That night is one of the longest in Sakura's memory. She spends it perching in a tree, afraid of every shadow that moves and every sound of the forest, but she doesn't leave her post.
The bandits search the forest nearest to the cave in the light of torches made but ultimately only succeed in re-capturing one of the horses. This suits Sakura just fine. Ten bandits, the kidnapped children and their loot cannot get far with only one horse.
The sound of children crying, echoing between cave walls, keeps her awake for most of the night. Until a bandit roaring in anger, followed by sounds of slapping, finally puts an end to the crying. Then that keeps her awake: the absence of noise, and the knowledge that a child just got hurt and she's unable to stop it from happening.
In the early morning hours, as the sun starts to rise, the bandits gather at the mouth of the cave. They curse and swear, pointing between the forest and their remaining horse. A couple of children seem to fearfully ask to use the latrine. They're denied, until one child wets themselves, after which the children are reluctantly escorted there and back, before the bandits continue their discussion. Sakura counts six children of various ages; the oldest one probably just a year or so younger than her, the youngest just a toddler - barely old enough to walk on his own, and one of the older children has to help him at the latrine.
Throughout it all she keeps watching the bandits' camp. She counts twelve of the bandits, so the village elder was off by a few but still pretty close. All of them are male. Most of them are big, burly, hairy and unwashed, armed with various versions of large clubs, longswords that have seen better days or short sickles. Two of them are more wiry, carrying three pronged sais at their belts.
Their leader, Sakura notes with unease, has a shinobi-headband and carries a katana. She's too far away to make out the sign on the headband, but the metal catches the rays of the rising sun in an unmistakable way. None of the others seem to wear headbands, but that does not necessarily mean that they aren't shinobi. Shinobi operating within the parameters of a mission from their village will usually wear their headband. Shinobi operating undercover won't always wear theirs. Moreover, shinobi who have abandoned their village will either keep their headband and slash through the village symbol - it makes a statement, a sort of stamp of quality that warns enemies to stay away. This here is a shinobi, a trained killer, who chose to walk away from their village and lived to tell the tale - or discard the headband altogether. The latter allows them to blend in more easily with regular civilian thugs, for better or worse.
So really, all she knows is that at least one of the bandits likely has a shinobi background. Probably missing-nin, considering the company he keeps, but from where or what rank remains unknown as of yet. She'd have to get closer to him to make out the symbol or try to figure out what rank he might be, and she'd promised Hajime to stay safely away from them.
Also, Sakura really doesn't want to die here in this forest.
Not to mention the other kinds of things that can happen to kunoichi caught by the enemy.
A shudder runs through her at the thought. Her kunoichi-classes have taught her about some of the dangers - subjects that are very much unsuitable for a young lady, according to aunt Kasumi, yet vital for a kunoichi - and Sakura has no urge to try those lessons in real life.
At last the bandits seem to have agreed on some sort of plan of action. They split up into two groups, one staying by the cave and starting on breakfast while the other heads out into the forest, probably in search of the remaining horses.
Seeing that the one with the shinobi-headband, the leader, chooses to stay by the cave, Sakura follows the other group at a distance. Their movements are jerky, their faces red in the early-morning sunlight. Signs that they might have overindulged the previous night, in celebration of their successful looting, before Hajime let their horses free. They move with the loudness of civilians; footsteps heavy, twigs snapping, branches scraping against their weapons. More than once one of them stumbles over roots or rocks. One of them, of the ones armed with three pronged sais, rides the remaining horse and almost bumps his head against a thick tree-branch.
Easy pickings, Sakura thinks to herself.
If you're at a numerical disadvantage and can't wait for reinforcements, don't let that get you down, she recalls Iruka-sensei lecturing. Take them down, one after another, wherever you can. Catch their scouts, take down individual guards, wait until they have to use the latrine - if you wait, you will eventually get an opportunity when they're vulnerable and unprepared.
She promised Hajime she would stay away and not engage them. That does not mean that she can't engage them indirectly. That she can't try to lessen their numbers. They're already aware that something is out there. Probably watching them. Stealing their horses.
Nodding to herself Sakura rushes ahead, still mindful of keeping a wide berth between herself and the bandits. Luckily for her they're following one of the wider animal paths, which makes it easy for her to choose a spot to set her trap. It only takes her a couple of minutes to set her trap before she's back in the trees again.
She'll have to thank Kakashi-sensei for insisting on that extra wire, once she gets back to Konoha.
Circling back she spots the bandits, still following the same path. Sakura passes them by quietly. Halfway back to the camp she lands on the ground again, putting down another two traps.
Traps aren't really Sakura's specialty. She knows the basic Academy ones, and given the circumstances she doesn't have the time to rig some of the bigger, more dangerous traps she does know. The kind of trap that could potentially take out the whole group of scouting bandits.
She'll just have to make do with smaller traps. Take her enemies out one by one.
Really not that different from killing a boar, after all.
Somewhere far behind her there is a cry, indicating that her first trap has been triggered.
Good, Sakura thinks, refusing to feel pity for whichever bandit she might just have killed. They deserve it. They kidnapped innocent children.
Swallowing down bile, she finishes with the trap she's working on. She can't afford to feel sorry for the bandits. She can't afford to deal with her emotions right now, and so she pushes whatever guilt and horror she might feel down into the deepest parts of her mind to be processed later.
With a final touch of moss to hide her trap she's back in the trees again, moving so that she won't be in their immediate path.
The group is even louder as they retreat back towards the cave, one of them groaning loudly. Sakura finds them easily and realises that she's not a killer after all. Not yet at least. Though the three kunai buried in the bandit's stomach suggest that he will be dead soon enough - if not from blood loss or internal damage, infection will soon take over.
His comrades clearly know that his injuries are serious. They look around nervously. Sakura keeps her distance and sticks leaves and moss to herself with chakra for further camouflage.
The horse is nowhere to be seen.
The injured bandit is pale and groans with every movement as his comrades carry him back towards their camp. She sits perfectly still on her perch, allowing them to pass her by before she moves again. It's unlikely that they will return the same way again but she gathers up the remains of her ninja wire and uses it to set another trap, on a different spot this time.
Another cry pierces the air. She looks up, both glad and a little bit sick that another of her traps have been triggered. As soon as the latest trap is set she's back up in the trees, moving in a circle to avoid coming straight at the group.
The second bandit to trigger her trap wasn't as lucky as the first one, she sees as soon as she spots them. He hangs limply from a branch, ninja wire wrapped around his throat. The others are cowering on the ground, clearly anticipating another attack.
The body swings slowly around, dead eyes slowly turning to look at Sakura. She suppresses the whimper that wants to escape her at the sight. Bandits, she reminds herself. Child-kidnappers.
"Fuck this shit!" one of them roars when no attack comes. "Let's get back!"
He picks up a long stick from the ground, using it to sweep the ground before him on their path. When he doesn't immediately trigger another trap the others hesitantly follow, carrying their wounded comrade and leaving the dead one behind.
