While he had never been to the official chamber for the council, the route was one he easily remembered after the directions he received in his missive. Going beyond the Hokage's office in the large building, he turned down the hallway and began his trek to the room. Their bodies weren't visible, but the unmistakable presence of ANBU shinobi surrounded the area.
Figures the security would be tighter here.
Why the meeting was being held in the chambers, he didn't know. It wasn't as if he hadn't met the new council before – even sat in on some of the discussions concerning the village. Of course, those had all taken place in the Hokage's office.
The final door of the hallway now stood before him, looking no different than any other he'd passed. Though the premise for the idea was sound.
It was much easier to hide an egg in a bird's nest.
An irritated 'come in' was given in response to his knock, and he sighed as he opened the door. He wasn't even in the room yet and he'd been yelled at.
"What the hell took you so long?" The Godaime demanded as she slammed her sake glass back on the table. Shizune had done well to keep her away from her beloved beverage for so long, yet, it seemed she had finally failed.
"Troublesome." The only Nara child muttered. "I was held up in the message room. My apologies."
The angry look lessened on the Hokage's face. "Oh? And how are things faring with our newest recruit?"
"Everything is going well, by all reports."
"Good. Then, take a seat so we can get started."
Shikamaru shoved his hands further into the pockets of his flak vest, all the while making his way over to an empty chair at the end of the table. He returned the nod his father gave him in greeting since he couldn't sit next to him this time.
Tsunade sat at the head of the long wooden table while her council members occupied the sides. The official room had also undergone some changes to accommodate the hand picked council members of the Hokage.
Across the table from Nara Shikaku – Shikamaru's father – sat his former teammates and long time friends, Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza. Directly next to him sat Hyuuga Hizashi.
"Choza."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama." he responded to her silent command to begin. "The repairs on the village are nearly completed. I've spoken with the foremen for all separate construction sites, and everything is finished, save the hospital. However, they reported that everything should be done by the end of the week."
"Excellent." No one else spoke besides Tsunade, but the mood of the room definitely rose with Choza's report. "It's been a long process, but we've finally reached the end of the road. I think a celebration is in order for the hard work and determination the village has shown during this time."
"What did you have in mind, Tsunade-sama?" Inoichi asked.
"I've been considering a festival of sorts. We haven't had one since long before the war." A slow grin spread across her lips - the telling, drunken blush on her cheeks reddening.
"Sounds good." The mildly dull tone of elder Nara could be heard. "It would stimulate the economy of the village; after all, the vendors will want to go all out with their wares."
"Very true, Shikaku." the Hokage said.
"A suggestion if I may, Hokage-sama." Hizashi said; he continued after her small nod of approval. "We've received much help from Suna during this time of rebuilding. Perhaps we should extend our thanks to the Kazakage, formally, now that the restoration is complete?"
Crimson countenance altering to a thoughtful one, the Godaime agreed with a slight nod. "True. I'm sure Naruto would be glad to see his friend again as well. Very well, once we begin preparations for the festival and set a date, be sure to send an invitation to the Kazakage, Hizashi."
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
The Hokage's smile fell as she met the eye of each man present. "We've just gotten this village rebuilt. It has taken time, money, and sweat from each one of our villagers to bring this town back to what it used to be. That being said, I don't want this to ever happen again. We will tighten security around the village, set up better surveillance, deploy better warning systems... I don't care what it takes, but I refuse to allow this village to be harmed this way ever again!" Vehemence evident in her expression and voice, Tsunade's fist hit the table none-too-lightly.
The love she had for her village was plain to see by everyone there. The strong affirmative replies given around the table appeased the fire burning within her eyes, and Tsunade settled back into her chair. The passionate look she'd just worn, twisted briefly into a grimace as a thought seemed to catch her mind. This time her eyes didn't meet her council's as she spoke quietly - as if reflecting over the new notion that tugged at her focus.
"We can't expect Naruto to continue to save us."
A harsh silence met those words.
Each man around the table knew them to be true – no matter how hard it was to accept for some.
