Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.
-Henry David Thoreau

Chapter 31: At A Distance

"Ahh, so you're Naruto-kun's friends, eh?" Jiraiya put down his sake cup and smiled jollily. "I never thought Naruto-kun would get such a cute girl to be his friend!" Kei's brow twitched. Ever since they had stumbled across Jiraiya on their way to the barbeque store, Jiraiya had spouted never-ending nonsense about pretty ladies. Kei was used to gathering information. The nice thing about facts was that they were facts. They were not biased and were conventionally not absurdly incorrect.

But somehow, it appeared that nearly everything she had thought she had known about Jiraiya was wrong. Jiraiya was not sagely, despite his name, and apparently wrote disgusting orange covered novels. She had managed to not gather that little bit of information before coming to meet with him. She sorely regretted her oversight now. "Yes, we are his genin team. And I thank you for your compliment, but will you stop talking like that? It's irritating me," Kei said shortly. She had spent the past few days in the library, talking to a perverted drunkard was the last thing she wanted right now. Kei wished she could pick his brain instead of talking to him. It would be ever so much easier.

"Sorry, sorry!" Jiraiya sheepishly rubbed the back of his head "I'm just excited to finally see Naruto-kun again, you know? It's been a long, long time. I never really saw him actually. I only saw him when he was in his mum's belly." Shikamaru turned to look at Jiraiya sharply. After being wrangled into this mess, his mind had been drifting away, but that had brought him back to the table.

"You know who his parents are?" Shikamaru asked.

Jiraiya, immediately recognizing his mistake, fumbled for an answer. "Kind of. Well yeah, I guess so. Er... I would prefer not to talk about it though. It's been a long time and bad memories surround the entire mess. They died on the day of the Kyuubi incident after all." Shikamaru crossed his arms. That would make it difficult to guess who his parents were. Too many people died on that day to systematically go through them all and look for the dead couples.

"In any case, I heard you wanted to talk to me about something?" Jiraiya picked up the sake glass before pouring a bit more into his saucer. The two genin looked at one another. They hadn't really planned out how they would go about questioning Jiraiya. They knew that it was unlikely they would get the chance to talk to him in private like this ever again, but didn't quite know how to ask about the seals.

"I'm an amateur in fuuinjutsu. There aren't many experts, and there was only one book in the library. I wanted to ask you about some sealing techniques that I had thought about. You know, to see if they would theoretically work," Kei said, fiddling with the notebook on her lap. She was really making things up as she went right now. Everything she had said was true, but she hadn't ever made a seal of her own or even sketched one.

"Fuuinjutsu, eh? You'd be better off getting yourself apprenticed to someone for a few years, but I can tell you a bit. Shoot then, girlie." Jiraiya nodded and took a sip. He peered at the two genin past the saucer that was in his face. It was obvious they had no clue what they were doing, but he couldn't puzzle out their motive. Until he could figure that out, he'd play along for now.

"I don't want to stall my training in other subjects. Our team decided that if we were to be well-rounded we should devote certain members to certain subjects. I was allotted fuuinjutsu and medical ninjutsu. If I was apprenticed I would be too lacking in other subjects," Kei said. She ran a hand through her hair nervously before continuing, "I've heard about seals that can repress certain abilities. I want to know how they work. Do they stop the ability in particular or do they filter chakra to prevent certain actions?"

"The latter. Chakra is the name of the collective energy source, but there are multiple subsets. Like how we have plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in our blood. The seals merely prevent certain parts from flowing," Jiraiya replied quickly. "Next question."

"How do you recognize the chakra composition and single them out to make a seal to block it?" Kei asked.

"Now why would a little girl like you want to know about that? Seals like those are normally only used when a chakra based poison has infiltrated a certain chakra component." Jiraiya smiled at the two genin who were worriedly thinking of an answer. They couldn't simply say that they were trying to search for the Kyuubi's chakra in order to block it from Naruto's mind.

"A civilian friend of mine has a chakra network of her own, but was prevented from becoming a ninja due to a periodic chakra poisoning. The pores where the element comes out have defects which cause her to react badly whenever she tries to use her chakra, and I wanted to see if I could fix that." Kei internally winced. She hated how good at lying she was getting.

"Ahh, I see. I guess that Konoha doesn't have enough fuuinjutsu experts in the hospital to fix her and the seals are expensive to import. I suppose that it can't hurt to tell you a bit about that if it will help your friend." Jiraiya crossed his legs under the table and gave a sly smile. Shikamaru swallowed. Jiraiya didn't seem like he bought it at all! The words were relieving, but his smile almost looked mocking. Crap.