Her second trap snaps the stick in half once it's triggered. The bandits pause, staring at the severed ends of the stick. Then the first one laughs.
"See! No danger here!"
He picks up the longest remaining part of the stick and continues towards their camp, sweeping the ground before him for traps. Sakura follows at a distance, curious to see what will happen.
When they reach the camp, where breakfast is well underway, another row ensues. The wounded bandit is placed by the fire but his wounds are not further looked after, confirming her suspicions that he will die sooner rather than later.
Whatever they say, their leader does not take it well. He points towards the forest, back the way they came, screaming about their stupidity, their mothers' degeneracy and the size of their manhood.
At last one of the men, the same one who'd picked up a stick to trigger her trap, gets enough and storms past the leader towards the cave. He grabs one of the terrified children, pushing the little girl in front of him as he heads back into the forest, followed by the others.
Sakura curses quietly to herself, hurrying to run ahead. She's just in time to disable the last trap, hiding on a thick branch as the bandits and their captive pass by directly below her.
Now what? Twelve bandits are down to ten in fighting condition, one hanging from a tree and one about to die a slow, painful death.
She can't let them re-capture the horses, but how can she stop them now that they're using children as shields?
Well, if she can't attack the bandits, perhaps she can at least get the horses far enough away that the bandits won't be able to get to them? Hajime frightened them by yelling last night. She doesn't think herself capable of replicating that same sound, and it seems unlikely to be effective regardless given that she doesn't actually know where the horses are.
But there are other ways to make loud noises.
Mindful to keep a distance to both the camp and the group searching for the horses, she does a quick sweep of the area. It's mostly forest but by some luck she manages to find a group of large rocks and cliffs, not that far from the camp. Perfect. She's generous with her exploding tags - after all, Kakashi-sensei insisted on buying her a whole pack in preparation of the chunin exams, and she has never gotten the chance to use them since. Once they're all in place she does another quick sweep, just to reassure herself that none of the children are nearby, before retreating as far as she can before activating the tags.
BOOM!
The resounding explosion is deafening on its own but the following crashing and clanking of rocks is almost as bad. If that doesn't scare those horses away, Sakura doesn't know what will.
She withdraws again, in case the bandits come searching for the source of the noise. By luck she comes across the search party. They're pale and the poor child has clearly wet herself. Sakura winces in sympathy. Still, better this than whatever the bandits have planned for the children.
The group of bandits and the child make their way back towards the camp as quickly as they can, visibly relieved to find that it isn't the camp which has been blown up. The rest of the bandits are almost as visibly relieved that it isn't the search party that is gone. The leader doesn't even yell at them. Instead they gather around the fire and their breakfast, clearly plotting.
Sakura takes the opportunity to head for the river, re-filling her water bottle and washing herself a little. Then she sits down, hidden in a little alcove created by two larger rocks. Between them and the moss she's still covered in she considers herself decendly camouflaged, and safe enough to allow herself an energy bar to soothe her growling stomach.
It tastes like cardboard but she'll need the energy if she'll be of any use when Hajime returns.
If he returns.
Sakura is never going to diet again. She'd been rather convinced about it already, but faced with the reality of shinobi life in the field she's more certain than ever.
Somewhere to the left of her a twig snaps, and Sakura freezes in place, holding her breath.
A man steps out of the shadows beneath the trees. The bandits' leader. From where she's sitting she can see the katana strapped to his back. Slowly he scans the riverside before stepping up to the edge of the water, bending down to study something.
Her mind starting to spin from the lack of oxygen Sakura slowly, ever so slowly, lets out the breath she's been holding, terrified that the sound will draw his attention. When it doesn't she slowly breathes in.
The man stands and looks around. Sakura sits as still as she possibly can, her insides quivering. She's mostly hidden by the rocks, thank the sages, but he's close enough that she can clearly make out the slashed through symbol on his headband - which is far too close for Sakura's comfort. Sunagakure. The Village hidden in the Sand
Eventually the man moves on. Sakura stays in her place for the longest time, still barely daring to breathe. Only when the sun has passed its highest point and her bladder desperately demands that she do something about it does she hesitantly leave her hiding place, fearful of an ambush.
When no ambush comes she glances over towards the riverside, to see what the man had been studying so closely. Terror makes her whole body go cold. A footprint. A bloody footprint in the wet sand! How could she possibly have been so stupid, so careless, as to leave something like that for the enemy to find?
They certainly know she's there now. Between her traps and the footprint she so kindly just left there for them to find, they cannot possibly be doubting any more.
Hajime will kill her.
Unless the bandits kill her first.
If so Hajime will probably find a way to bring her back only so that he can kill her himself for her foolishness. And Tomomi will certainly help him too.
Swallowing down a desperate, terrified laugh she hurries to answer nature's call before finding herself a new hiding place as she tries to figure out what she should do next.
Karma is a bitch, Kakashi thinks.
Yamanaka are somehow even worse.
It's like they know. Kakashi has barely dragged Sasuke into the reception area of the Yamanaka Mind Clinic when Yamanaka Inoichi himself steps through the door, takes one look at them and orders them both to come with him.
It's like karma, the village and the Yamanaka are all conspiring against him, forcing him into proximity of the people and places he would most like to avoid. It's almost too much of a coincidence, that Inoichi himself just so happens to be at the clinic when Kakashi decides to step foot there for the first time in over a decade.
It is too much of a coincidence. Kakashi just has to figure out who is behind it all, and how to get back at them.
Either way Kakashi is stuck dealing with the Yamanaka clan head himself, instead of some branch-house nobody that would be more easily manipulated according to Kakashi's wishes. And it might be good to have Inoichi himself handling Sasuke, considering the potential danger of Orochimaru's curse mark. Kakashi would just prefer not having to deal with the man himself.
"I'm just here to leave Sasuke-kun here off," he states, giving Inoichi an innocent smile whilst discretely inching towards the door. "He's way overdue for an appointment. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about."
Inoichi wordlessly raises an eyebrow, clearly not about to be tricked by Kakashi's feigned sincerity. Bloody T&I people. Bloody Yamanaka.
"Step into my office," Inoichi finally says, holding the door open to the nearest examination room.
"No need for both of us to take up your time. I'm sure you've got a lot to do, being head of the Analysis Team and all. Busy times at the Intelligence division, right? So I'll just leave Sasuke-kun in your care, and-"
"Kakashi."
Somehow Inoichi manages to produce a tone that makes Kakashi feel like he's five again.
"Get in here. Now. Or I'll make sure you're declared unfit for anything but D-ranks."
Which was a great threat when he was using it against Sasuke but somehow just seems utterly unfair and unreasonable coming from Inoichi. Kakashi wants to say something about needing a vacation anyway, but somehow the words get stuck in his throat and he finds himself stepping into the room with Sasuke. Inoichi closes the door behind them, the lock clicking shut with an ominous sound.
Karma's definitely a bitch.
"Please, have a seat."
