The group hopped rapidly through the trees. Bramble and birch raced up around the pair, colors floating through the air.
Shikamaru suddenly turned left.
"Oh! Um, wait. This isn't the right way." Kōju spoke rapidly, her hand rising.
Shikamaru, seemingly wordless, turned his head over his shoulder. He continued along the path.
"Now where are we going?" Sasuke questioned briefly.
"If we can't find Naruto, this is pointless, right?" Shikamaru asked. "There's no point in climbing a mountain if you're not certain where the path is."
Kōju frowned.
"So we're going to talk to Kakashi." Shikamaru sighed heavily. "He's the one member of Leaf with effective tracking summons." He paused. "Believe me, if I thought it'd be more efficient just to go on our own, I'd do that. Seems to me, though, that our best bet is finding where he has been."
Sasuke's brow furrowed. "I gotta be honest—did not see that one coming." She glanced at Kōju.
Kōju's face darkened. "Oh, I don't want to see that mean old man!"
The group turned and stared at Kōju.
"What the heck did he do?" Shikamaru demanded, one eyebrow arched.
"He told me to go to bed early without dinner because I said something about Naruto he didn't like." Kōju sniffed. "Hmph! As though I need to listen to that old man!"
Sasuke's brow dripped with sweat. Seriously. I'm starting to feel sorry for that old perv. I guess no matter who you are having teenagers is a pain.
"Kōju, he's probably our only hope of finding Naruto." Tayuya's eyes narrowed briefly.
Kōju sniffled and glanced downward. "Fine, but I don't want to see him right now, anyway." She receded to the back of the group, hiding behind Soyokaze.
Sasuke glanced at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru shrugged. "Can't be helped, however troublesome it may be. I'll see about convincing him on my own." He knocked on the door.
Kakashi, his expression weary, answered the door. "Yes?"
Shikamaru stepped into the room. "It's regarding the situation with Hakubo—"
The door shut behind the pair.
"Hey, speaking a' which, this has been buggin' me. Where's Haku?" Tayuya started.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"You know. Hidden Mist lady? All tied up in Naruto's well-being?" Tayuya glared at the others.
"Think about it for a minute," Sasuke replied briefly. "She'd go berserk. Sure, there's a lot of people who can work well as berserkers, but one of her biggest strengths—at least in my opinion—is that calm level head of hers."
A small bulldog pushed open the door and rushed outward.
Sasuke glanced briefly downward, then continued. "Anyway, she'd be in a bad state if she saw or heard what'd happened to him."
"I get your point. Shit. Well, what about us, though? We're not exactly the most emotionally stable right now, either!" Tayuya shouted.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You work more effectively when you get pissed off."
Tayuya opened her mouth, her face turning bright red. She closed it after a long pause. "Okay, you got a point there," she conceded reluctantly after a long pause. "But what about these guys?" She jerked a thumb at Chōji and Ino.
Ino started upright. "You—"
"Sorry to break it to you, but someone who's just lost a mentor isn't flying straight." Tayuya paused. "I'll grant that Shikamaru's fairly cogent, because he's leaving Hidan to me. That's not something a vengeance-driven person could do. But what about you guys?"
Ino gritted her teeth. After a long exhalation, she met Tayuya's eyes. "It's certainly true that I am not at a hundred percent right now. But I am a hundred percent committed to making sure that this mission goes well, and I won't let you say otherwise, you understand?" She drew in a shaking breath. "I am not going to let it fail because you say that I'm not ready!"
Tayuya's eyes narrowed. "Nice reply." She nodded. "Okay, I'm sold."
The group leaned against the doors and windows near the entrance to the room for a long time, nearly an hour.
Sasuke frowned. "How far did they take him?"
"Maybe the dog is dead." Sai leaned against the wooden fencing silently.
"No way," Kōju replied briefly. "Pakkun wouldn't die that easy."
Tayuya raised an eyebrow. "You play around with him a lot?"
"Well, he wasn't really the 'playful' kind of dog." Kōju exhaled. "More the violent kind."
"Violent?" Sasuke frowned.
"I mean, he chewed up a lot of my clothes when I tried to dress him up and stuff."
