Chapter Nine: Disquietude

Disclaimer: I have not owned Naruto before, nor do I today

Sasuke pounded the final nail into the wall with precision, stepped down to grab the painting, and then stepped back onto the stool to hang it up. Stepping down and backing away, Sasuke surveyed the wall with satisfaction. The painting was a dramatic backdrop of what Konoha looked like prior to the Second Shinobi War, and it suited the simple room. He had spent the entire morning setting up the small library per Kiyoko-san's direction, and with the final painting in place, Sasuke couldn't help but feel pleased with the end result.

After Aiko's poisoning, Kiyoko-san decided to make Konoha a more permanent home for herself, and bought a modest house on the outskirts of the village. Sasuke had taken it upon himself to help her in any way he could, in exchange for free range of the weapons she had gathered over the years. Or at least, that's what Sasuke told her; in truth, he felt somewhat responsible for her.

Sasuke's clan impressed in him from a young age the importance of family, and taking care of their elders. Although he was not directly related to her, Kiyoko-san had been like family to his father. Which means, she was something like an aunt – so even if he'd been a disappointment to his father, Sasuke would not fail him in this area at least. Plus, he got to hear all kinds of stories about his family from her, which was a treasure that Sasuke was unwilling to trade.

"Oh, you should have seen your grandfather's face!" Kiyoko-san was saying, sipping on her iced tea. "I think he would have killed us had it been socially acceptable. It was absolutely worth it, however; to this day, that has been one of the best festivals I ever attended."

Sasuke gave a quiet chuckle, unable to imagine his strict father not only disobeying grandfather to go to a festival, but also donning a mask and pretending to be part of the traveling circus. When is the next festival? Sasuke found himself wondering as he looked around the room.

"What do you think?" Sasuke asked her.

"That the room looks lovely, Sasuke-kun, and that I appreciate everything that you are doing." Kiyoko-san said, tapping her cane. "Truly, I appreciate your help, but shouldn't you be with your friends right now? You told me that you usually train with them before and sometimes even after your daily missions."

Except for the fact that we haven't done our daily training sessions in almost a week, Sasuke thought. Which was fine; it's not like Sasuke needed them. In fact, not training with them allowed him more time to focus more on himself rather than on their improvements.

Though, I wonder how Naruto's wind release jutsu are coming along? And if Sakura has perfected Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Techniqueyet? Probably, if what Naruto says is – wait. I don't care, remember? Sasuke shook the thought out of his head.

"I don't always train with them." Sasuke told her, hoping she wouldn't press the matter.

Kiyoko-san hummed. "Oh, speaking of your friends, Aiko asked about Naruto-kun again. How is he?"

"He's fine." Sasuke said, leaning against the wall. "She should find a better infatuation."

Kiyoko-san answered with a warm laugh that almost made Sasuke smile. Kiyoko-san laughed easily and her inclination towards joy was so infectious that even Sasuke was rarely immune to it.

"And Sakura-san?"

Sasuke frowned before he could stop it.

"She's doing well." Sasuke told her somewhat reluctantly.

It was true, though; Sakura was doing well. Naruto had been bragging about her progress all week, saying that at the rate she was going, she'd be a genjutsu expert in no time. And that was fine. Excellent, even.

"I don't wish to pry," Kiyoko-san said, and Sasuke snorted. "But are you ready to talk to me about what happened there?"

Sasuke looked up at the ceiling.

"Nothing happened." Sasuke told her softly.

It was true, for the most part. Nothing happened, not truly. Sakura was just… overreacting. I haven't done anything wrong, and she'll see that. Which meant Sasuke was fine. Really.

"Is that so? In that case, would you mind giving her something for me? I would do it myself, but I have been so busy lately that I haven't had the time."

Sasuke stared at the older woman, who had a mischievous sparkle in her dark eyes. They both knew perfectly well that this gift had little to do with time and everything to do with Kiyoko-san's desire to meddle. He wanted to call her out on it; indeed, Sasuke wanted to ignore her request. Her challenge. However, Sasuke was not one to back down from a challenge, so he nodded his agreement.