Unlike Inoichi's working space in T&I, the examination room at the Mind Clinic isn't covered in various restraints, dark ink and complicated seals. Instead it's a light and airy room with several armchairs that might, had they been anywhere else, be described as comfy. A large window lets sunshine in, with several large, potted plants providing some semblance of privacy and a lightly floral scent to the room.
Yeah, Kakashi would really, kind of, maybe prefer the bluntness of T&I to this forced-relaxed atmosphere.
Sasuke sits down first, looking sullen and determined to get this whole farce over with. He crosses his arms across his chest, staring at the opposite wall.
Kakashi takes another moment to take in the room, noting that the window lacks latches to open it with and looks thick enough to withstand just about anything. The flowers, while colourful, are not poisonous. The ventilation is small enough that not even Sasuke could escape through it, much less Kakashi. Inoichi is still strategically blocking the door, giving him an expectant look.
Reluctantly Kakashi sits down.
Inoichi does the same, taking the seat closest to the door where he will still be able to block any attempt at escape, because of course he does.
Kakashi hates Yamanaka.
"I have been updated to the situation by the Hokage," Inoichi says, his voice relaxed and semi-comforting despite him still pointedly blocking the door. "What I will be doing is using my clan's jutsu to perform a mind walk, which is a painless procedure that won't take more than a couple of minutes each."
So it's the Hokage who's been conspiring against him then. Too bad. Asuma won't be happy when Kakashi kills his father.
"I don't suppose it's ok if I wait outside?" Kakashi tries again.
"Oh, absolutely." Inoichi's voice is far too understanding for Kakashi's liking. "As soon as I'm done with you, you're welcome to wait outside while I finish with your student."
"The student should go before the teacher, shouldn't he? I'm practically an old man, after all. I can wait."
"Of course the teacher should lead by example. Now, Kakashi, just lean back and try to relax, and this will be over in a moment."
With those words Kakashi finds himself falling.
Falling and falling through darkness, with that out-of-body feeling that comes with having a Yamanaka walk through your mind without trying to be discreet about it.
Until he's suddenly no longer falling, and instead finds himself standing in his apartment.
"Let's see what we're working with, shall we?"
Cheerfully Inoichi steps forward, opening the kitchen cupboards. Fluorescent lamps flicker above them, buzzing with electricity.
"By all means, please don't be shy to make yourself at home," Kakashi grumbles. "It's only my home, after all. Nothing private about it."
"It's a visual representation of your mind, and a very detailed one at that." Inoichi picks up one of the two plates occupying the cupboard, studying it closely before gently placing it back on the shelf in favour of one of the two glasses. "Why two of everything?"
Kakashi shrugs, not feeling particularly eager to answer. Not that the lack of answer seems to deter Inoichi as he closes the cupboards and instead pulls a drawer open, studying the two pairs of chopsticks there just as curiously.
"No clutter laying about," he notes as he closes the drawer, moving instead to the refrigerator. "No perishables either. Is it like this in real life, or is it just here in your mindscape?"
"Are you worried I'm not eating enough?" Kakashi's voice is tinged with annoyance.
"Not in a literal sense, no, but perishables can sometimes also symbolise the things that keep us going, what we look forward to and so on."
"Well, if I'd known I'd be having visitors I would've made sure to stock up on some."
Closing the refrigerator, Inoichi frowns, looking around the room.
"What's with the cooking fumes?"
Now that Inoichi has pointed it out Kakashi notices it too, the smell suddenly obvious and seeming very out of place.
"No idea."
He's pretty sure it's not supposed to be there though.
"Well, let's get rid of it then," Inoichi says, as if he's heard Kakashi's thoughts. Which, you know, he might just have.
Bloody Yamanaka.
Unconcerned about the multiple traps Kakashi usually keeps by his windows, to keep foolish intruders away, Inoichi pushes the nearest window open to allow the fumes to air out. And because he's a bloody Yamanak it works, even though Kakashi can clearly see that there's nothing beyond the window. Just a dark void, and now apparently Kakashi's mindscape-cooking fumes.
"Let's move on, shall we?"
Without waiting for a reply Inoichi moves further into the apartment, forcing Kakashi to follow him into the living room.
"At least there's not two couches as well. Though frankly, I'm surprised how bare it is."
"What can I say, I'm a tidy person."
"Still, most people tend to have some clutter lying about. To do lists, pictures of friends and family, stuff they use often, you know?"
Inoichi stalks the room, giving it a cursory inspection before moving down the hallway towards the two doors. Kakashi reluctantly follows, knowing that Inoichi is unlikely to approve.
In reality the doors are perfect mirrors of each other, both bare. Here, the door to the left has his ANBU-Hound mask hanging from a hook, while the other has a jounin vest hanging from a similar hook.
"Compartmentalising much?" Inoichi comments, pushing the left door open. "Most people don't take it quite so literally, you know."
They step into Hound's room, even more spartan here than in reality. Gone is the futon, the wardrobe and even the door to the bathroom. Instead the walls are lined with various weapons and ninja tools, one full wall taken up by a bookshelf with carefully organised books and scrolls.
Shamelessly Inoichi steps forward, rummaging through the shelves. Kakashi has to resist the urge to chase him out. Not like it would work, anyway. The mind is the home territory of the Yamanaka, after all, regardless whether it's their own mind or not.
The fuckers are even worse than nurses when it comes to invading his personal space.
"Looks like it's mostly in order here," Inoichi states at last, stepping away from the shelf to study the assorted weapons. "Though frankly, being this literally divided and organised has its own weaknesses. You'll struggle with change, with anything that will risk disarranging anything."
"I'll keep that in mind," Kakashi lies.
A waste basket appears in a corner, a crumpled piece of paper falling into it.
"I'm sure you will."
Inoichi's lips don't so much as twitch as he steps out of the room, Kakashi following closely behind.
"What happens if I open both doors?"
Kakashi's breath catches somewhere in his throat.
Electricity sizzles along the walls, down the doors.
"I see."
Inoichi looks entirely unaffected by the electricity-charged door handle in his hand as he closes the door to Hound's room and then opens the other one.
Unlike the previous room this one looks very much like Kakashi's real room, including the scattered photos on the walls, the plants on the window frame and the kunai-patterned bed throw Gai once gifted him. The only thing out of place is the massive memorial stone taking up most of Kakashi's bed.
"Now, this is what I like to see."
Inoichi slowly walks around the room, studying the pictures closely, gently touching the bed throw, eyeing the memorial stone sceptically and finally stopping before the bookcases. Kakashi hangs back as Inoichi once more rummages about.
"At a first glance everything seems mostly fine."
"Does that mean we're done now?"
"Not quite. Look at this."
Inoichi steps up to the window, where he sweeps aside the curtains to reveal paint peeling from the walls behind.
"Whether you like it or not, things are changing for you, Kakashi," Inoichi states, letting the curtains fall back. "The fact that you're trying to hide it shows that you're aware of it too, even if you're trying to pretend like you're not."
"Well, excuse me for not noticing that the paint was a bit worn behind there."
It's not even like Kakashi actually spends much time in his mindscape. Usually he's not even aware of it unless he's particularly deep into meditation, or just so happens to have a Yamanaka digging around in his brain.