"That's natural." A drop of sweat ran down Tayuya's forehead.
My sympathies here go with the dog, Sasuke thought.
Ino shrugged. "Well, he is a trained summon," she responded. "I could get you a dog that does like to play around if you want."
Kōju frowned. She thought about it for a long moment. "No," she said finally. "I'm too old for pets."
Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Saying something like that is a good sign you still ain't matured yet."
"Agreed." Ino glanced toward Tayuya briefly. Her guarded look dissolved to a smile. "High five?"
Tayuya grinned.
The door burst open.
Tayuya's smile faded slightly.
Shikamaru emerged from the room, his expression grave. "According to Kakashi, Pakkun never takes this long. Sorry, guys. Looks like we're going to have to postpone the rescue mission until he returns."
Tayuya groaned. "Fuck, seriously?"
"Wait." Soyokaze stared over the edge of the wooden fence. "I see something."
Tayuya's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. There he is."
Cold wind blew through the rooms. The bulldog returned up the steps, jowls dripping with water. "Open the door," it ordered in a rasping voice.
Tayuya's brow rose. She reached to the door handle and pulled the door open.
"Yes, I think something like that is developing—" Shikamaru started.
Kakashi raised his hand. "What is it, Pakkun?" he asked in a quiet voice. "You found him?"
"You're not going to believe this, boss. He's in Wave Country." The dog growled briefly. "What a walk."
Kakashi's eyes widened. "What?! Wave Country?"
Kōju's lips curled upward. "That's great!"
Kakashi glanced at Kōju. "You were here?" he asked, his lip trembling.
Kōju scowled. She glanced away from Kakashi.
"She's right, though. Since we know the locals, we can at least get some details worked out," Sasuke remarked. "The day's travel is troubling."
"Heh. That only accounts for average travel. Flash Technique shaves off ten hours or so, and moving fast takes another four off." Seemingly having recovered, Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.
"So we can be there in eight hours?!" Tayuya's eyes widened. "Seriously, it's like our luck took a hard right turn! I think we can seriously win in this situation!"
Kakashi nodded. "Seems like it. Wait." He raised his hand as the group started off. "Pakkun!"
The dog saluted briefly with one paw.
Kakashi unrolled a map on the table.
Pakkun grasped a charcoal stick between his teeth. He rapidly made an X on the map between two rising triangles, clearly marked as mountains.
"Take this." Kakashi exhaled. "It may be that they move him in the meantime, but at the least you'll know where to find him."
The group leapt upward into the trees, racing through dark branches and over bounding rivers.
"So, how is this place?" Tayuya questioned briefly.
"Oh, there's a dear friend of mine there, and I think a lot of good things! I'm sure that things will go well!" Kōju smiled broadly.
"I wouldn't go that far," Sasuke admitted, weaving through the canopy. "But I do think that we have a good advantage now."
"Can this woman be trusted?" Soyokaze asked in a small whisper.
Sasuke's brows rose. She glanced over her shoulder at Soyokaze.
"I ask because it's hard to trust anyone with the life of a friend." Soyokaze looked over their shoulder.
"We saved her life. I don't know if that'll make much of a difference, but for what it's worth, I trust her." Sasuke met Soyokaze's gaze levelly. She glanced over her shoulder after a brief pause. "I don't know if you trust me, Sai—"
The forest was empty.
Sasuke's eyes widened. She cursed loudly. "Fuck!"
"What?" Shikamaru questioned.
"She's made a run for it!" Sasuke declared sharply. "She's going to try to handle this on her own."
"Sai." Shikamaru sighed heavily. "Fine," he stated in a louder voice.
"Fine?! If she runs around alone she could completely compromise the mission!" Tayuya shouted.
"She's Root. If she screws up, she screws up, but I don't think it's that probable." Shikamaru exhaled heavily. "We'll just have to hope she doesn't do something stupid."
The group hurried onward.
"I am so kicking her ass once we get back," Tayuya muttered. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the line of trees in the forest.
A grim smile crossed Sasuke's face. "Get in line," she ordered, her hand tightening on the hilt of the sword at her side.
Soyokaze wordlessly cracked their knuckles.