"Oh, wonderful!" Kiyoko-san exclaimed, getting up from her chair with both hands on her cane, and she moved to the bookshelf to her right. "Here is the gift I prepared for her."

Kiyoko-san handed Sasuke the gift, which was an elegant box with a gold latch on the side. The cherry blossoms etched on the wood reminded Sasuke of his pink-haired teammate, and although he didn't know what was inside, he already thought the gift was rather perfect for her. He wasn't entirely sure the girl deserved it.

"Thank you, little Uchiha." Kiyoko-san smiled.

"You are welcome, Kiyoko-san." Sasuke replied with a polite bow. "I must leave to meet with my teammates now for our mission."

"Indeed, you do! I shall walk you out."

They exited the library room and Kiyoko-san led him to the front door. She parted with a smile and a reminder to eat a proper meal, and then Sasuke was off to the Old River Bridge. The sun was high in the sky, just a few minutes shy of seven in the morning, which meant Kakashi should be appearing soon.

Sasuke braced himself as he came up to the bridge, where Naruto and Sakura were already waiting. Naruto was moving his hands wildly, and Sasuke caught the way Sakura laughed when Naruto made a broad sweeping gesture – saying something about how he fought a bird to save his ramen.

Sasuke took his spot quietly, holding Sakura's gift out in front of him. Naruto gave Sasuke a nod without breaking from his story. Sakura however, didn't acknowledge him and kept her gaze fixed on Naruto. He did, however, note the way her eyes hardened ever so slightly.

Just ignore her, Sasuke told himself. It's easier this way.

"Whaddya got there?" Naruto asked suddenly, raising his eyebrows in interest.

Here we go, Sasuke braced himself, turning to Sakura. She wasn't looking at him.

"Sakura, Kiyoko-san wanted to give you this." Sasuke said, extending the box to the pinkette.

She glanced at the gift, at Sasuke, and then back at the gift.

"Thanks." She said, taking the box without looking at him. "I'll send her a letter of gratitude later."

She moved back over to where she was, closer to Naruto, and Sasuke returned to his spot leaning against the railing. Naruto looked back and forth at them, the same look of bewilderment on his face that he had been wearing every day that week.

"Seriously, what happened between you two?" Naruto asked.

"Leave it alone, Naruto." Sakura said between clenched teeth.

Sasuke took a calculated breath to keep himself from sighing. Naruto frowned, opened his mouth, and then shut it again. Finally, he turned to Sakura.

"What is it?" He asked, leaning forward to get a better look at the box.

Balancing the box in one hand, she opened it up, and her eyes widened. "This is… She… but I can't take these!"

"Scrolls?" Naruto asked, unimpressed. He reached down to the box.

Sakura batted his hand away, and shut the lid. "Very rare, expensive scrolls on various kinds of poisons, and even how to create your own. I asked her about these about three days ago, but…" Sakura looked Sasuke right in the eye. "Can I really have this?"

"Kiyoko-san wants you to have it." Sasuke told her.

She looked away and a small smile appeared on her face, but it disappeared the moment her eyes briefly met his again. Seriously, what did I do? Sasuke wanted to growl at her. Instead, he chose to ignore her and hoped for Kakashi to arrive soon. Unfortunately, he had to wait ten awkward minutes before the jōnin appeared.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted them with a smile. "Sorry I was late; this little lady needed directions, and…"

"Liar." Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

"No, really! She hardly spoke our language and I didn't know her language, so it took a really long time to explain where the cake shop was." Kakashi insisted to deaf ears.

Team Seven made their way to the Mission Assignments Desk in relative silence, and Sasuke did his best to ignore the icy atmosphere Sakura created. The day after their disagreement, Sakura had acted a little quiet, but otherwise seemed normal. However, as the days progressed, her temperament continued to sour, sometimes going the entire day without saying a single word to the dark-haired youth.

Was she always this immature? Sasuke glanced briefly at the girl who appeared as though nothing was bothering her. Or did I actually do something wrong?

Team Seven finally reached their destination, passing an older man on their way into the room.

"Good morning," Sandaime Hogake greeted them once the quartet settled into their spots.