"Mhm. And what about this then?"
Kicking the rug aside Inoichi reveales a small pile of trash beneath the previously perfectly flat carpet: a postcard depicting cherry blossoms, a handful of coins, a thick bunch of letters held together by a red rubber band, looking like it is about to burst any moment, a half empty ramen bowl from Ichiraku ramen, a well-worn compass and a little chest with a large lock on it.
"I've no idea what that is."
"It's the things you've been suppressing, is what it is." Inoichi crouches down next to the pile, poking the items carefully. "This stuff definitely isn't healthy for you, even if none of it seems immediately dangerous."
Despite his annoyance at having Inoichi in his mind to begin with, Kakashi breathes a small sigh of relief.
"Are you going to clean it out then? Like with the cooking fumes?"
Inoichi stands with a frown, still studying the pile.
"Not in one sitting, I'm not. The fumes were genjutsu-residue, which is simple enough to get rid of. This, however, is your own bagage Kakashi. You'll have to do a lot of the work yourself, though I'm happy to help you."
Kakashi takes a step backwards at the prospect, and Inoichi flashes him a brief smile.
"I thought not. And since I haven't seen anything suggesting an immediate threat I'll go ahead and clear you for missions again, though you do have to work on this too. And I will be following up with you on that thing."
At the last part Inoichi gestures for the memorial stone, still perched in Kakashi's bed.
A moment later Kakashi is falling again before he abruptly finds himself back in the examination room in the Mind Clinic. A glance at the clock tells him that it's been less than five minutes.
Time just moves differently with a Yamanaka in your mind.
"Your turn, Sasuke-kun. Look at me please."
His body still feeling weak from the jutsu, as if he's just run a marathon against Gai, Kakashi remains seated in the armchair as Sasuke and Inoichi both go limp.
Mid-afternoon finds Sakura crawling through the underbrush of the forest. Her whole body is tense with fear, anticipating an attack to come at any moment. Which actually suits quite well, considering the fact that she's currently transformed into a squirrel.
Her tail twitches, unused as she still is to it, and she looks around worriedly. The low vantage point makes it difficult to see much of anything past the immediate underbrush, but she's not quite confident enough in herself to maintain the transformation jutsu and still manage to jump through the trees.
She just hopes that no predators have spotted her yet.
Or the bandits.
Part of her is starting to think that they're just playing with her. That their leader is somewhere in the trees above her, just watching her every move, quietly laughing at her.
But she can't afford to think like that. If they're watching then they're watching her. There's nothing she can do about that, save for trying to spot them. And she hasn't been able to spot them so far, so for now she'll have to assume that they are in fact not watching her. That they're aware of her presence but haven't found her yet. If their leader is from the Hidden Sand he's probably not used to working in Konoha's more forested terrain, which might just be her saving grace at the moment. Not that it'll keep her safe forever.
So, assuming that they haven't found her yet, she has a choice. She can stay away and hope that they won't go out of their way to search for her, thereby enabling her to stay hidden. However, Hajime won't really be able to find her either, nor will she be able to know when he returns, and he'll be walking in not knowing that the bandits are now on high alert. And if the bandits do decide to search more thoroughly for her she'll basically just be a sitting duck, waiting for them to find her.
Alternatively, she can run. Make a break for it, try to get back to the main road and hope to find Hajime before the bandits potentially find her. But that'll mean abandoning the children left with the bandits. Even if she does get away there's no telling that the bandits will still be in the same place when she and Hajime return, and so they might get away.
So Sakura has settled for a third option: try to make her way back towards the bandits without being spotted, and keep watching them until Hajime returns. Which is probably the stupidest, most dangerous choice for her, but … Sakura can't forget the sight of the little girl who wet herself. Can't forget the sound of children crying in the night, only to be violently silenced by a bandit.
Can't forget the feeling of being locked in her room with no way out, hungry and thirsty and knowing that no one is looking for her.
And so here she is.
If they find her she's dead. In the best case. Worst case she's captured and used against Hajime, whenever he arrives, or they decide to do other things to her.
Or she ends up as dinner for a fox or something. That would be a really bad, useless and embarrassing way to go out.
Sakura isn't thinking about that. She's thinking about keeping the transformation jutsu intact, about making every movement of hers seem as natural as possible and about watching her surroundings.
Finally, finally she's nearing the bandits' camp. Coincidentally it's also near the tree where the dead bandit still hangs which, you know, urk … but also … that sort of works for her. The fact that they've left him hanging, rather than cutting him down, means that either they don't care about him enough to do his corpse even that decency, or they're uncomfortable enough with the task that they've decided it's not worth the risk.
Either way, it's basically a big, flashing light of either 'LOOK HERE' or 'DON'T LOOK HERE'.
Corpses are very distracting that way, Sakura supposes, though she clearly can't speak from experience.
Distracting is good for those trying to stay hidden.
Sakura stays still in place for a long time, just listening to her surroundings. Birds are chirping, insects buzzing. A tree branch is groaning quietly from the unexpected weight of the human-fruit.
A child is crying somewhere relatively nearby. As the wind turns she can smell human faeces.
When she's as certain as she can be that she hasn't been spotted yet she rises up on her hind-paws, making sure to keep the tree between herself and the bandits. Her tiny squirrel-paws easily finds leverage in the bark of the tree, but she still uses a little bit of chakra to make sure that she won't fall.
Trees are much taller when you're the size of a squirrel, but eventually she finds herself decently high up. Higher up than the body, which have now become a buffet for crows. Sakura shudders at the sight and climbs a bit higher still, just to get a little more distance between herself and the macabre scene.
What she finds is that the bandits have barricaded themselves, retreating back into the cave. At least two guards are stationed near the cave mouth, looking alert and ready despite the fact that they too must be tired. Their eyes scan their surroundings for dangers, but does not even seem to notice her.
Pressed against the trunk of the tree, still in her transformed state, Sakura continues to watch their camp. Ultimately it's a good thing that they no longer have their horses. If they do try to escape they will be far slower than they otherwise would. However, barricaded as they are, they do have the advantage, especially as at least some of them are willing to use the children as shields.
She sighs to herself.
Despite her earlier nerves, sitting in one place soon becomes monotonous. The bandits aren't moving. She can't see much of anything, but there does not appear to be any guards outside of the cave or in the trees.
Whatever else she was expecting from watching the bandits, she wasn't prepared for things to get plain boring. Her eyelids grow heavy and she has to struggle to stay awake.
Between the running yesterday, the awful sleep and minimal rest she got last night and the tension-filled day she's had so far it's really no surprise that she's tiring. She really should try to get herself some sleep before Hajime arrives.
Somehow she dozes off, almost falling out of the tree and just barely managing to hold on to her transformation jutsu as she pulls herself back up. Shaking her head in annoyance she casts another look at the bandits. They still haven't moved.