Shikamaru could clearly recall Shizune's lifeless body jerking, as a rush of long needed air entered her body, when Naruto defeated Pain. He remembered sitting – useless – on the side lines while Naruto stood against the six beings that wrought destruction to their village. Though Sasuke fought with him, Naruto was the one who brought down Madara and ended a war which threatened to destroy not only their village, but the entire world.
The dead-last member of their class had become the village's - if not the world's - hero.
Shikamaru couldn't help the slight uplift to his lips as he thought about that 'hero.' He got beat up often, cried without restraint when he needed to, was a general loser most of the time yet… Yet the entire village owed him their lives. They owed him their respect.
And he finally got it.
He knew Naruto would be important someday, and though his name was now known, and practically revered around the shinobi countries, he felt there was still more for Naruto to do.
It would probably mean he would have to continue all the troublesome work he'd had thrown onto him, but the Nara still wanted to follow him. Something about that smile and determination on the jinchuriki's face made him want to stay beside him.
Though, he hadn't spoken to him as much lately. If all this trouble with Sasuke would just…
"Are you listening to me?" The harsh, threatening words of the only female member in the room broke through the young man's thoughts.
Shikamaru quickly cut his eyes to the narrowed gaze of the Hokage, and with a talent he'd picked up over the years thanks to his nagging mother, immediately nodded his head and gave a quick 'of course.'
She held his gaze for another moment before continuing her discussion. He said a silent prayer of thanks, and turned his attention back to the conversation.
"Three bases have already been searched thoroughly, and there's still been no sign of Kabuto having been there."
"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but if our ANBU haven't found anything thus far, why are you going on with the search of the bases?" Akimichi Choza questioned.
Tsunade turned to face the head of the Akimichi clan. "During their search of the second base, ANBU found documents that had been left behind when Orochimaru left. The scrolls contain forbidden jutsus and documentation of the human experimentation he conducted. Do you think that's something we should just leave behind and allow practically anyone to find?"
"Of course not, Tsunade-sama, but aren't the bases difficult to get to anyway?"
"Doesn't matter, Choza." Shikaku interjected. "Left alone long enough, someone would find them and then we'd have a larger problem on our hands."
Hands lazily placed behind his head, Shikamaru nodded silently in agreement with his father - albeit, he was slightly confused as to how the Godaime managed to get such information.
The large leader of the Akimichi clan nodded his understanding and fell silent.
Tsunade seemed to catch the confused look on Shikamaru's face and slid a piece of parchment across the table to him. He was simply dumbfounded as he read the list in his hands. Not only were the exact locations to Orochimaru's bases on there, but also instructions on how to enter the bases unharmed written next to the majority of them. Before he could even ask, she supplied him with an answer.
"Uchiha Sasuke gave me the list."
That seemed out of character for him. Even if he'd caused no trouble by being in the village so far, why would he go out of his way to assist Konoha with anything?
Perhaps the Hokage asked him specifically for the locations?
No, even then, Shikamaru couldn't see the troubled young man cooperating.
Then, Tsunade-sama must have employed Itachi to somehow help her convince him?
Yes, that was the only thing that made sense about the situation. From the interactions he witnessed between Sasuke and Itachi, as well as the information he'd received from both of them when they first met up, he could easily conclude that Itachi held a large sway over the choices Sasuke was making.
To be honest, Shikamaru didn't think Itachi had to verbalize many of the things he wished for Sasuke to do. Just his presence alone was enough to change the mind of the former deserter. At least, it worked out that way at the present moment. How he would proceed once Itachi was no longer there remained to be seen.
"Speaking of the boy, how have things been progressing with him?" Hizashi asked with a calculating gaze.
The smirk reappeared on Tsunade's face. "It seems to be going well, actually."
"Perhaps it is, for the moment," Inoichi began. "but remember, Itachi is still around. I don't think we can clearly say how he's going to act within the village until his brother's been laid to rest again."
"Not to mention, he's probably only following orders right now because you handed him instructions to do so, as his punishment." Choza added.