For the first time since learning the truth, Sasuke gazed on the old man's face without the usual anger bubbling up. Granted, unless itinvolved Kiyoko-san or Team Seven, he'd been feeling too drained to feel much of anything lately.

Iruka looked upon them with pride, and Naruto stood a little taller.

"Now, let's see what I have for Kakashi's Team Seven…" the Hokage muttered into his pipe, looking at a scroll.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, and saw a complaint brewing in his eyes. Naruto looked over at Sasuke, who minutely shook his head. Naruto raised an eyebrow as if to say, What if we get stuck with something lame again though? Sasuke didn't have an answer and turned back to Sandaime.

The old man looked back up at them with a smile, and Sasuke nearly frowned. "I think you might be ready for your first official C-Rank mission: it's a protection mission of a certain individual."

Sasuke's eye twitched; This sounds oddly familiar. Naruto made excited noises, and Sasuke's stomach began to flutter as their client entered the room. Sasuke could smell the sake from where the old man was standing.

Tazuna.

Given recent events, Sasuke had genuinely forgotten all about their mission to the Land of the Waves. During the previous four timelines, Team Seven managed to avoid the mission, and Sasuke had come to expect the pattern would repeat itself. If we are protecting Tazuna again, then that means…

Their charge scowled at them.

"What's this?" the old man grunted, taking a swig from his bottle. "They're all a bunch of brats. Especially…" the man took another drink, "the shortest one with the super stupid looking face. Are you really a ninja?"

Tazuna hiccuped, and Naruto twitched while Kakashi put his hand on the blonde's shoulder. Sasuke barely paid attention to this as his heart quickened. Looks like I will get to fight Haku again. Sasuke glanced over at Naruto, who had an interesting expression on his face as he stared at their drunk client.

"Listen up: I'm the expert bridge builder Tazuna. I expect you to provide me with suuuper protection until I get back to my country, and complete the bridge!" Tazuna ordered, slightly slurring his words together.

The excitement Sasuke felt evaporated into irritation.

Is a rematch with Haku worth enduring this drunkard, though? Team Seven collectively kept their faces blank, but one glance at his team, and he could tell they each shared the same negative opinion.

"Are we leaving the Land of Fire?" Sakura asked, turning to the Hokage.

He nodded. "Yes."

Naruto whooped in excitement, and Sakura grinned.

"Okay, okay." Kakashi chuckled. "Everyone, return home and pack a week's worth of what you need."

The trio dispersed back to their homes, where Sasuke packed away clothes, weapons, and made sure to grab his chokutō.

Although it would be of little use against Zabuza, Sasuke was confident in his swordsmanship against Haku and the Demon Brothers. His hands shook as he fastened his sword to his lower back. If things went like they did the first time, Sasuke would awaken his Sharingan, but if he wasn't careful…

Sasuke thought of Naruto nearly dying at Haku's hands, and Sakura's actual death at Kabuto's hand. Sasuke clenched his fists. Not this time. Not on my watch.

Sasuke paused as he put another shuriken in his pouch. Of course, when the time comes, I could advocate for going home. As soon as the thought crossed Sasuke's mind, he dismissed it; he did not want to be subject to Naruto calling him a scaredy cat. No, he was ready for the mission. Sasuke was undoubtedly stronger than he had been in the original timeline by this point – they all were.

After he sent a message to Kiyoko-san explaining his absence for the following week, Sasuke set out to meet his team. Sakura was already there with Kakashi and Tazuna, standing in an uneasy silence. They waited for Naruto's loud entrance, and embarked on his second first trip outside of the village.

Last time, he recalled feeling glad that he was taking a step toward being a real ninja – a step forward in his revenge against Itachi. This time, Sasuke didn't have the luxury of his youthful naïveté. Just because we miraculously lived last time, doesn't mean I want to tempt fate a second time… Sasuke blinked at the thought. Wait… Am I actually worried?

Sasuke internally scoffed, and dismissed the thought and pressed forward. He was stronger now than he'd ever been before. He was confident he could take on Haku, and Zabuza… Wouldn't that be tempting fate again? Sasuke looked at Kakashi, and wondered if he would walk away like last time.

