Water dripped from the ceiling of the cavern. The carved stone glimmered in black shadows. An intense smell resembling the sea wafted through the light-covered doorway.
Kakushiro rose to her feet. "Well. Seems my other clone is out, so I guess I should head out."
"You're letting me go?"
Kakushiro blinked. "Yeah. Bad deal. Everything went south. Time to cut and run." She stared at the water. "If Kūkyo wants you so bad, she can get you herself. As to me, I've probably lost my partner and definitely lost at least thirty-three percent of my power. Fucked up situation. I'm done here." She shuffled toward the door.
Naruto clapped his hands together. "Shadow Clone Technique!"
A clone appeared in front of Kakushiro.
Kakushiro snorted. "You really think you have a chance at defeating me—" Her voice broke off as an ink spear pierced through her chest. An expression of surprise on her face, she dissolved into fleshy goo.
Sai squatted near the entrance to the cavern. Her eyes narrowed.
Naruto blinked. "You took her out, just like that? Aren't you going to wait? You know, get information on Akatsuki out of her?"
"Our protocols don't feature exclusionary methods. If someone interferes with a mission, we deal with them in the quickest way possible. If you have a problem with that, I don't really care." Sai forced a smile onto her face.
Naruto frowned. There was another Akatsuki member. We might have a chance at killing them. He exhaled. But it seems like these guys aren't bad guys, either. Hidan, maybe, but Kakushiro isn't a bad person. If we stay here, we'd probably capture them. I should make the suggestion— Ink chains suddenly wrapped around Naruto's ankles and arms. He gasped. "Eh?!"
Sai lowered her painting book.
"For crying out loud, I'm not the enemy here!" Naruto's face darkened. "I was going to tell you about their plan. We could have gotten more Akatsuki members and interrogated them!"
"My mission was to secure you. That's the arrangement I intend to stick with. Sure, it's possible that I might gain more information from investigation of your idea. But Root does not care about possibilities. We care about sure completion of a mission." Sai cast the image of a lion dragging the ink ropes behind it. The lion caught Naruto's body.
Naruto sighed. This is the kind of change I have to think about, so— He rested his back downward. I need to work with her, even if I don't want to.
Sai's brow furrowed. "You're going more quietly than I expected."
"Times change." Naruto allowed himself a smile. His hands briefly formed a seal.
Sai's brow furrowed. "Eh?" She glanced over her shoulder.
Naruto nodded to the clone standing in front of him. "Thanks."
The ink sunk into the sand of the cavern, turning the sand floor black.
Naruto sighed. "I don't object to accompanying you. But don't tie me up first. I need at least to have dinner and maybe some wine before that."
Sai's expression remained flat.
Naruto exhaled. "Look. I would like not to keep looking over my back. A team's a team, and if I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, I can't trust you to uphold your end. You've been assigned to Team Seven for now, so—I don't know, um—treat us as a team until it stands in the way of your primary objectives? As a person, I know you don't like me."
Sai nodded. "That's correct. I hate your guts with a fiery passion." She smiled, the smile not reaching her eyes.
Naruto scowled. "At least you're admitting it."
"But your team isn't a success. They're fragile, weak. And as a result of that, there's no way that I could possibly support you in this particular match."
"You can't judge a team based on one mission," Naruto interjected.
"Excuses don't make success. A group's success is determined by all factors, and thus far yours looks pretty sorry." Sai exhaled. "I work more effectively on my own. None of your team has even made it here yet—"
"Naruto!" Tayuya shouted, her voice echoing through the darkness.
Sai's eyes widened. She turned in a circle.
"Hey, Naruto! This is the fucking location, right? Where the hell is everyone?" Tayuya stepped through the doorway. The light darkened with the form of her person. She glared briefly at Sai. "I'll kick your ass later. Or force you to kiss mine. One of the two." She poked her finger into Sai's chest briefly. "Ah. You are a girl."
"What are you doing?" Sai questioned, her brow knitting.