Tsunade steepled her fingers and regarded the powerful men around the table, her light golden eyes dancing with amusement. "I never gave him a punishment."
Each member of the council – as well as Shikamaru – leaned forward onto the heavy oak table over the shocking statement she made to them.
"What!"
"Tsunade-sama, are you serious?"
"What do you mean?"
She held up a single hand to halt the torrent of questions they fired at her. "It's just as I said, I never handed him an official punishment."
"But… You said you wanted to determine his punishment yourself! When we asked if you needed any help with the decision, you said you already made your mind up about what to do!" Hizashi exclaimed.
"And I had, already made my mind up that is."
"What about the work he's been doing in the village?" Shikaku asked.
She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms under her generous breasts, before continuing. "Well, I did tell him when he first arrived in the village to report to the construction site, but…" her smile grew wide into a knowing grin, "I never told him to go back."
Stunned silence met her explanation. Shikamaru snorted as he rested his head on laced fingers, knowing eyes watching his Hokage. "So, you allowed him to assume he was to continue working on the repairs?"
"I did nothing other than tell him to be at the construction site at 7AM the first day. What he did after that was his business."
"And what about the list of bases?" He asked.
"I simply told him what was going on with Kabuto, and that I wanted a list of the bases he was familiar with." Tsunade responded.
"You didn't order him to turn them over?"
"Of course not." She chuckled. "I told him what I wanted, and gave him a few days to prepare it."
The Nara father and son's eyes met and relayed an entire conversation in the span of seconds. With a simple nod, they confirmed the others hypothesis into the Hokage's plan.
"Did you order him to remain in the village?" Shikamaru asked.
"Nope. I did place a tracking jutsu on him – which I informed him of – but I never told him he had to stay within the village walls."
"What about his weapon?" Shikaku asked.
"He still has it."
"His chakra?"
"I've never tampered with it."
"And you've not discussed the possibility of incarceration with him?" Shikamaru asked.
"Of course not. Hell, if I threw that kid into prison, he'd not only blow out the entire wall escaping, but probably take out a handful of shinobi before we could stop him."
The Nara's regarded one another again before shaking their heads in defeat. "Gotta hand it to you, Tsunade-sama," Shikaku said as he reclined with a grin on his face. "that's simply brilliant."
"I'm a little lost." Choza admitted.
Tsunade brushed her long blond hair behind her. "I'm just letting him make a choice, Choza. He's been led by the nose more than once in his life. Sasuke is an adult, no matter what we may think, and he has the right to make his own decisions. But I'm hoping that there are a couple of people who can help him make the right choices this time."
Shikamaru chuckled before picking up the folder she slid to him. "Damn, we gotta play shogi sometime, Hokage-sama."
Well, this is awkward.
She was gonna kill Shizune when she saw her again.
Sakura fought the urge to turn her head, again, to glance at the man next to her. Nothing had been said since the boxes of supplies and documents had been shoved into their hands by none other than her sempai.
At least he took the heavier load, that's something… right?
Sakura shoved her Inner far away, as she was in no mood to hear any sort of uplifting talk while she walked beside the ever-stoic Uchiha towards the carrier tower on the far side of the Hokage's mansion.
Why did this have to be the one day she happened to be bringing more materials to sort through in the same room he was working in?
Karma was mocking her – it was as simple as that. The one time both she and Sasuke were in each others presence, Shizune just happened to be passing by with a too large armful of things needing to be taken to the communications tower.
This was just great.
She was sure he didn't even know about their newest member. Of course he didn't!
Well, she doubted he cared, but that was another thing entirely.
She forced back the sigh that threatened to come out. At least they weren't glaring daggers at one another. In fact, things had become somewhat normal between the two of them.
Normal, of course, being that he basically ignored her presence other than to glance at her in acknowledgment. The only difference was that unlike their younger years, when she would have pestered him constantly just to grab his attention, she simply afforded him the same treatment. Speaking only when spoken to or when completely necessary - this had been working for them so far, so why mess up a good thing?
She veered away from the main hall of the building, heading in the direction of the tower. While she didn't call to him, at least she found out he was paying enough attention to her to follow her correctly.
