeling satisfied with their discussion, "Thank you so much Sensei, I understand and feel much better now."
Kakashi shrugged, "Just looking after my students...so what will you do?"
Sakura's satisfaction crumbled back into confusion, 'What will I do?'
"I don't know sensei. Do I tell him? Should I-"Sakura paused knowing once again what Kakashi would reply with, and corrected herself.
"No...This is something I must work out on my own, right?" Kakashi nodded with his eye smiling.
"Correct, but I will say this to you though. Whatever you choose to do, I know it will be the right decision. You have proven to me that you are handling this in a mature and adult manner...you should be proud."
"...Thanks Kakashi-sensei, I really needed to hear that...But sensei...how do you know so much about this stuff?"
Sakura smirked while a suspicion was rising, "Do you have a special somebody that you keep a secret from all of us sensei?"
Kakashi scoffed as if he had heard the most stupid statement in his life, while whipping out his prized Icha Icha series books, "I read the most emotionally driven series known to the entire shinobi world, which is swimming in the art of a loving bond between a man and a woman..."
Kakashi then put away his proof of qualifications, and casually continued., "To answer your other question..."
'He so does!'
"...I don't feel like telling you."
"NEH?! Come on sensei, I shared something with you!"
"Yes you did...but that was your choice Sakura-'chan'."
"Oh come on!" The kunoichi decided to change tactic.
"Is she from Konoha?"
"Who is 'she'?"
"Do I know her?"
"Why..."
Sakura began to grin, but then Kakashi's shrug wiped it straight off to instead form a frown, "Who are we talking about exactly?"
'Oh, I know you do!'
Before Sakura could try and continue her failing interrogation, Kakashi butted in. "Shouldn't you be returning to Naruto with late lunch?"
The kunoichi was about to rebut, but froze when she knew defeat was clear...for now.
"This...is not over sensei. I will find out who she is, just you wait."
"Who is this 'she' you keep speaking about?"
Sakura narrowed her eyes into his lone neutral stare, "...Nice try."
The Nara paced himself as he crossed back over the bridge alone. His fear no longer was just theory, it was now a reality. Too much time had ticked away for there to be any mistake now. Something without a doubt had happened to Temari, and the part that was haunting the shadow user was that there were far too many variables to pin point exactly what was the case.
Did she never leave Suna?
Was she attacked?
Either way, Shikamaru had to report this to the others, even though a part of him still wanted to hopelessly wait there to be proven he was simply over reacting. Bolting through the busy streets earned him a few quizzical looks, but he payed no attention back. Crossing the park, he could hear the commotion of the familiar voices he recognised as his comrades, and darted in. Upon sight of his team, he regretted being the bringer of bad news to disrupt the otherwise joyful group. Naruto and Sakura were sitting next to each other under a tree, helping themselves to some food, while having a deep conversation, occasionally pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi, who was feigning ignorance, and casually reading his book on the other side of the clearing. Occupying the centre, was a profusely sweating Lee, doing push ups while shouting out a triple digit number, with the sannin standing next to him, holding a sweat dropping cringe.
Kakashi lifted his head to see the Nara, and lowered his book and stood at attention. Like a chain reaction, the others noticed the shadow user's presence, and the fun atmosphere was sliced like it had been torn by a knife into disturbing silence. The cause for the sudden attention was due to the un-Shikamaru like expression. The shadow user usually was very laid back and neutral, but this time, he was tense, and held a strong and focused gaze.
"Shikamaru? What is it?" Naruto voiced every bodies brewing question.
The Nara cursed, as the words dragged out of his mouth like each syllable was a rotten poison, "Temari is not coming."