Kōju rubbed her temples. "Really, why did you leave me alone here?" she fretted, staring up at the night sky.
"That aside, what the hell did you talk with Naruto about?" Tayuya asked briefly.
Kōju winced. "I, um." She cleared her throat. "Well, I started by talking over the food. There was an interlude where I spilled ice cream on myself, and then a couple other incidents. I had to get cleaned up pretty quick."
"I mean, about." Tayuya's face turned briefly a bright red blush. She glanced to one side. "About that sort of stuff."
Kōju exhaled.
"Is this really relevant right now?" Shikamaru questioned wearily.
Sasuke shrugged. "I'm interested," she stated in a quiet voice.
Ino nodded. "I suppose it's always quite interesting to hear about someone else's love story."
Shikamaru frowned. Well, whatever. We can't go charging straight after Naruto even once we get there. Knowing where he is helps us out. We can plan an ambush, but even so, we may as well take our time getting there somewhat. Getting through Wave Country isn't so easy, particularly these days.
Kōju cleared her throat. "I asked him about you know what, Sasuke."
Sasuke inclined her head briefly.
Ino's eyebrow twitched. Does you know what mean sex? She leaned closer.
"He said yes." Kōju smiled.
"Hah?" Tayuya tilted her head to one side. "So you fucked him?"
"No! No!" Kōju's face turned slightly pale. "That, um, that's not what I meant!"
Sasuke nodded. "I got it," she stated in a softer voice. Her eyes narrowed. "So you plan to recreate your favorite novel... Um, Black Cur or whatever?"
"Black Cur is a totally different series! How could you get those two mixed up?!" Kōju shouted angrily.
"Nothing wrong with Black Cur," Ino retorted sharply.
"Well, I mean, no, but it's no Black Current. Black Current deals with these kinds of issues straight up." Kōju cleared her throat. She looked away from Ino suddenly, covering her face.
Tayuya's eyes shot wide open. "Wait a minute. Hold the fucking phone. You mean you got it worked out?"
Shikamaru's brow creased.
"Yeah. I got him to agree to it." Kōju grinned broadly.
Tayuya lowered her hand. "Well. Hm. Fuck." She tilted her head to one side. "I guess it works out, but fuck. How the hell'd you convince him to do that?"
"I asked nicely?" Kōju put a smile on her face.
Tayuya rolled her eyes. "You fucked him. I don't care what you say, you fucked him."
Ino's brow twitched. Seriously, what gives? How come these guys are talking so openly about it, while I still can't get a straight answer from that guy? She glanced toward Sasuke. Is he involved?
Sasuke hopped through the trees rapidly, her expression unreadable.
Kōju laughed quietly. "Well, you can believe what you want, but I promise no sex was involved. It was in public."
"And?" Tayuya went on, one eyebrow rising suggestively.
Kōju's face flushed.
Shikamaru cleared his throat. "Not that I don't find Naruto's love life fascinating, but I feel very out-of-place listening to this."
Sasuke nodded. "Agreed. Seems to me like we got the most of the details out of the way."
Tayuya scowled. "It ain't any fun without the nitty-gritty."
Ino nodded.
"Then you can discuss that on your own time," Shikamaru replied briefly.
"Shikamaru, you're my friend. We've played like three hundred shōgi games together. So I mean this in the best possible way when I say, 'Fuck you'." Tayuya's eyes narrowed.
"Well, it's not totally me that's in trouble here," Shikamaru replied softly. He nodded toward Chōji.
Chōji remained silent, but his face appeared deeply in thought, possibly confused.
Soyokaze cleared their throat.
Shikamaru blinked.
"We've overshot the castle." Soyokaze nodded toward the stone structure behind the group.
"Hah? So we have."
Sasuke exhaled. Guess I was too into that discussion. They're close to me, these few. Her hand brushed across her pouch. It's strange. When did I start to feel so deeply toward these people?
The image of Itachi briefly crossed Sasuke's thoughts.
Sasuke growled. Go away, old bastard. I've made friends. Even you can never take that away from me.
A silence followed. The image dissolved into the raindrops.
The sky shifted, clouds gathering over the castle. Rain pattered against the ground.