Thankfully, they quickly reached their destination and she juggled the box in her arms enough to knock on the door. A younger, cheerful man opened to her call.
"Oh, let me take that for you, Sakura-san."
She smiled her thanks as he took the cumbersome box from her arms. "Thank you. We have another parcel for you right here." She stepped aside to allow Sasuke entrance to the room. While he deposited his box on the table and spoke with the shinobi briefly, Sakura turned in the direction of the quiet man in the corner.
It had been over two weeks since she'd last seen him, but even in that time, the stress lines around his eyes seemed gentler. The sleeveless shirt he wore gave everyone no doubt as to the muscle that packed his large frame. The newer, large black markings running down his neck stood out from the bright orange hair atop his head.
A few more steps in his direction caused him to break conversation with the hawk perched atop his forearm to hesitantly smile at her.
"Good afternoon, Sakura-san."
She easily returned his smile. "Good afternoon, Juugo-san. How are you?"
He paused mid-breath as his eyes lit up in obvious happiness. "Sa-Sasuke-sama. I'm glad to see you once more."
Sakura nearly gasped as she turned to find Sasuke standing much closer to her than usual. Had she felt inclined to do so, she could have easily brushed his stomach with her arm.
"Juugo." his baritone voice was level and though he didn't turn to look at her, she could feel the tension rolling off of him. There was no way she was getting out of a conversation when they left here.
"I'm glad to see you doing well, Sasuke-sama."
"Aa." The hesitation was brief, but Sakura could still see it flicker across his handsome face. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm a member of the communications squad now." He said in obvious pride. "It works very well for me as I can clearly tell the pigeons and hawks where they are to go, and even who to deliver the message to."
Sasuke didn't seem inclined to continue the conversation, so Sakura jumped in. "You really seem to be enjoying yourself, Juugo-san."
"Oh, I am. I get to talk to the birds all day long and enjoy the open air from these large windows." A sheepish smile took hold of his face as he turned his head slightly to show the intricate markings running down his neck. "With the chakra bindings in place, I'm not too scared of losing myself either."
"You are making sure to continue taking the medication Tsunade-sama prescribed you, right?"
"Yes, Sakura-san."
"Have you had any ill effects from taking it?"
His brow scrunched in thought. "Not really. Sometimes I do feel a little more tired than usual, but that's all."
"Really? Although, something as simple as taking the pills before you go to bed could possibly relieve that. I'll take a look at the dosages we have you on when I go back to the hospital."
"Thank you very much, Sakura-san." Gracing her with a warm smile, he tilted his head to further his gratitude.
"Juugo, we have another messenger coming in." came the call from one of the shinobi in the room.
"Excuse me, Sakura-san." Juugo said with a polite bow. "Sasuke-sama, I'm glad to see you doing well. Perhaps we can meet again soon."
"Perhaps." Sasuke said with the barest tilt to his head. He turned and followed Sakura out of the building.
She increased her pace until they cleared the doors of the Hokage mansion, walking until they were traveling down the near barren streets of the civilian quarters.
He was expecting an explanation; she was sure of it. While her pace had not been too fast to lose him, it was fast enough that he had to work to stay next to her. She saw him shift his eyes to her tense frame and the long suffering sigh escaped her.
Since there was no escaping the inevitable conversation, she slowed to a more comfortable pace.
"What?" she simply asked. Just because she knew what he wanted to know, didn't mean she needed to hand feed him every piece of information.
An irritated breath came from him before he spoke. "What was that about?"
"What was what about?"
"Sakura." he forced her name from between clenched teeth.
"Fine, fine." She finally chanced looking at him and was surprised he wasn't openly glaring at her. "After the war was over, Juugo-san stayed around the rest of the troops while your other little delightful teammate, Suigetsu, took off. Apparently Kaka-sensei took him to meet Tsunade-sama, and he vouched for his help on the battlefield. He was surprisingly cooperative and honest about his condition. Tsunade-sama examined him, but she's never seen anything like it.