"You got some meat there. That's good. I wasn't totally sure." Tayuya hurried past Sai toward Naruto. She wrapped her arms around Naruto tightly.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Your clothes are muddy." He returned the hug after a hesitation.
"Yeah. Don't ask." Tayuya grimaced. "I hate getting my fucking clothes dirty. And I'm probably going to have to get this checked out for infection and shit." She pointed at a trail of blood running from her hand. "What a shitty day this has been. At least you're all right, ero-nin."
"Yeah. I'm glad you're okay, too." Naruto smiled. Mud gathered on his clothes. He closed his eyes for a moment, embracing the feeling of happiness.
Sai's brow furrowed. She remained silent for a long moment.
"Tayuya. Naruto." Sasuke emerged from the base of the cavern, dripping wet. "Looks like there wasn't a way up." She touched the hilt of her sword. "I get first turn in kicking Sai's ass, right?"
Tayuya sighed. "You did call it, I guess." Releasing Naruto, she leaned against one of the walls. "Fucking hell."
"It's through there, I think." Naruto nodded toward the top of the cavern.
Sasuke blinked. "Really?" She adjusted her grip on her sword.
"Naruto-kun, my sword brooooookkkkkkkeeeeee…" Kōju wailed, rubbing her throat as she approached through the darkness.
"Oh?!" Naruto tilted his head to one side. "How'd that giant thing get broken? At least you're okay."
"Yep!" Kōju leapt through the air, wrapping her arms around Naruto's waist. She grinned broadly.
"Hello." Soyokaze waved from the height of the cavern. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she descended through the room.
Sai's eyebrow twitched. "You're not exactly talking as though you're in the middle of a battlefield."
"Well, we're not jerks." Naruto glared at Sai.
"The battle's over," Kōju agreed. "We can mourn later if we have to. We took care of business and came out on top. That's the important thing, right?"
For once, Sai could think of nothing to say.
Naruto nodded. "It's for the best. Guess that's team efficiency for you. Oh, speaking of which—where's our new sensei?"
"He didn't show." Tayuya groaned. She glanced to one side.
Kōju sighed heavily. "I don't know how to make this thing work again," she complained heavily. She shook the sword from side to side.
"A sword with good steel can survive many things." Sasuke paused. She turned toward the passage in the rock. "You can get it reforged, and Hidden Mist is probably your best bet. You'd just have to hope they don't install the spirit of a Tailed Beast."
Kōju's brow dripped with sweat. "They… do that?"
Sasuke shrugged. "That's what I've heard."
Kōju nodded. "Um. Well. I'll bear that in mind. Well—um—"
The light faded from one doorway.
Naruto's head turned sharply to one side. He grasped his kunai, preparing for an altercation.
"Excuse me. Can anyone here carry me?" Nōtō's arm flagged. "Sorry, Chōji's having a bit of trouble."
Nōtō, Chōji, Shikamaru, and Ino emerged from the far section of the room. Chōji wobbled as he passed through the room.
"You goddamn fat old man," Tayuya muttered. Her eyes narrowed. "Hey, what happened to you, huh?! Used to be you were able to fight your way through a lot of enemies without breaking stride."
"I don't know where you heard that story, but I can assure you it's thoroughly untrue." Nōtō released Chōji's arm. He leaned instead against Kōju, his weight no heavier than the sword.
Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Stories like that don't pop up out of nowhere. Sure, maybe it's exaggerated, but you still made it through twenty or thirty people without breaking a sweat. What the hell happened to you, huh?"
"I got old," Nōtō replied dryly. He turned his gaze to Naruto. "You all right?"
Naruto nodded. He noticed, again, the difference between most adults' treatment of him and the actions of Nōtō. From the beginning—no, not the beginning, but at some point Nōtō had come to respect him.
Nōtō nodded. He slumped toward one side.
Shikamaru grinned. "Good job getting here." He glanced toward Tayuya first. "How's Hidan?"
