Chapter 16: The Mission Continues! Come Forth Powerful Allies!

"Have you seen this woman?"

Omoi shoved a wrinkled piece of paper in Sasuke's face which of course made his glare harden. We were sitting in a small dango shop that wasn't too far from where we had bumped into the Cloud ninja and on top of stopping for a quick bite to eat, we had also stopped at a local inn to inquire about getting a few rooms as well.

"Grr! Omoi! Stop shoving your shitty drawing in everyone's face!" Karui growled, pulling Omoi back into his seat by the back of his shirt.

As the paper went flying back with Omoi, I managed to catch a glimpse of it and it really was a bit disgraceful. It was a stick figure drawing with a mountainous backdrop and while the drawing itself was unappealing there was one significant part about it. I recognized the black cape and the red clouds and my hands balled into tight fists under the table.

"I'm simply trying to collect information!" Omoi said to Karui. "Plus my drawing is far superior to yours."

"At least you can tell mine is a girl and not some sad stick figure like yours!"

"What would know about drawing girls?! You're lacking the one thing that makes you one."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

They were back at it again as Samui rolled her eyes and propped her head up on her hand.

"They haven't changed at all." I laughed lightly. "Reminds me of Kyoske."

Samui scoffed. "Is he still the King of Immaturity?"

"Pretty much." I sighed before looking at Sasuke who's eyes were on the paper in Omoi's hand.

"What are you doing here, Miyuki?" Samui asked. "Is this boy your partner?"

Sasuke's eyes cut over to hers and he looked about ready to say something when I spoke up.

"He's one of my partners." I said. "And we're on a mission. We just got separated from everyone else."

Samui nodded.

"What about you guys?" I asked.

Karui and Omoi stopped fighting and looked at Samui as if for confirmation. I had to stifle back a laugh because their uncertainty meant that after all these years they still couldn't think for themselves.

"Same, on a mission to gather intel." Samui said before nodding to the paper. "Look familiar to you?"

"Look at this one!" Karui said, digging in her pockets furiously before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. She shoved it in my face and it took me a minute for my eyes to settle on it overall. There was a lot going on. A sky that couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to rain or be sunny, ground that went from green grass to rocky hillside. There were two bodies, one that looked oddly like Omoi being hit with crudely drawn shuriken that looked more like spikes and another ninja in the same black cape and clouds and the same straw hat as the purple-haired shinobi.

"Is that…is that supposed to be Omoi?" I asked, pointing at the fallen ninja with x's over his eyes.

Omoi jerked Karui's arm in his direction to get a better look at the drawing and shook his head.

"Your drawing skills are terrible." Omoi critiqued.

"Shut up!" Karui growled.

I eased back into my seat and folded my arms as Sasuke muttered an answer.

"We just fought two ninja in the forest who had those same robes on." He said, sounding bored.

Samui nodded as her teammates argued beside her.

"But I fought one of them before." I said.
"Th-there's more than one?" Karui asked, seeming confused as she looked between all of us at the table.

"If there's more than one that would explain how they can be in multiple places all at once. It's not a magic trick after all. Though a magic trick would be cool, but it's all chakra, probably a teleportation jutsu of some sort—"

Karui brought her fist down over Omoi's head, a vein pulsing on her forehead.

"CAN IT!" She growled.

I turned back to Samui. "What's this about?"

"We're trying to gather intel on a group of rogue ninja who have been terrorizing small parts of the Five nations. It started off small but they're beginning to pick up momentum and it has our Raikage worried." Samui said.

"So these ninja that we've encountered, they're part of that group?" I asked.

Samui nodded. "They could pose a real threat and we've been tasked to try and find out their identities while trying to figure out what they look for in members as well."

"But you've fought them, Miyuki? How strong are they?" Karui asked.

I looked at her, a light blush lighting my face as Karui leaned over the table, holding no regard for personal space.

"I fought her on a mission a days ago." I shot a glance at Sasuke only to find that he was staring at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue.

"It was on another mission. I had to investigate an abandoned building on the edge of Konoha. I saw her leaving from its general direction and had tried to get a better look at her only for her to start fighting me. She's strong and she was always one step ahead of me."

"And this time? She came back to continue?" Samui asked as Karui eased back into her seat.

I nodded. "She wanted to teach me a lesson."

"Which means she could still be following you now." Omoi said before peering around the restaurant. "She could be in this very room, feeding intel to her group of rogue ninja as we speak."

Karui shivered before glaring at Omoi. "Grr! Quit it! You're weirding me out!"

"It's not a bad theory." Samui said as Karui pulled Omoi into a chokehold.

"S-see?" Omoi struggled as Karui's hold tightened.

"She could come back at any moment to continue your battle." Samui said, her expression stoic. "It wouldn't hurt for us to stay by your side for at least a little longer in case she shows up."

"Great…more time with them." Sasuke sighed.

Samui's eyes narrowed at Sasuke. "What's your name?"

His eyes cut over to her face. "None of your—"

I placed a hand over his under the table and forced a tight smile. "His name is Sasuke." I saw him turn to shoot me a look but I was more focused on Samui's gaze lifting from his back to mine.

"Sasuke what?" She asked.

"Uchiha." I said.

"Uchiha?" Karui repeated before releasing Omoi.

"Such a noble name for such a bratty boy." Samui noted, making Sasuke tense.

"Bratty huh? Just because I don't feel like talking to a bunch of clowns?" He asked.

"Who you calling clowns?!" Karui shouted.

Samui lifted a hand. "Enough. He's free to express himself."