Relatively confident that the bandits aren't going anywhere, and praying that they don't have anyone hidden outside the cave, waiting for her to make a mistake, she takes the opportunity to explore the area immediately around the cave a little better. As best as she can she keeps to the trees this time, climbing from branch to branch and growing more and more confident in handling this foreign body.
She makes a mental note of all the paths and trails going from the cave, planting little traps everywhere. Nothing sophisticated enough to require ninja wire, just the sort of traps that will make noise when triggered and alert her to something happening. Dry twigs planted beneath some moss where someone is likely to step on them, pebbles gathered together so that they will crunch beneath a careless foot, branches pulled back just enough that they'll slap someone in the face if they try to pass by, acorns rigged to fall and make noise, that kind of thing. Sakura draws upon her knowledge from the Academy and inspiration from her squirrel-form and is quite proud of the result.
When the last trap is rigged she returns to her vantage point. The bandits have changed their guard but are still in place. Good.
Rationalising that she's as safe as she is going to get under the circumstances, she makes her way to a den she'd found earlier during her stakeout. Probably originally the home of a fox or a badger it is just about large enough to fit her when she finally lets go of her transformation jutsu. Covering the opening with sticks covered in moss and leaves makes it feel that much more cramped, but at least she's hidden.
Time to get some sleep.
If she can.
She's still tense and on guard, her skin itching just with the thought of what kind of insects might be making themselves a home in her clothes or her hair this very moment, but eventually she manages to relax somewhat.
Like the night before her rest is uneasy and her sleep is shallow and easily disturbed. She eats another energy bar and takes a couple of sips from her water bottle and goes back to trying to sleep.
The sun is setting when one of her traps is triggered, startling her awake. Sakura lays perfectly still, listening to make sure that there are no threats in her immediate proximity, before transforming back into a squirrel and carefully peeking out of her hideout.
The triggered trap is not too far away from her hideout but she's weary as she slowly makes her way over, keeping to the trees. If nothing else, the higher vantage point makes her feel a little bit safer, even if it's probably a false safety.
A lone kunai lies where her trap used to be. Frowning, Sakura remains hidden in her tree. There is no other sign of whoever triggered the trap. Has her trap just turned into a trap for her?
"Hello, little rodent. You wouldn't know who set that trap, would you?"
Sakura twirls around, instinctively reaching for her weapons pouch even as her mind registers the familiar voice and the kunai aimed at her.
Hajime looks humongous from this vantage point!
"Now, before you do anything stupid, how many genin were there on my team as we left for our mission?" Hajime continues, still not lowering his kunai.
Sakura swallows nervously, her throat suddenly dry, and stamps her paw five times. Hajime, Tomomi, Aimi, Takeshi and Sakura herself.
"Alright. I'm gonna give you one chance to undo that transformation jutsu, and if you're not who I think you are-"
As soon as Hajime starts to pull away his kunai Sakura lets go of the transformation, returning to her normal self with a silent poof.
"Hajime!" she exclaims, remembering at the last moment to keep her voice quiet.
He breathes a quiet sigh in relief, looking her over carefully before nodding to himself, as if finally determining that it is indeed her.
"Thank the gods' you're alright!" he says, pulling her into a hug. "I am never leaving you alone again whilst on a mission."
"I'm fine," she assures him, trying to convince herself that she's not clinging to him. "Did you find the villagers?"
"They're waiting a bit further away. Now, what have I missed? You don't look to be hurting?"
Relieved that her reinforcements are finally here she gives a quick, quiet report of the day's events. Hajime frowns at her for engaging the bandits but does not comment further than that at the moment. When she's done he asks her to show them what their camp looks like now, and they both transform into squirrels. However, Sakura soon finds that Hajime is hopelessly clumsy as a squirrel, and so she winds up having to show him exactly how to climb from one branch to another. They definitely don't look like regular squirrels, but at least they make a smaller target for their enemies to spot.
Eventually they find themselves back at Sakura's chosen vantage point. Hajime wrinkles his nose at the dead bandit but obediently follows her to the top of the tree next. She sits quietly as he watches the bandits, and when he signals that he's done she leads him away the same way they came, until they're comfortable enough to un-transform. Then Hajime takes over again, leading her to where their reinforcements are waiting.
Takeshi and Aimi are both there, as are five men from the village. Sakura feels a smile tugging at her lips at the sight. Four Konoha genin and five civilian farmers armed with scythes and knives, eager to get their kidnapped children back. The bandits might still have the numerical and strategic advantage, but at least they're on more even footing now.
Aimi throws her arms around Sakura and Sakura gratefully hugs her back, the feeling of being surrounded by her comrades again indescribable. Takeshi hangs back, but he's visibly relieved too.
"What's the plan?" Takeshi asks, looking at Hajime.
Hajime looks at her and Sakura feels a sudden ball of nervousness grow in her stomach. What are they supposed to do now?
"They've barricaded themselves in a cave," she explains, looking at the villagers and her teammates. "It'll be difficult to get to them without risk harming the children as well."
No one looks happy at the news.
They throw around ideas, discussing and discarding one after another. Charging straight in will just give the bandits time to use the children as shields. To the best of Sakura's and Hajime's knowledge there is no back entrance to the cave. Now that the bandits have barricaded themselves it will be difficult to draw them out to fight on open ground. And no, none of them are skilled enough in genjutsu to be able to catch all of the bandits in one.
"How about we do a Hiroshi?" Takeshi suggests at last.
Aimi, Sakura and Hajime exchange looks.
"It's an idea," Hajime states slowly. "Not necessarily a good one, but the best one we've got."
"Definitely better than just charging in," Aimi adds.
They decide on the details, Hajime taking the lead.
"Alright," he says once they have their plan. "Let's get going then!"
They do.
Sasuke opens his eyes and finds himself in hell.
Or at least a different kind of hell than what life has been like ever since that night.
A literal ring of fire. Embers burning with flames as tall as him, surrounded by nothing but darkness.
"Firetypes," a voice beside him sighs. "So dramatic."
Startled, he turns around, reaching for his weapons but finding both his kunai holster and weapon's pouch gone.
"I'm afraid you won't really be able to fight me in here."
The man - the girly-looking Yamanaka - tilts his head and offers a friendly smile that sets all of Sasuke's instincts on edge. There is nothing friendly about this place or this situation they're in, not to mention that the man's presence feels distinctly wrong somehow. Like a badly cast genjutsu, yet intangible enough that Sasuke can't place his finger on exactly what is wrong.
"Where are we?"
Without turning away from the Yamanaka he glances around, realising that there are no escape routes. Between the thick ring of embers and the tall flames, and the darkness beyond the flames, there is nowhere for him to run.
"We're in your mind, of course. Or a visual manifestation of it, at any rate."
"My mind?"
"Indeed. Have you never been here before?"
Wordlessly Sasuke shakes his head. The Yamanaka raises a surprised eyebrow.
"I suppose the mind healers who saw you after the massacre must've opted for a less intrusive treatment."
The flames surrounding them flare higher, reaching for them, but the Yamanaka do not look impressed.
"Probably wise, considering your age back then."