"Dead as a doornail. Or a doorknocker. Though I don't know if they're any deader than any other piece of ironmongery," Tayuya replied laconically.
Shikamaru raised his hand. "Up high, friend-o!"
Tayuya slammed her palm into Shikamaru's. "Fuck yeah!" she shouted, her lips curling upward.
Shikamaru winced. He grasped his hand briefly. "You always use too much force."
"Sorry." Tayuya shrugged with a distant expression.
"So it's all over, then?" Ino went on.
"No, probably not." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "There's at least a slight chance of that guy having survived. It's a pain in my ass, but Akaihi is probably alive."
"By this time, he may have recovered enough to present a serious threat. We should return and recuperate."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "It isn't worth dying for," he stated in a quieter voice.
Sasuke released the hilt of her sword after a moment.
"Agreed." Sai cleared her throat. "We have some tunnels below us; we might be able to return home that way. Follow me." She hurried through the darkness.
Revenge
The dark wooden structure glimmered with the rising smoke. The flame cast shadows along the wood steadily. A pale crescent moon peered through the window.
Sai knelt. "Sir."
Danzō inclined his head.
"What are my achievements in this matter?"
"You performed adequately," Danzō remarked after a pause.
Adequately. Not well, not perfectly, not fairly. Adequately. This was a first. Sai kept her head bowed.
"According to the information Tsunade provided to me, Naruto will be exiting the hospital in the next few days," Danzō continued after a pause. "During that time, your current assignment will continue. After that you will be relocated to your primary assignment."
"Danzō-sama, I've never spoken on this matter before. I've never argued against you. But please—"
"Please, what?"
"Allow me to persist in my current assignment." Sai spoke quickly, her hand rising.
Danzō remained silent for a long moment. His fingers stroked his chin. "You're sure?"
"Yes. I don't understand in the proper order. I don't understand why I'm doing this. But I found something here, something even I don't understand. So please—don't take me away from that." Sai's lips twitched slightly as she continued.
"Very well." Danzō inclined his head. "I'll address this issue to Yamato, who should resolve it with little difficulty. May I ask something of you?"
Sai inclined her head. Her ink-like hair drifted across her forehead.
"Regarding the issue of your future with this team. What is your assessment of their tactical or strategic abilities?"
"Very limited, with the exceptions of Tayuya and Sasuke."
Danzō inclined his head. "Really."
Sai nodded. "But, somehow—" She bit her lip before continuing. "Somehow, I—" She rubbed her temples, looking down at the floor. "I don't know. Somehow, it feels like there's a great mass of power around them, a momentum that produces strange results. Hakka died, seemingly. And that was a feat I thought was impossible, from everything I had heard."
"It's the will of Fire." Danzō looked through the window. "The greatest power of our nation isn't our shinobi. It's in here." He tapped his heart. "Not emotion, or passion. These things bring naught but failure and death. No, what I speak of is willpower. The will to believe in oneself, to find one's own motive, one's own heart, through the twisting bramble of 'fate'. To cut straight through." He turned to one side. "You may continue your current assignment. I'll look into getting someone else to continue your work."
"Thank you." Sai exhaled, walking toward the doorway.
"As to your other assignment?" Danzō asked curtly.
Sai nodded. "Yes, sir. I made contact with one of Orochimaru's agents in the forest before I pursued Akatsuki. He's tentative about an alliance with us, but for the time being he's at least willing to consider it. His price was perhaps a tag too high, though."
"Indeed?"
"He wishes Tsunade to die before he'll accept the agreement."
"Is that all?" Danzō raised an eyebrow. "Sooner or later Tsunade had to die. She has no grasp of human necessity, or the inability of human beings to force this change—" He cleared his throat. The echo flowed through the space. "She is, to put matters simply, lacking in foresight. I thought it might be that she could be manipulated, but she's pig-headed and arrogant. She won't listen even to good counsel if it comes from an end that is not her own." He paused. "But the time isn't right. Once I've received the strength of the people, their support entirely—once Tsunade makes enough errors—I'll execute her myself. It's not something that I can ask you to do for me, or the others, and it's not something that will happen as quickly as Orochimaru would wish." He studied Sai's face briefly. "Remember where your loyalties lie, and I will reward you. Now. Go."