Calm down, he told himself, shaking his head and taking a forceful step forward.

Sasuke observed his teammates. Naruto walked with his usual swagger, seemingly without a care in the world. So long as he doesn't freeze, Naruto should be fine, Sasuke decided. Naruto's chakra coils have been healed completely, not to mention he's actually improved a lot the last couple of months. In fact, I would say he's stronger than the original timeline… It was a good decision to train with them.

Sasuke turned his gaze to Sakura, who moved with a quiet sort of confidence that had been absent before. Sakura walked with calculated steps, appearing at ease while still alert to any potential threat – something he and Naruto had drilled into her. Although she was being annoying right now, Sasuke felt a little proud of her. She really was different; he just hoped it would be–

Enough. Everything will be fine, Sasuke assured himself.

They passed over a puddle, and the trio exchanged glances. Sakura raised her eyebrow, and both Naruto and Sasuke nodded their agreement: We all saw it, but act normal. Kakashi, of course, appeared as though he didn't notice anything.

A rush of wind, and two strange looking men shot out spiky chains, snaked them around Kakashi's body before anyone could react–

"One down." The uglier of the two chuckled.

–And rent Kakashi's body into pieces with a sickening squelch.

Sakura screamed, but Sasuke was already in action. He ran toward the ninja as they turned their attention to Naruto, who was already throwing kunai to divert the chains. Sasuke leapt in the air right as the chains thudded against a nearby tree. The cloaked brother's eyes widened as he realized he couldn't move – good job, Naruto – and Sasuke slashed him with his chokutō, while Naruto lodged a kunai into the other brother's shoulder.

Before Sasuke could jump away, the men freed themselves of their chains and the cloaked man's clawed hand aimed for Sasuke's throat. Sasuke thrusted his sword up, sparks flying upon contact, and kicked the cloaked man away in a single motion. Using the momentum, he propelled himself backwards, narrowly avoiding the second brother's attack to Sasuke's side.

Grunting, Sasuke landed on his hands, sprung himself up – throwing a kunai into the spiky brother's abdomen in the process – and landed heavily on his feet.

Not even a second later, Sasuke dodged a blow to his temple, and kicked his opponent in response. The man flew backwards, Naruto and two clones surrounding him a moment later. The man yelled as Naruto and his clones attacked the spiky-haired man in unison. Seeing that he was otherwise preoccupied, Sasuke sought out the cloaked brother and—

"Sasuke!" Naruto warned.

Whirling around, Sasuke blocked an attack with his chokutō, and forced the larger man back with effort. Noticing his blood-soaked torso, Sasuke punched the enemy's wound hard, and he felt the rib crack underneath his knuckles. The man winced, growling out, "Get the old man!" Before Sasuke could stop him, the cloaked man began to run.

Sasuke heard Naruto howl in pain, but Sasuke's attention was already on Sakura, who had placed herself in front of the bridge builder.

Sasuke's eyes widened in horror as he watched the two assailants race toward her – No you don't! – and faster than he thought possible, Sasuke flashed in front of Sakura, chokutō drawn. I'll block with my sword and then –

It was at that moment Kakashi made his appearance, towering over Sasuke as he knocked the men out. Although he had it under control, relief washed over Sasuke as he turned to Sakura. She glared at him with such animosity that Sasuke took a step back.

"Believe it or not Sasuke," she hissed softly, "I had it under control."

Sasuke opened his mouth, but no words came out as she guided Tazuna away. Shutting his mouth, Sasuke gripped his sword. Is she serious right now? Sasuke sheathed his chokutō with an irritated hiss.

"Well done team. All of you." Kakashi said, not taking his eye off of his wounded captives.

Sasuke took that moment to look over at Naruto, who had his arms crossed and was glaring at the ground. He appears to be unharmed; good. Sasuke redirected his focus back to Kakashi and Sakura.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, looking down at their captives with a frown. "These look like Mist ninja… I read that these shinobi are known to continue fighting no matter what, right?"

"That's right, Sakura." Kakashi said, turning his icy glare to Tazuna, who flinched. "It's a good thing I have such capable genin on this mission."