-TSUME-

Anko stamped her foot on the ground. "I don't care what he's doing." Turning on the door, she yelled, "YOU GOT THAT, OLD MAN?I'm coming on in!" Anko released Sakura's hand before turning on her heels and kicking the door. The door to the Hokage's office snapped open, revealing Hiruzen and one of his assistants.

"Ah, Mitarashi-san. I see that you have something so important that it could not wait ten seconds for me to open the door?" Hiruzen gave a tight smile and clasped his fingers together tightly. He was still irritated from the conversation earlier that morning and was not in the mood to deal with paying for yet another door. Ninja did not always use their brute force for the most worthwhile causes.

"That idiot," Anko said, gesturing at the horrified assistant behind her, "told me to make an appointment for you next week. Like heck I'm going to make an appointment!" Anko looked from the man beside Hiruzen back to the Hokage and said, "Looks like you aren't doing anything important anyways."

Hiruzen gave a loud sigh before saying, "You're dismissed, Ootaki-san. I will talk to you about the matter later." The scarecrow-like man quirked an eyebrow before exiting the room. He grabbed the sagging door and gingerly drew it to a close before stalking away. Hiruzen turned back to Anko and Sakura and asked, "Well, what are you here for that is so desperately important?"

Anko looked down at the pale pinkette by her side before shoving the girl forward towards the Hokage. Sakura tripped over her feet as she stumbled forward. She managed to pull herself to a stop just in front of the desk before gulping worriedly. Her emerald eyes looked back at Anko nervously before looking at the Hokage. She opened her mouth to speak before closing it again. It took her a few moments before she said, "I think something is wrong with me. Something has been strange ever since that time in the exams."

Sakura lifted her hand to the side of her neck and clenched it tightly. Her nails dug into her skin. Hiruzen reached out to touch her, but she recoiled as if she had just been struck. Her eyes were wide with fear as she turned down to look at the ground. "Don't come near me. It's hard enough just being here..." Hiruzen's wrinkled face softened as Sakura shook.

"Just being in this room hurts my head. There's this voice telling me to...to..." Sakura swallowed and shook her head. Anko nudged her on the shoulder, and Sakura blurted out, "Slaughter him where he is because he allowed everything to happen to you. If it wasn't for him, then none of this would have happened in the first place. You should kill him too." She shuddered. "It won't stop! I can plug my ears all I want, but it's in my head!"

Anko wrapped her arms around Sakura and pulled her into a tight hug. She looked up at Hiruzen with worried eyes. Hiruzen bit his lip tightly as he looked at the distraught girl. It was obvious that she wasn't faking. It was even more obvious that it was a side effect from the cursed seal. Unfortunately, they didn't know that much about what happened to those with the seals. All they knew was that the death rate was fairly high for those that received the seals. Could this be a sign of deterioration?

"It will be all right, Sakura-chan. We won't let anything happen to you," Hiruzen said gently.

"I'm not afraid of anything that could happen to me!" Sakura shouted. "I'm afraid of what I could do! I feel like I should be locked up somewhere so that I can't hurt anyone. It's like I'm going mad, but I realize that I'm insane." Sakura clenched her teeth tightly and winced as the voice shouted in her head. It told her about how stupid she was for telling the Hokage about this and how it would ruin their plans. She just wanted it to keep quiet and for it to leave her alone.

Anko looked up at Hiruzen before nodding towards the windows. Hiruzen sighed and nodded. "Sakura-chan, these are special circumstances. We don't quite know what is going on, but we're going to do our best to help you. Mitarashi-san and another one of my men will be assigned to keep watch over you. One of them will always be around, so you don't want to worry. They will also help you train for the exams since it is probably unwise for Hatake-san to watch over you while his attention is divided." Sakura nodded slightly before looking back down again.

Hiruzen stood up from his chair and said, "Good. I know this will be difficult for you, Sakura-chan, but I hope it will help you. We will do all we can to stop that voice. Stay strong for us, all right?" Sakura quietly whispered her acknowledgement, and Anko led the girl out the door.

As soon as they left, Hiruzen signaled for the ANBU outside his room to come in. In a flash, a hawk-masked ANBU stood in front of him in a low bow. "Hawk, find Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi and bring them here." After the ANBU shunshined away, Hiruzen walked in front of the window with his hands clasped behind his back. If Sakura was having such problems, there was no reason to believe that Sasuke wasn't suffering the same way.

-TSUME-

Inoichi quietly walked down the cobblestone path. People passed him by, each of them going his or her way. By casting a simple glance he could tell that the young man that had rushed past was late for his delivery. The boy had a panicked look on his face as if there was a demon chasing after him, telling him to hurry up. Inoichi snorted. It would have been nice to only have to worry about making the next delivery. He understood that civilians had their own share of troubles, but they seemed so unimportant in comparison. Could a late payment really compare to what he was worrying about now?