"Of course, he had to go through an examination by Inoichi-san, but the minute he got in his head, he saw the horrible things that poor man had been through. You know, I thought he was much more gentle than I expected while we traveled together, but I wasn't sure if that was just a deception on his part. I'm glad to know it wasn't." A slow grin spread across the lower half of her face from her reflection. "He's just so sweet and caring. Who couldn't help but to like him?" The disinterested look in Sasuke's eyes that she caught, caused the large smile that had spread across her face to vanish.
"Anyway, he was honestly scared to be around everyone without you around since he said you could stop his transformations. Tsunade-sama said that wasn't going to be possible for a while since you… Well, you know. He wanted to be locked up right away – he even told shishou to put him in a strong cell and chain him to the, walls so he couldn't hurt anyone. How horrible is that? Poor Juugo-san, I just feel so bad for him." Sasuke's brow rose and Sakura realized she'd gotten off track once again.
"Okay, to shorten this up since I'm obviously boring you." She swore she saw a slight nod at that. "Tsunade-sama is working to find a permanent cure for his condition, and he allowed us to place strong chakra bindings on him. He also takes a neural-inhibitor everyday. The only thing she's found for certain so far is that there's some sort of problem with the neurotransmitters in his brain. We can't really tell just yet what's going on. Shizune-sempai and I have been helping her and reviewing her data when we can, and although I agree that there's definitely a transmitting problem with most of his hormones, I feel that the problem might be more concentrated within his hypothalamus or pituitary gland.
"I mean, the chakra pathways also run directly through the diencephalon which, of course, is where both those organs lay so that would be a very feasible conclusion to make about his illness. We know it's some enzymatic problem, but we just can't figure out where it's coming from and how exactly it's effecting his body. But if we consider the notion that they may be secreted by his hypothalamus, that would explain some properties of his transformations since it controls the autonomic nervous system. Don't you think?"
The look on Sasuke's face immediately caused her cheeks to flush pink and her mouth to snap shut. It was the oddest look – like he was confused, surprised, and irritated at the same time.
Why did she have to go off on a rant like that?
Well, she couldn't really help it. She was thinking out loud about all the information they'd been collecting concerning Juugo's case, and having someone listening to her made her want to bounce ideas off them. Not that he understood a word she'd just said, but...
Kami, could she get anymore embarrassed?
While he could remember her rambling in their younger years, it was never anything like what just happened.
He was most certainly glad that the information spewing from her mouth wasn't some meaningless dribble about things he had utterly no interest in. Although, since he couldn't follow half the conversation, he still felt as lost as ever.
What he could gleam from her complicated speech was that they were trying to cure Juugo.
That was more than anyone had done for the man before.
Orochimaru simply used him to create the curse seal, then locked him in a cell, where Juugo wanted to be, unfortunately, and forget about him. While he didn't feel any lingering attachment to any members of Team Taka, he could still remember the pity he felt for the large man's situation the first time he saw him.
Almost two years after he joined Orochimaru, he went with him to the North Base that held most of his research subjects. Though he hated the way the snake sannin conducted his ridiculous experiments, he needed the power – or so he thought at the time.
Juugo was there, even then, hiding himself in the reinforced cell while screaming over and over how he didn't want to hurt anyone. When he transformed, he became a vicious monster bent on nothing but killing everything around. The gentle personality that would emerge after the slaughter, wept for the pain he caused.
There's no way Sakura could have not felt a great deal of pity for the large man. Though it seems his plight even tugged the strings of the Hokage's heart.
He glanced over to Sakura as they turned the next corner. Her face was still slightly averted from his own, but he still saw the pink cheeks she bore after her embarrassment. It finally occurred to him that they'd been in each others presence for nearly an hour without a harsh comment passing between them. For the spitfire of a woman that used to be his teammate, he considered that an accomplishment.
He was still curious about her.
She wasn't as forthcoming about herself as Naruto was being. Of course, he hadn't asked her anything, but that wasn't likely to change. Naturally, he assumed she would begin rambling about herself at some point and he would learn all he wanted to know – and much he didn't. That had yet to happen so he'd revert to observing her.