Sasuke is fuming. Few dare to speak about that in his presence, though he has seen the pity in their eyes far too many times to count. That this snooper dares to apparently not only literally step into his mind, but to then also speak to him like that!
"Like I said, the mindscape serves as a visual representation of your mind," the man says, stepping forward, looking utterly unaffected by the heat of the flames. "At its very core-level, there's a representation of your chakra, taking on whichever form you happen to have an affinity for. In your case; fire."
He gestures at the flame, turning back towards Sasuke.
"That it takes the form of a circle and that we're standing in the middle of it is typical of Uchiha, in my experience. Circles indicate protection. My theory is that it has something to do with the sharingan, though I've never been able to investigate the matter more thoroughly."
"You have no right!" Sasuke growls, enraged on a new level. "The sharingan is a clan jutsu-"
"-and as such protected under clan law, yes I know. I was simply sharing my observations, since you might benefit from them. I can stop, if you'd like?"
Their eyes meet and Sasuke doesn't know what to say. He doesn't want this man in his mind, but since he apparently doesn't have much of a choice in the matter he does want to know what he sees.
Apparently taking the lack of answer for consent the Yamanaka at last break their eye-contact, continuing to study the flames.
"Fire of course has other implications as well: drive and passion, motivation, desire, intention - all of which I dare say you've got plenty."
He smiles again, that smile that is supposed to look friendly but which makes Sasuke's hair stand up at the back of his neck. He knows a predator when he sees one, and just like with Orochimaru Sasuke is once again the prey. In his own mind, no less.
"Older and more experienced shinobi are able to improve their mindscapes through meditation. They build rudimentary walls that protect their mind, gather various knick-knacks as a visual representation of people important to them, important events and so on."
The man steps aside, revealing an altar standing next to the ring of fire.
"You already have a start of it, right here. Not surprising, if you ask me."
With his breath suddenly caught in his throat Sasuke steps up to the simple altar, spotting the single, shredded gunbai-uchiwa displayed on it.
"It's perfectly natural, I assure you."
Staring down at the altar Sasuke lacks the energy to shake off the hand that is gently placed on his shoulder in some sort of attempt at sympathy.
"It speaks to your dedication to them that you have preserved them like this in your mind. What you do need to deal with is that sword over there."
And just like that Sasuke notices the sword just beneath the altar; displayed like an offering, halfway drawn like a promise of revenge.
"I am working on it."
"Not in the way I meant. Revenge is good and all, but it's a double-edged sword. If you do not wield it carefully, you might end up destroying yourself or that which you hold dear."
Sasuke doesn't really care. His clan is dead. All of them. Because of him. If Sasuke has to die to get his revenge, then he will die happy knowing that he at least was the very last Uchiha.
"Now this," the annoying man continues, stepping over to a yukimi-dōrō lantern that Sasuke has somehow missed up until that point, "this is really interesting."
Curious despite himself, Sasuke reluctantly steps forward to study the little lantern, which rests with two legs directly in the ember circle and the third on the darkness that apparently constitutes ground in this place. It's just a hexagonal stone box with a golden fire burning within, with a purple three-sided umbrella.
"What about it?" Sasuke asks at last, failing to see anything remarkable other than the peculiar placement. Such lanterns are usually placed in gardens, near or even partly in water.
"See the engravings in the lantern?"
Squinting a little Sasuke spots it: thin, blue engravings all over the lantern, forming an intricate pattern from the very top and down onto the three legs.
"This lantern here is not a natural part of your mindscape, and my guess is that the chakra in there is not even yours."
At the explanation Sasuke takes a step back before he can collect himself, staring at the lantern with disbelief.
"Exactly. That there is a good reaction."
The man sounds vaguely pleased, as if Sasuke has done something good.
"Unfortunately this thing stands steadily with two legs in your chakra and a third in your mind. Removing it would risk destroying both."
Sasuke grimaces. Kakashi had told him as much about the seal that Orochimaru apparently placed on him, but seeing it manifested like this somehow makes it all that much worse.
"Those engravings are the seal that your sensei put on you. See how they're covering the entirety of the lantern?"
His throat too dry to speak, Sasuke just nods.
"They are preventing the lantern from transforming, from manipulating your mind the way it wants to. But since your sensei's seal was placed after the curse seal, it cannot fully prevent the lantern from reaching into your chakra and mind. It's already there. If you let it, it'll draw power from your chakra."
Crouching down the man swipes at the floor with his open hand, as if removing dust, revealing a purple stain against the dark nothingness.
"And it's already reaching into your mind."
Sasuke looks at the stain, feeling vaguely sick, then over at the altar. It's not that far between the two.
I'll leave you with a parting gift. Come see me if you like it and want more.
The flames flare taller, thicker. The blue carvings on the lantern fizzles angrily. '
"And that is what worries me," the man mumbles.
Then the world twists and turns, almost as if he's falling, and then he's suddenly in the examination room of the Mind Clinic.
Aided by the silvery moonlight, Sakura returns to her previous vantage point, looking out over the bandits' camp, and finds that she's made a potentially fatal mistake.
She'd assumed that the bandits weren't going to move. Because they hadn't moved all day, because they'd been barricading themselves. So she'd assumed that they were preparing themselves to fight.
Turns out they were just biding their time.
They're packing up. Preparing to leave. To sneak away in the cover of darkness.
One of the children is crying and the wounded man is clinging to one of his comrades, clearly begging not to be left behind, but overall they're honestly just surprisingly quiet. And effective. They're just about ready to leave and -
Sakura can't let them.
They have a plan, a course of action and Aimi and Takeshi and the village men are waiting some distance away, ready to charge forward at a sign from her, and Hajime is currently sneaking up on the cave from behind but he'll need more time to scale the cliffs and -
The bandits are leaving.
Hajime won't be able to get there on time. Not unless Sakura does something to stop them from leaving.
They have a plan and it's already failing and it's up to Sakura to figure out how to break the plan just enough not to break it entirely.
She feels like a deer, caught in danger and frozen in place with no idea what to do. Hajime doesn't know that their plan is failing and she can't really contact him, not without risking alerting the bandits to his presence and their plan. Aimi and Takeshi are both waiting with the villagers far enough from the camp not to be noticed, because neither of them are able to keep the transformation jutsu while climbing through the trees like she is. She could go back and ask them for help, but by that time the bandits would have enough time to leave and she wouldn't even know where they'd gone.
So Sakura does the only thing she can think of.
She lets go of the transformation jutsu and pulls out a kunai, allowing the moonlight to catch on the well-polished metal.
Ironically enough it takes several moments before either of the bandits notice anything, but when they finally do they freeze in place and point. Sakura jumps to another tree and repeats the action, imitating a badly hidden ambush. More pointing follows.
Already halfway out of the cave, the bandits scramble to get the children and their loot back into the cave.
Then Sakura realises that she has made another potentially fatal mistake.
Two of the bandits - yes, two - split from the group to jump for the trees, in an unmistakably shinobi-like fashion. Sakura resists the urge to squeal in terror and instead transforms back into a squirrel, quickly jumping over to the next tree and pressing herself against the trunk of it.