Inoichi bit his lip. For being the former head of Torture and Interrogation, he hated how susceptible he was to these wayward thoughts. He knew that Naruto was different from the Kyuubi. Heknew it. So why was he having all of these doubts? The Kyuubi had a presence in Naruto's mind, but that did not mean that he had invaded Naruto's inner sanctum. Inoichi bobbed his head up and down. That had to be it. The seal was preventing the Kyuubi from affecting Naruto's mind. It wasn't even a sure thing that Naruto had a channel to talk to the Kyuubi, right?

Inoichi lifted a hand to the side of his head and sighed. All the worry was beginning to give him a headache. It wasn't at all pleasant, so he tried to clear his mind. He looked up at the faintly blue sky with a melancholy expression. He could only hope that life would get simpler soon, but with the rebellion, he had no doubt that it would get worse before it got better.

He trudged back down the streets before making a turn around the corner. He saw the familiar sign of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, and a wave of nostalgia hit him. The store must have been difficult to run without him around. He was sure that his wife must have been overloaded and hoped that Ino helped out a bit. Inoichi sped up his pace as he neared the store, just wanting to get inside. He needed a rest from everything that had been going on.

The bell chimed as he pushed the door open, and he heard his wife call out a welcome. A small smile touched Inoichi's face as he yelled back, "It's me, Arisa!" A head of brown hair popped out from the field of flowers in the fridge, and Arisa exited the flower storage. She wiped her wet hands on the splotchy brown and white apron that covered her teal dress.

"Inoichi, it is nice to see that you have time to come back and visit your poor lonely family once and awhile." Arisa smiled gently as she made her way over to her husband. She gave Inoichi a quick hug before sending a quick glance to the back of the store. "No one is here currently, so may I talk to you in the back?"

"Of course." Inoichi followed his wife back to the storage room where Arisa closed the door behind him. The key clicked into the lock, and Arisa shook the handle to make sure the door locked. Once she was satisfied, she turned on her husband.

"Something is wrong with Ino," Arisa said shortly. "She is not the same as she used to be. For the longest time, she always helped out in the store when she was off-duty, but now she simply runs to her room. Has something happened? She will not tell me anything, but I cannot help but be suspicious. I will not have her being bullied by her fellow ninja if that is what is going on."

"I haven't heard anything from her." Inoichi raised his hands up. "I've been busy with my duties. You know how it is, Arisa. Until my team graduates to chuunin, I don't have much time at home. Ino-chan and I will be going out on different missions unless we get assigned a joint job. My genin are friends with Ino-chan though. I'm sure that they would have told me if Ino-chan was having problems."

"I still worry though, Inoichi. It is not normal for her to be like this." Arisa crossed her arms tightly and tapped her foot. "I have tried talking to her, but she will not tell me anything, so now it is your turn. Ino is in the village and should be returning within the next hour or so. I want you to talk to her." Inoichi flinched slightly. His wife was strong-willed when she wanted to be. He knew that even if he said that he had other responsibilities, he would end up doing what she wanted anyways. In any case, he did want to talk to Ino. They had been distant lately, and he wanted to bridge that gap again.

"Yes, ma'am." Inoichi walked over to her and pecked her on the forehead. Arisa sighed and shook her head.

"Sometimes it is impossible to tell if you are joking or not. Just make sure you talk to her, all right?" Arisa slipped the key out and stuck it into the lock again. She turned the key, and the door opened. "I know you have a lot on your plate, but make sure to take care of your daughter. Once she grows up, you will wish that you had spent more time with her."

Inoichi nodded, "I got it. I'll talk to her. Don't you worry about it." Inoichi was about to exit the storage when the sound of twinkling bells was heard.

"I'm back, Mom!" Ino's voice echoed throughout the store.

Arisa sent Inoichi a poignant look before calling back, "Your father and I are back in the flower storage, Ino! Can you come back for a bit?" She quieted her voice and whispered to Inoichi, "Now is your chance. Talk to her." She shoved Inoichi out the door. Ino rounded the corner of the shop and walked over to where her parents were.

"What is it that you need? I got stuff to do, you know." Ino kicked back against the wall and rested her hands behind her head. Inoichi looked at her carefully. She looked little like the spritely young girl he had known only a few months ago. The glow in her eyes was gone and was replaced by something Inoichi couldn't recognize. Was it determination or was it simply untamed ferocity? Inoichi wanted it to be the former, but wasn't sure that it was.

"It's just that I haven't talked to you for a while, Ino-chan. I've missed you," Inoichi said with a soft smile on his face. "How is your life as a genin now?"