The obvious physical changes were easy to spot. She was taller, standing not quite a head shorter than he did, her face had thinned out showing high cheekbones under her emerald eyes. Her body had a more feminine curve to it despite the definition to her legs and arms.
Studying her more closely, he noticed her head was held high as she walked. Her stride was confident and her shoulders squared as she strode down the streets of Konoha. Regardless of the muscle tone she now had, there was still a gentleness about her that showed as civilians and shinobi alike greeted her in the streets. Her cotton candy hair was hard to miss and attracted attention from everywhere.
When they both turned down the next street, he felt a twitch at the corner of his eye. Now, she was being annoying.
"Sakura."
"Huh?"
"Why are you following me?" Irritation was evident within his voice.
Would he never get a moment's peace from the female population?
Just when she got the heat to leave her cheeks, she felt them darken once more. "I'm not following you! I have my reasons for traveling this way."
"Hn." He responded simply.
"I do!" she insisted. "I just..." She turned away from the expectant look on his face, and stammered out the rest of her sentence. "I just need to see Itachi-san."
Disbelief must have shown on his face because she rushed to assure him she spoke the truth.
"Why?" he simply asked.
"If you must know, it's time for our routine check on the barrier I placed around his brain."
He finally recognized that she was speaking about the Edo Tensei jutsu. "Routine? I've never seen nor heard of you doing this before."
"Well, Tsunade-sama would normally call him to the hospital so I could preform it when you were out helping with the reconstruction."
"Why not do that today?"
"The exam rooms are all being used today. We're preforming check-ups on all ANBU still in the village since they're likely to be rotated out for missions soon."
He didn't respond, so she took that as he understood her reasonings and accepted her need to visit his brother in their apartment.
Honestly, couldn't the man just learn to communicate normally like everyone else did? Sorting through his grunts and non-verbal responses was both confusing and tiring.
Before they could reach the safety of his apartment a familiar voice called to them. "Oi! Teme, Sakura-chan!"
Neither party needed to turn around to know their mutual blond friend was barreling towards them, but Sakura turned to smile at him in greeting. Surprisingly, Sai was with him.
"What's up, Naruto?" she asked as he bounded to her side like a happy puppy. From the look on his face as his eyes flickered back and forth between the pair, he very much resembled one at the moment.
"Not a lot, and that's the problem." Naruto had his hands locked behind his head as he strolled along side his two friends, looking as if he had not a care in the world.
"I'm sorry?"
"I'm bored, Sakura-chan! There isn't much left to do at the hospital and the construction workers are handling that. And baa-chan still doesn't have any missions for me!"
"He insisted on pulling me from my reading to accompany him, though I've yet to understand why." Sai said as he trailed behind the loud jinchuriki.
As the group climbed the stairs to Sasuke's apartment, the Uchiha shot a harsh glare to his friend. Naruto simply smiled nervously at him, but continued to follow along.
"Naruto, if you're bored go find something to amuse yourself with. Not that it would happen, but you could always try reading up on a new jutsu or something."
"Read?"
Sakura sighed heavily as she followed Sasuke into his apartment, shaking her head at her best friend's idiocy. Thankfully, Itachi was standing by the window – his cloak and headband already removed in preparation for her examination.
"Sasuke." the elder brother began with amused eyes. "Forgive me, I didn't know you were having friends over. I would have prepared tea."
Sakura nearly bit her tongue in half to hold her laughter in check. Sasuke glared daggers at his brother which was met with a smirk on Itachi's behalf.
Sakura went to stand behind the couch and awaited Itachi to take his place in front of her. As she knew he would, Sasuke sat opposite the pair, obsidian eyes locked onto her every movement as she began running her fingers through Itachi's silky black hair.
"What're you doing, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.
"I'm simply inspecting the barrier I erected to block the Edo Tensei jutsu. Since we don't know a great deal about the jutsu itself, we have to be careful to make sure it doesn't break through and take control of Itachi-san once again."