Sai hurried out of the room, her eyes dark.
Revenge
The store door jingled. The wooden chairs scraped briefly across the floor, pushing toward the doorway. Crackling sticks of meat turned over on the fire inside the store's stone place.
Shikamaru moved one piece forward. "Your turn," he stated mildly.
Tayuya stared intently at the board. Her brow furrowed. "…Twice."
Shikamaru raised his eyebrow. "Pardon?"
"This is the second time." Tayuya moved a piece forward.
Shikamaru slumped back into his chair.
"Did you give me that win, or did I pull one over on you, fucker?" Tayuya smirked.
"No, you won that fair and square." Shikamaru laughed quietly. "So, what was our score again?"
"I don't give a fuck." Tayuya slammed her hand briefly against the table. "I can't even care that I beat you anymore, cause my worldview? Boom. Up in smoke. I saw things I can't fucking explain out there, and it makes me lose my head."
Shikamaru shrugged. "A lot's changed."
"Yeah, maybe so." Tayuya subsided. Her wind escaped her in a rush. "Let me ask you something," she said in a quiet voice. "About how you feel. You win, right? They're dead."
Shikamaru shrugged. "Winning is relative. I feel worse about Naruto getting kidnapped than my mentor dying. Probably because they hit right after each other, but it's a storm that's coming. I can't shake this uneasiness. Something I haven't figured out yet."
"Nobody works out everything in advance." Tayuya set the chess pieces into the box.
"Seriously, though, what's with the eyepatch?"
Tayuya looked into the bottom of the glass. Itachi's dead eyes stared back at her. "I'm having mental problems."
Shikamaru tilted his head to one side.
"Yeah, I can't get the image of me fucking Naruto out of my head." Tayuya cackled. "And now you can't either, probably."
"Goddamn you," Shikamaru remarked, taking another sip of the water. He snorted quietly. "I suppose I shouldn't have expected any more or any less, but fuck you anyhow."
"I certainly aim to get fucked sooner or later." Tayuya smirked. She tipped back the glass of wine. Itachi's face dissolved, flowing down her throat. "So. Besides that. You managed to work out the problem?"
Shikamaru frowned.
"The traitor," Tayuya asked in a softer tone.
Shikamaru shook his head. "Tsunade's got some ideas, but she's still confirming them. Under the circumstances we're going to be waiting on that."
"I still think it's Danzō."
Shikamaru snorted. "Don't say that too loud or you'll get marked." He looked toward the window. "Well, I mean—I suppose, it wouldn't be out of the question," he went on in a quieter voice. "But I can't see any motive."
"That fucker's known for playing chess with a three-dimensional chess set, maybe more. It's totally in character." Tayuya stared at the board. "One more time?" she asked in a lighter voice, moving the pieces back to their original places.
"Yes. Even a percentage increase against you is a pain. I better win back those things soon." Shikamaru grinned. He moved back the pieces.
Crickets chirped outside the room.
A/N: Before I respond to reviews this week, I'd like to complain about the authors I work with beating me to reveals. First it was Kishimoto's solid shadow clones (though, admittedly, that's hardly a novel idea); then Kubo comes out with Urahara's Bankai and it's based around Guan Yin, which I'd also had plans for as a Zanpakutō. I'm getting tired of being repeatedly beaten to the punch. That being said, I suppose I can improvise, but it's somewhat irritating.
Setting that aside, once again, JoblessReader gave me props, so thanks for that. Don't worry about timing; there's plenty of material and I'm certainly going to keep working on this seriously. Thank you for detailed commentary again, and I hope to see more reviews from you in the future. As always, thanks for reading!