Ino huffed. "Is that all you wanted from me? Geez. I thought it was something important or something. I'm fine, dad. Stop worrying about me so much. Being a genin is exactly the same as how it was thirty or so years ago when you were one. Maybe longer ago, I forgot." Inoichi cringed. Age would always be a sensitive topic as he grew older.

"I just thought it would be good to talk, Ino-chan. We're a family after all." Inoichi tried again, but Ino was already moving away.

"We're a family, but we all have separate obligations to fill. I have stuff to do, so I'll be off." Ino swept away with her ponytail swaying behind her. Inoichi sighed and shook his head. He would never understand girls.

-TSUME-

Shikamaru kicked off his shoes at the doorway. The tan shoes tumbled into the small pile at the edge of the entryway. Being that they were all lazy, they very rarely ordered their shoes in any manner other than a pile. Shikamaru leaned back against the entryway wall and sighed. He couldn't believe that they had managed to survive the meeting with Jiraiya. It showed so many signs of falling apart at the seams.

It confused him a bit. Why hadn't Jiraiya called them out on what they were trying to learn? They hadn't done a very good job at concealing the fact that there was no friend with chakra poisoning. There had been a twinkle in Jiraiya's eyes, but Shikamaru didn't quite understand what it was supposed to mean. Well, it was too troublesome to think about for now. Shikamaru stepped up onto the wood flooring and walked down the hall. The hall was dark, but ahead Shikamaru could see a dim glow from outside his father's study.

Shikamaru scratched the side of his head before sighing. It was about time to talk aboutthat thingwasn't it? His footsteps were silent as he made his way towards the room. Shikamaru pressed up against the wall and peeked into the room. His father was sitting at his desk riffling through the drawer's contents. Shikamaru leaned back against the wall and rubbed his head. He really hated confrontation, but he supposed it would have to be done sooner or later.

Shikamaru slipped his fingers into the handle of the door before dragging it wide open. Shikaku's head shot up like a bullet at the sound of the door. He dropped the files that were in his hands back into the drawer and quickly closed it. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. Was that supposed to look inconspicuous? "Shikamaru, haven't I told you to knock before you enter the office? What are you doing here anyways? I thought you were going out with your friend for the day."

"The day is already over for the most part, or have you not noticed?" Shikamaru carefully sidestepped around the first question as he walked over to where his father was. Shikaku watched his son's steps like a hawk before pushing his chair back, effectively preventing Shikamaru from nearing the drawer.

"I suppose I hadn't. I've been quite busy you know. There are a lot of clan meetings coming up an-" Shikaku began to explain before Shikamaru interrupted him.

"I thought we had a deal never to keep secrets from one another? The other will always find out anyways, so what's the bother?" Shikamaru crossed his arms and stared at his father. "Don't do such troublesome things, father. I already know what is in that drawer."

Author's Note: This author's note is going to be pretty long because of a question that was asked by an anonymous reviewer. It's a really good question, and I had to think a lot about it. ^^ If anyone ever has any questions, feel free to ask them! I probably will not include them in my chapter unless they are either done by an anon reviewer or are important clarifications, but I will answer them by messaging you!

Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me and thanks to you for reading Team Tsume!

To Aimless Wanderer: Hey there! In this story, Hiruzen is currently at the age of 72 going on 73. He is a bit older than he was in canon, but if you are interested in my timeline it is below. It's quite long.

Hiruzen had to have had Asuma at the age of 40-41 considering Hiruzen was 69 when he died in canon and Asuma was 27-28 during this time period. Assuming this, I then had to calculate how old Hiruzen was when he became Hokage. I know he became Hokage after his predecessor, Senju Tobirama, nominated him before subsequently dying in the First Shinobi World War. About twenty years later (I'll give it 15-20), the Second Shinobi World War happened. I do not believe there are any details pertaining to how long the Second Shinobi World War was, so I am assuming it was approximately one to three years long. Now onto the Third Shinobi War! Not much is known about this war actually. I can't even place the relative date it happened after the Second Shinobi World War! This... Is confusing to me. Since many young children were used (not enough time to have them grow up?), I place it about a year or three after the SSWW and it lasted about approximately a year. This puts Hiruzen at 59-68. Minato became Hokage soon after, but his reign was noted as being rather short. I'd place it at about one to two years. (Why is Kishimoto doing this to me? D: Can't he make a timeline for all of us poor fanfiction writers?!) Minato died in the Kyuubi Incident when Naruto was born, so that means another twelve to thirteen years pass. So now Hiruzen is an old guy at 72-83. These are all guesstimates though, and I guess I was a little off on my timeline. I hope that sort of helped to explain why Hiruzen is a bit older in my story! ^^ And... For a quick question, that was not a quick answer. Sorry!