Moments later the two men land in the tree she previously occupied. The bandit leader and one of the more wiry men, blades already drawn. Crows flee, cawing angrily.
"Told you it was just some lone Konoha-nin or something messing with us."
"Then where'd they go?"
"Probably tucked their tail between their legs and ran."
Sakura's fluffy little squirrel-tail is, indeed, between her legs, caught between her chest and the tree to make herself less noticeable.
They look around. The second man starts to put away his weapons, and then Sakura's eyes meet with those of the bandit leader.
"Why hello, little tree-rat. Odd to find one of your kind sitting perfectly still like this, isn't it?"
Two pairs of eyes watch her and for a moment Sakura is frozen in place, unable to move or think or do anything. Then the more wiry of the two moves, diving for her, and Sakura runs.
She's got an afternoon's worth of experience running through the trees in her squirrel-form. It's enough for her to be able to confidently get around, but not nearly enough when she's panicked and being chased. Running along a tree branch she leaps as she reaches the end, aiming for a nearby branch but missing by far. Instead she falls, luckily enough able to catch herself on a lower branch, only to have a shuriken almost behead her.
"GET THAT RAT!"
Both of them are after her. Sakura runs, jumps, slides, switches direction and yet the only thing she has going for herself is her much smaller frame, which makes her a harder target. They're both hot on her heels, a hand almost succeeding to grasp her tail before she leaps again.
This time she lands on the ground, allowing the underbrush to swallow her. Her pursuers land a moment later, slashing left and right with their weapons and almost succeeding in cutting her in half. In sheer panic she loses control of the jutsu, shooting back into her regular form.
The two men stare at her in shock for a moment, and then Sakura kicks off against the ground, aiming as high into the trees as she possibly can. Mid-jump she transforms again, using her nimble squirrel-paws to cling on to the bark on the underside of a tree before pushing off again, back the way she came. She shoots past the startled bandits, who've followed her into the air, and a moment later she's on the ground again, diving into the underbrush and transforming again.
She stumbles as she suddenly finds herself in the form of a mouse, her balance off without her tail and the reach of her limbs foreign, but forces herself to use her now tiny frame to push further down into the underbrush, leaving layers and layers of twigs and plants and moss between herself and the two shinobi looking to kill her.
They rummage around, fumbling with their weapons in their search for her. Sakura tries to keep running but her body is so small that she doesn't get far, and then she's almost stomped to death.
The transformation jutsu comes almost on its own, barely a thought of hers and her chakra obeys. Skin and flesh tears easily beneath her tusks, followed by a pained howl, before Sakura abandons the boar-form for the more familiar squirrel, using the superior agility to climb up the bandits chest. He's falling over from the force of her earlier attack, arms flailing wildly, and Sakura kicks off from his shoulder with chakra circling through her legs, the force of it enough that she can clearly hear something break beneath her paws.
She doesn't have the time to stop and orient herself. One of them is down, hopefully, but the leader still remains and -
Yep, a shuriken swishes past her head, close enough to nick her ear. She squeals from the pain, losing control of the jutsu again, and as she shoots back into her real body again a hand grasps her hair, tugging her backwards.
"Got you, you little-"
Panicking she transforms again, back into a squirrel and bites with all that she has. She tastes blood, and with a yelp from the bandit she's free again, rushing up a tree, down the underside of a branch, jumping just before a kunai buries itself where she was just a second ago and -
Is that smoke she smells?
Fuck, that means Hajime has finally managed to sneak up on the bandits from behind and thrown a shitload of smoke grenades into the cave, thereby forcing them to leave or die from asphyxiation, which means that she needs to signal -
The bandit leader appears in front of her, hands outstretched and ready to catch her. Mid-air as she is Sakura can't dodge, but her squirrel-paws-fingers move quickly, her physical seals messy as fuck but her chakra obedient as usual. Tiger-boar-ox-dog-snake. The new jutsu tears her out of her transformed state before her chakra reaches out, and a moment later she's replaced with a log that crashes straight into the unprepared bandit.
Her head spinning from the jutsu Sakura still reaches for her weapons pouch, easily finding the flash bombs and tossing them all around her before she leaps from this tree to the next.
Blinding light explodes all around her as a hand grasps on to her ankle, sending her tumbling to the ground again. Momentarily blinded herself she can do nothing but curl up into a ball, trying to channel the momentum onto a roll as she lands. Unfortunately the hand on her ankle stubbornly remains, following her through the movement.
"Oh, no you won't get away this time!" the bandit growls.
Sakura tries to twist away and then her right arm explodes in pain, pierced by his blade. She cries out, finding herself staring up at the furious face of the bandit leader as he raises his sword to stab again.
A scythe swings over her head, making short work of the bandit leader's exposed throat. A moment later she's covered in blood, reflexively kicking away the body above her only to almost get trampled by a horse.
"Sorry, lill-shinobi, didn't mean to-"
"Sakura!" Aimi calls out somewhere to her left.
Sakura rolls away from the worried horse, finally taking a moment to orient herself.
Somehow she's still close to the bandits' camp, one of the village men looming above her on a horse before Aimi lands next to her, coming from somewhere above her.
"Are you alright?" Aimi asks, grasping Sakura's shoulders.
With a hiss Sakura pulls away, placing a hand over the wound on her upper arm.
Horses rush past her, heading for the camp, where the bandits are now roaring in preparation for battle. The children screams in terror, and Sakura can only watch as the bandits pull the children in front of themselves as shields against the charging village men.
Then Hajime, perched on the cliff above the cave, sends a quick barriage of shuriken towards the bandits' exposed backs. In the roaring confusion two of the children are able to break free entirely, rushing for the relative safety of the forest, while three other children manage to get partially free and continue to struggle against their captors.
The villagers hesitate at the sight of their children but Takeshi - wonderful Takeshi, Sakura thinks - takes one of the bandits out by throwing a kunai into his chest. The child in the bandits arms breaks free with a cry of "Daddy!", rushing for one of the villagers.
"Aimi!" Sakura shouts, and the two rush forward.
Two of the bandits turn against Hajime, raising heavy clubs and swinging them in a deadly trajectory. Sakura sends a kunai in their direction, finding it joined by one of Aimi's, and both kunai hit the same bandit in the back. He falls to the ground and does not get up again.
Hajime dodges the club of the remaining bandit, swiftly jumping further up the cliff to escape out of range of the club. Smoke is billowing out of the cave mouth and he expertly uses it to further hide himself.
Another slew of shuriken emerges from the clouds of smoke, taking down another two bandits and enabling two more children to escape their captors.
Four bandits remain, one of them holding the youngest child up in front of himself as he backs away from the fighting.
"Don't you dare come closer! I swear I'll-"
A couple of the other children, momentarily forgotten in the middle of the fighting, bombard him with fist-sized rocks, their aim as true as that of any farmer's child, and soon he too falls over. Two of the village men finish the job the children started.