"How did you read our movements?" the cloaked ninja groaned.

Sakura knelt down to eye level. "On a sunny day like this, and it hasn't rained in days?" Sakura asked, her hands glowing. "Please; there isn't going to be a puddle."

Sasuke peered over her, watching as she began to heal the worst of their wounds. Sakura's patients growled, but her mouth was set and the skin began to look almost normal. When did… How did she improve her medical ninjutsu that much already?

"Yeah! And you call yourselves ninja?" Naruto laughed, hands behind his head.

"Did you even notice the puddle?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask as he pocketed his hands.

Obviously, he did, but he's too easy to rile up. Sasuke thought, hiding his smirk at Naruto's irritated growl. So predictable.

"You know I did, teme!"

"Dobe." Sasuke shot back.

Kakashi stepped in between the two. "Okay, that's enough boys. Good job on not killing them right away; there was something I needed to find out."

"What do you mean?" the bridge builder asked.

"Naruto, do you think you can explain?"

Naruto blinked, but his surprise quickly melted into confidence. "Sure! Kakashi-sensei wanted to find out who they were after! Us… or you."

Kakashi turned to Tazuna, who shrunk back under Kakashi's icy glare. "We hadn't heard that there are shinobi after you. Our mission was to simply protect you from thieves or gangs. This has now become at least a B-Rank mission, when it was supposed to be a simple protection until you completed the bridge."

"Tazuna-san, you lied to us, didn't you?" Sakura asked, looking a little hurt.

Tazuna looked down, shuffling his feet. "W-well I… I…"

Kakashi sighed heavily.

"I'm sure you had your reasons," Kakashi said, "but it causes problems for us when you lie about the mission. We are now operating outside of our duties, and it could have caused one of my men to lose their lives."

Tazuna suddenly glanced at the trio, his face flushed – though, it could have been from the alcohol. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but… Sensei, I need to talk to you."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow, but nodded and they moved a little further away from the genin. Naruto squatted next to their captured foes.

"Why'd you heal 'em?" he asked Sakura.

"Dead men can't give out info. Plus, I wanted to practice." Sakura shrugged.

Sasuke kneeled down next to Naruto. He grabbed a fistful of his captive's hair, and glared at the spiky-haired ninja. The man hissed in pain, and spat at Sasuke's foot.

"Sakura." Sasuke didn't divert his eyes from the mist ninja's glare.

"What?" She answered.

Ignoring her tone, Sasuke asked, "Want to practice your genjutsu, too?"

"Hey, what do you have in mind?" Naruto asked, looking concerned.

"You think you can make us talk?" the other one sneered.

If she's improved as much as Naruto claims, without a doubt. One look at Sakura, though, and he could see that she had no desire to adhere to his request. If anyone else had suggested it, would she have an issue?

"Sasuke, in case you've forgotten, she just healed these jerks." Naruto said. "I don't think she should force herself to use another chakra-draining jutsu on them."

Sasuke blinked; the thought honestly hadn't crossed his mind. Sakura was so good at chakra control, that whenever she practiced her ninjutsu she rarely showed chakra exhaustion despite having the smallest chakra reserves of the trio. But now that he looked at her, he could see the perspiration and the tiredness in her eyes.

"Ha!" the spiky-haired ninja snarled. "Pathetic little leaf ninja can't even do a simple genjutsu."

Defiance replaced exhaustion, and Sakura reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small vial of purple liquid, and the demon brothers sneered at it. She started forming the necessary seals, and then opened the vial directly underneath the spiky haired man's nose. Sasuke watched as the man's eyes glazed over.

His brother started to protest, but Naruto put a gag in his mouth.

"Who sent you, and why?" Sakura asked.

"We were hired by…" the man started, before clutching his jaw tightly. His shoulders twitched, and his eyebrows drew together. Sakura put the vial closer to his nose, and he stopped struggling.

"Gatou from Gatou Trade company to stop the bridge being built." The man spoke, his voice monotone.

"Why?" Sakura asked, narrowing her eyes in concentration.