"With Kabuto's whereabouts still unknown, I believe that to be a prudent decision." Sai added. All three men were watching her as the soft green glow of her chakra enveloped her hands.
"I'm afraid we've attracted some attention today, Itachi-san." she said, fingers moving slowly along the base of his skull.
Itachi leaned his head forward, exposing the base of his neck for her perusal. "I do not mind, Sakura-san, but why have Naruto and your other teammate joined you today?"
"Exactly what I'd like to know." Sasuke said.
"Huh? Oh right." Though the urge was strong, Sasuke managed not to roll his eyes. "Like I was saying. I'm bored, so I asked baa-chan and she said we could train, Teme!"
Dark eyes widened considerably at the unexpected news, and at the thought of being able to use his Kusanagi again.
"More like he pestered her until she agreed just to get him to go away."
"Shut up, Sai! Anyway, we can go train, Sasuke-teme!" Scratching the back of his neck idly, the blond continued. "There's probably gonna be some ANBU around, and she said we can only use the field she and Sakura-chan were at, 'cause for some reason, she thinks we're gonna ruin something... Other than that, we're good."
Sasuke still couldn't manage to respond to the blond; his brain was still in shock.
The Hokage was actually giving him permission to train within Konoha's borders?
Unthinkable.
Perhaps she was feeling magnanimous towards him since he gave her the base locations?
Whatever, he didn't really care. All that mattered at the moment was he could pick up his sword and train. Too long had he went without swinging his sword or using his chakra for something other than to steady himself on a rooftop he was working on.
Plus, he could once again match his skills against Naruto. It was probably a good decision on her part to order the jinchuriki to move to the outskirts of the village to train.
"All done, Itachi-san. The chakra barrier is in good condition."
"Thank you, Sakura-san."
"I would not expect it to be deteriorating." Sai said. "Your skills are without fault."
Sakura's emerald eyes widened in surprise at the compliment given by her socially inept teammate. Having such a wonderful statement come from him was so unexpected and endearing that she couldn't help but to hug him tightly. His hands slowly came to rest on her back as he returned the embrace.
"That was correct, wasn't it?"
"Huh?" she deadpanned, still within his arms.
"I read that it was good practice among friends to compliment their particular skills as to strengthen the trust and respect between them."
"Oh, well… yes. It is a good thing to compliment your friends. Everyone likes to hear they're doing a good job, Sai."
"Okay."
As she began to pull back from the hug, still feeling good about his words, the former ROOT member slipped his hands to her smaller waist.
"Is this when I'm supposed to grip your ass firmly?"
Sakura jerked out of his arms. "What? What the hell are you talking about, Sai?"
Naruto moved further away from the pale man – instinctively seeking safety.
Sai reached behind him to rummage through the pack hooked to his pants. The book he brought out had even the younger Uchiha shaking his head.
"According to this book, the next step from the position we were in was..."
Sakura violently ripped the Icha Icha novel from his hands. "Do not complete that sentence." She hissed. "Why in the world would you be reading this book anyway? They don't have this in the library!"
"Kakashi-san gave it to me. He said it would greatly broaden my skills with females."
"Oh shit. Sensei's in for it." Naruto whispered to Sasuke as he saw the vein in Sakura's temple began to pound.
Sakura stomped to the door before ripping it open. She turned just out of sight before letting out a scream that could be heard across the village.
"Kaka-sensei!"
"Did I do something wrong?" Sai asked in his naivety.
"I'll explain later, Sai." Naruto said as he slumped on the couch.
"Hatake Kakashi! Show yourself you coward!"
Sasuke ran his hand over his face, silently wondering how these people were the ones to win the war.
Itachi simply leaned back against the couch and smiled.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
A/N:
Big Big thanks to perpetuallyInked for her amazing – and quick – work on this chapter.
Hope you all enjoy the chapter! Now that it's posted up, I'm going on a much needed vacation/birthday celebration. A couple of weeks out of the country, sipping margaritas, catching a tan (yes I realize its October)...ah I can't wait!
You know what would make the birthday celebration even better...
Yes! It is reviews! How'd ya guess? :)