Sasuke glared at my hand, which was still over his, and pulled it away. He folded his arms, his eyes stormy as he looked away, proving he was over the conversation. I looked back at Samui who seemed just as annoyed by Sasuke and watched as she turned her head in the opposite direction, her eyes hard. Karui and Omoi were silent, their drawings between the two of them, their eyes darting between Sasuke and Samui, as they tried to figure out exactly when the conversation had turned south.

But the problem was, when it came to Sasuke, it was always hard to tell.

"Miyuki? May I join you?"

Samui's voice drifted up from the doorway and I swung around in the bath, my cheeks flushed, my hair pulled up into a tight chignon as she stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. The steam rose high in the small outdoor bath and mixed with coolness of the night air, it made my exposed skin feel fresh.

Samui slipped into the water, her weighty chest hidden behind her towel but still threatening to pop right out as she lowered. I looked down at my own chest, knowing full well that Samui's gave a whole new meaning to the word "busty".

"What's up?" I smiled over at her, smoothing the strands that had come loose from my chignon behind my ear.

"I have a confession to make." Samui said, her eyes closing as she took a deep breath. I arched an eyebrow and felt my body tense. I remembered the last time she had uttered those words and remembered it had been everything but nice.

We went back, my team and the Cloud shinobi but unlike our somewhat decent at-the-end-of-the-day relationship with the Sand, the Cloud had betrayed us and irked Hideki. Our time with them had been a ruse where they had simply used us so that they could enact their own plan. They had left us behind as they went on ahead, Samui telling us not take it personally.

"I have a confession to make…" She had mumbled to us as enemy ninja surrounded us. "They're not after us."

"They're after you." Karui had finished as they threw smoke bombs at their feet and jumped up into the trees leaving us in the dust.

I stiffened at the memory and looked away, focusing instead on the blurry sight of my legs stretched out beneath me.

"I lied at the shop." Samui said, her voice low.

I glanced at her. "Lied about what?" I knew if she had said those words around the boys Kyoske wouldn't have hesitated calling her out. He would have said something like: "Another lie? Is that all you do? Lie?"

"About our mission." Samui said, her eyes opening, her gaze far away. "I didn't want to say much in front of that Uchiha. I doubt he can do much but I know better than to test it out."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"The group of rogue ninja I was telling you about…I know more than I'm letting on, more than Karui and Omoi know. I was given a private briefing before them."

"And what were you told?" I asked.

"I learned that they are indeed a band of rogue ninjas, all of them holding various strengths. Omoi was foolish thinking there was only one, but there are in fact more than one, though I'm not certain of their exact numbers."

"They call themselves the Akatsuki." Samui continued. "We're not certain what the group's ultimate goal is but there is one thing the Raikage suspects, one shinobi in the group that I was told to engage if we make contact."

"Who?" I asked, leaning closer.

Samui looked at me. "The Raikage thinks he has a good idea who the group's leader is and he's pretty sure it's the man that murdered the entire Uchiha clan and left that boy to live with it."

I tried to replay the story over in my head. I flashed back to my history classes, but all I could come up with was hard facts. The clan was dead. Sasuke was alive, able to carry on the family name. There had been no accusations and even though I had never seen it in writing, hearing about the clan's murderer didn't shock me. I had heard about it before, a conversation I had only half been listening to.

"Itachi Uchiha…" Samui said, looking away and down at the water. "Sasuke's older brother."

My eyes widened as a distant ache shot across my chest. His older brother? His older brother had killed the clan? For some reason I had assumed it had always been a distant group of ninja, filled with jealousy for the great Uchiha clan. But it had been his brother, a single man, a lone man who had single-handedly killed an entire clan. I shivered, hugging myself at the thought, the endurance one needed to continue. Had he been exhausted by the time he had reached Sasuke? Had he been spared because of that?

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"You said you fought two of their members." Samui said. "You should be proud because no one survives a match with them. Think of this information as a prize for your survival."

"I can't tell him, though." I said.

Samui shook her head. "I wouldn't. It's clear he's unstable."

"He's not unstable." I said, shocking myself with the amount of edge I had in my voice. It almost sounded defensive. "He just wants revenge."

"And he'll do anything for it, including search the woods for the man or worse, follow those members and fall into a trap." Samui said. "He'll die before he even comes close or even worse, give them just the leverage they need to have the Leaf in the palm of their hands."

I nodded, unable to deny it and unable to imagine him doing anything else but it. Samui knew more about Sasuke in one day than I had and it had taken me nearly two months to figure out that he hated sweet things.

I turned and pulled myself out of the tub, Samui's eyes on me as I moved.

"I have to go." I said. "We have a long trip tomorrow."

"Miyuki." Samui called as my hand reached for the door.

I turned back to face her. "Yes?"

She stared at me with her same stoic expression, before turning her body to face me completely, her arms folding on the ground as she placed her head on top of them, her eyes studying my face.

"Have you ever heard of Project Zero?" She asked.

I arched an eyebrow. "Project Zero?"

She searched my eyes for something and just as sweat was beginning to gather at the back of my neck, she looked away, giving me her back.

"Out of line if I asked for more information?" I asked.

"The fact that you don't know anything says enough." Samui said the moment the words left my mouth.

I looked away and opened the door, not quite sure how to take her words but also knowing that I never knew when it came to Samui. She was a great kunoichi, quiet, only speaking when absolutely necessary though I was sure I had heard more of her voice tonight than her teammates had since they had been grouped together. But, Samui had a mysterious air around her and her words always left a haunting effect in the air, the kind that made your stomach tighten, your words get caught in your throat as you convinced yourself that you were too scared to press.

Project Zero? I had never heard of it, but the way the words had left her mouth, told me I didn't want to.