"It's in the way of his plans… to… monopolize…" the man gritted his teeth, and a vein began to become visible in Sakura's temple. "To monopolize that tiny country. The bridge hinders his plans."

"I see…" Sakura paused, taking in a deep, shaky breath. "Are there any other threats we need to worry about?"

The man's feral grin came easily. "Yes. The Demon."

Sakura let go of the genjutsu right then, falling backwards, the liquid in the vial sloshing a little. Naruto and Sasuke caught her, and he steadied her hand to keep the vial from spilling completely. He looked at her pale face, sweat dripping from her temple – maybe this had been a bad idea after all. With shaky hands, Sakura closed the vial, and put it back in her pouch.

Their captive blinked as though he just woke up, while his brother glared daggers at Sakura.

"Sorry…" Sakura muttered in between pants.

"No, you did great Sakura-chan!" Naruto assured her. "What was in that vial?"

"A low… grade poison. It's supposed to make the victim more susceptible to genjutsu, but…" Sakura took a breath. "I think I need to make a stronger concentration of it."

She's making her own poisons now? Sasuke gazed at her in surprise. What else have you been up to the past week and a half?

"What's going on here?" Kakashi asked.

The trio looked up to Kakashi standing over them, his eyebrow drawn up.

"Interrogation." Sasuke informed him, and let go of Sakura to get up. "We were seeing who sent them."

"And did you find out? Sakura, here; eat this." Kakashi rummaged in his vest pocket and pulled out a pill.

Naruto took the soldier pill from him, and gave it to Sakura. She ate it, and almost instantly her color began to return to normal. "Yes, Gatou from Gatou Trade Company. Tazuna's bridge is a threat in his plan of monopolizing the Land of the Waves."

"Yes, Tazuna said as much. Sakura, were you the one to interrogate him?"

"Should I not have?" Sakura asked, getting up with Naruto's assistance.

"It's not that, but… What did you do?"

The genin looked over at the man who Sakura had been interrogating – his head had rolled back, mouth agape.

"Uh… Genjutsu?" Sakura said with a little uncertainty.

Kakashi drew his hand to his chin. "Hmm… Impressive. Remind me to talk to Kurenai when we get back."

Sakura grimaced in response, a flash of fear crossing over her face.

"Let's move this conversation away from prying ears." Kakashi said.

The trio and Tazuna followed Kakashi; once they were adequately far enough away, he explained that the team was at a crossroad.

"Crossroad?" Naruto asked.

"To see if we want to continue or not." Sakura frowned. "Isn't that up to you, sensei?"

"It is, but I want to hear your opinions." Kakashi nodded.

Now would be the time to say something, Sasuke thought to himself. Then he saw the determination in his teammate's eyes, and knew he couldn't. No. We handled the demon brothers situation better than we had last time. We can handle Zabuza, so long as we work together.

"Kakashi-sensei, we gave Tazuna-san our word." Sakura said slowly. "And I don't think we should back down now, just because it got a little bit more difficult."

The men all turned to the pink-haired girl in surprise. Sasuke recalled how in the original timeline, she was the one who suggested they should return, but this time… She's changed.

Naruto gave Sakura an approving grin.

"I'll protect the old man." Naruto said, eyes fierce.

The old man in question looked back and forth between the two, hopeful.

"I guess we are doing this then." Kakashi said, sounding proud.

Tazuna visibly relaxed, leaning forward a little.

"What are we going to do with them?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in the direction of their captives.

"Oh, the authorities are already on their way. We are still in the Land of Fire, and they just attacked fire citizens; there are consequences, you know. Dire consequences."

Kakashi's serene smile made Sasuke shudder; He's scarier than Orochimaru, Sasuke thought.

"Right. Well, then… shall we continue?" Tazuna suggested, gesturing forward.

"Worried we might change our minds?" Kakashi asked.

The old man didn't respond, causing Sakura and Naruto to laugh. Without further ado, they continued on their journey. Just like last time, Sasuke remembered. Except this time, the fight proved that he and Naruto were much stronger.

We've improved, Sasuke thought as he looked at his team – even as knots formed in his stomach.