Three bandits remain, one still trying to crush Hajime with his club. The other two eye the smoke-filled cave, the armed villagers and finally charge towards Sakura, Aimi and Takeshi.
Aimi and Takeshi both jump the faster of the two, leaving the last one to Sakura. She mirrors them, throwing herself at the bandit. He wields a rusty broadsword but his guard is open enough that Sakura easily passes through, sending them both tumbling to the ground. He's taller and more muscular than her, but her body is still pumping with adrenaline and fear and so they continue to tumble, fighting for the upper hand. Sakura drops a kunai somewhere along the way but that's ok, because the bandit drops his sword as well.
Then his fist finds her hair and for the second time that night her head is pulled back by her hair. She fumbles for another kunai, getting it up just in time to block as he tries to cut her throat with his own knife. Her injured arm sings with pain and she's pretty sure she's losing tufts of hair
"Die, bitch!" the bandit roars.
He yanks on her hair again and the force of it dislocates her blockage of his knife, allowing his knife to pierce her shoulder. Sakura cries out in pain, stars dancing before her eyes. Her injured arm won't obey her anymore and so she reaches for her weapons pouch with her other hand, fumbling for anything stabby but finding paper instead.
Why not? she thinks in desperation, using one blooded finger to pull out a paper tag and slap it onto the nearest body part that isn't her own.
Three seconds later the explosion follows, burning against her thigh but leaving her mostly unharmed. In the confused chaos that follows she's able to roll free, his grip on her having loosened in favour of grasping on the stump that was once a leg.
Gasping for breath, her whole body trembling, she forces herself to a crouching position as she scans the area.
All of the bandits are down; dead or injured. The children have been safely enveloped into a circle of protective villagers. Takeshi and Aimi stand over another downed bandit, and Hajime has just cut the hamstring off of the bandit with the club, rendering him unable to stand again.
Their eyes meet and Sakura breathes a sigh in relief.
They have survived.
The klock ticks quietly. Seconds pass by, turning into minutes.
Still Kakashi sits quietly, his legs still feeling vaguely wobbly and his mind in a disarray. Distinctly wrong. As if someone has rummaged around and tried to put everything back exactly the way it was but not quite succeeded.
It's better than what a less experienced Yamanaka would be capable of, but the feeling is still there.
It's less than ten minutes before Inoichi straightens in his seat again. Sasuke does the same a moment later, his movements more sluggish than before.
"That cursed seal is worrying," Inoichi states.
Kakashi had known as much, but hearing it confirmed is still bad. Somehow foreboding. A shiver runs down his spine at the thought.
"For the time being I am going to clear you for training and D-ranks, so long as you agree to come back to me for additional sessions once a week until I deem it no longer necessary."
Sasuke scowls angrily.
Inoichi glances at Kakashi.
"Will that be a problem?"
"Yes," Sasuke growls. "I won't-"
"Yes, he won't miss it," Kakashi interrupts. "I'll make sure of it."
And for once he's actually determined to work with the Yamanaka.
Maybe Inoichi has a point in that things are changing, whether Kakashi would like it or not.
That night they make camp in the bandits' cave. The children and some of the village men complain, wanting to return to the village as soon as possible, but Hajime insists on them staying the night at least. If nothing else, travelling in the dark might end with them getting lost in the forest.
Sakura and a couple of the villagers stay with the children, trying to comfort them and lull them to sleep, while the other villagers, Aimi, Takeshi and Hajime gather up the dead and wounded bandits. The wounded ones are tied up and tended to so that they won't die before they can be turned over to the authorities in Konoha, while the dead ones are piled together to be burned in the morning. Higher ranked shinobi, Hajime explains, often carry body sealing scrolls with them on missions for these kinds of situations, but genin rarely do, and so they'll have to dispose of the bodies the old fashioned way.
Watching them from the cave mouth Sakura tends to her wounds as best as she can. All in all, she has killed or aided in killing three bandits and wounded another three - of which one is likely to die soon anyway due to his injuries. In total, six of the bandits are dead, one is dying and five are pretty badly but not fatally wounded.
Sakura's hands feel numb, trembling enough that she does a shoddy job of bandaging herself up. It'll have to do for now though. The worst of the bleeding has stopped, the pain has dulled into a throbbing ache and she'll be fine until she can get it properly seen to.
As the children snuggle into blankets, closely guarded by the villagers, Hajime and Takeshi make sure the perimeters of their camp is safe. When they are done they approach Aimi and Sakura, who are by now standing guard over the surviving bandits.
"Well done, back there," Hajime tells them quietly. "You all did very well."
Normally a sucker for praise, Sakura can't help but feel the wrongness of it in this particular situation. They've all killed people. Bad people who would've killed them if they'd had a chance, but still. Her stomach twists uncomfortably, but it's been long enough since she ate anything that there is nothing for her to throw up.
"... Thank you, I guess?" Sakura says at last, when neither Aimi nor Takeshi says anything.
They sit down, watching the moon and the bandits.
"You should all try to get some sleep," Hajime tells them at last. "It'll be a couple of hours yet until dawn breaks. I'll keep watch until then."
Takeshi and Aimi nod, curling up together to sleep. Sakura is still too tense, still processing the last few hours.
Still struggling to convince herself that she's alive.
"Do you need help, tending to your arm?"
Gratefully Sakura nods.
Hajime's hands are gentle as he works, doing a much better job of applying antibacterial salve and bandaging her wounds than she did.
"I'm sorry that your first C-Ranked mission turned out like this," he says quietly. "The first one is usually tough, but … this is worse than normal."
"At least it's not S-rank missing nin."
It's a joke but also not a joke. He gives her a half smile, lightly punching her uninjured shoulder.
"Don't jinx it, Kiddo. We're not back yet."
They sit in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts. The injured bandits shift, uncomfortable with their injuries and tied up as they are. Sakura finds that she has absolutely zero sympathy for them and doesn't move to help.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I didn't mean it." Hajime's voice is quiet but steady. "Kizashi would be proud of you, you know."
"How do you know?"
"Because you're just like him," Hajime smiles sadly. "Except he ran out of luck when he tried to save a girl from getting kidnapped. You did not run out of luck today."
A sund escapes her, something between a laugh and a scoff. "I hadn't thought of that," she admits. "But I suppose there's some kind of symmetry there."
Not really a symmetry Sakura likes though.
"Yeah, I think so. And I know that Kizashi would have been proud of how you handled yourself. He couldn't have done it better himself."
Again they fall silent, watching the sleeping children and the sky.
"What will happen when we get back home to Konoha?" she asks.
"Well," he sighs slowly, thinking, "we deviated from our mission and killed six people. So we'll probably be in trouble. On the other hand, we saved a bunch of kids and brought the other bandits to justice, so it probably won't be that bad."
Sakura lays down on the ground, wrapping her blanket closer around herself.
"I'm not even four months out of the Academy. I don't think it'd be too difficult to take my headband and send me back there."
Hajime leans over to ruffle her hair, mindful of her injured ear. "Don't worry about it, Kid. We'll deal with it when we get there."