Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto


Chapter 36: Spider's Venom

Konoha and his village in the Land of Iron could not be more different if they tried. From the food, the weather, the way people were to how they viewed chakra—polar opposites in every regard. There in the Land of Iron meals only served one purpose: sustenance. Given the cold weather, they had to import a lot of things such as herbs and spices. It made them a luxury, not a necessity. The food was bland, it was heavy. It warmed from the inside and kept starvation away. That was it. In Konoha, people ate for survival, yes but they truly enjoyed eating and preparing different foods. It was an experience. It was something to look forward to.

The people were friendlier in Konoha as well. He supposed that too tied back to the weather. No one stopped in the middle of the constant snow flurries to ask a perfect stranger how they were. They were too busy trying to get from point A to point B to stop for pleasantries. Not freezing to death was a great motivator to do things as quickly as possible.

In Iron, chakra was secondary. It did not matter all that much, the difference between civilian and samurai was not as great as the one between civilian and shinobi. In the Land of Iron, chakra enhanced a way of life; here it was a way of life.

The differences were day and night. But as he stood in the room with wooden benches and tables and the double blackboards he realized that their classrooms looked almost identical. They even smelled the same. He had a sudden urge to grab the erasers and smack them together. It was a task he was assigned often for speaking out of turn in class. He did not even realize that he was grinning until it was pointed out to him by his guide.

"It brings back memories, doesn't it?" Iruka asked in a knowing voice.

"Buried a little further back for some of us." He pointed to the seats. "Were they always this small? I remember them being bigger." He walked over and sat down. "Wow."

"I know. Hard to believe we were ever that little." Iruka looked at the blackboard. In less than a month it would be filled with lessons. "I was really impressed with your demonstration Amo-san. I think there's room to squeeze in one lecture per academy class. If it goes well we can look into making it a monthly or bi-monthly kind of thing?"

Joben nodded. "That would be great. Did you have any feedback on the type of weapons to use for the demonstration?"

Iruka rubbed his chin. "I can take a look at the lesson plans and guidelines for each year and get back to you say next week-ish?" Iruka asked him.

"That works. I'm still at my old address. I thought I'd get the shop downstairs squared away first at least initially before bringing things into the mix. It is taking a lot longer than I anticipated." He scratched his cheek.

"Isn't that how things go with moving?" Iruka commented good-naturedly. "I know when I moved out of my parent's house it took twice the amount of time than I had predicted and I didn't even have all that much stuff!"

Joben chuckled. "I suppose it is a law of the universe. Nothing goes as planned when moving or doing a renovation. Do you know anything about termites?"

"No sorry. Maybe the Aburame clan could be more helpful." He offered helpfully.

Joben made a face. "The bug people?" He asked with apprehension.

Iruka looked at him with a big smile on his face. "Don't tell me you're scared?"

Joben shook his head. "That's one thing I miss about Iron, the lack of bugs and other creepy critters you all have going on around here."

"The cost of warm weather." He said. They took in the rows of classrooms as they walked down the awning that extended over the hallway. "Thank you for fixing the training dummies. The kids will really appreciate having clear targets to hit when school starts up again in September."

"Thank you for taking time out to give me the full tour. I'm sure you have your hands full with preparations for the upcoming school year." Joben's dark eyes scanned the courtyard more out of curiosity than necessity. He may have retired but old habits were hard to kick.

Iruka nodded. "The incoming pre-academy class is a big class. Probably the biggest we've had in years."

"The postwar boom," Joben noted.

Iruka rubbed the back of his head. "I guess you could say that. Hokage-sama's son is part of that class. It's a lot of pressure if he ends up in my class. It's silly, he's a kid. I've known him since before he could talk. I've even babysat him back in March. He's the same kid he's always been but I'm still nervous. I really want to do well and have him like me as a teacher. Not just him but all the students." His gaze landed on the floor. He looked embarrassed.

"That is an admirable goal to have," Joben said with a smile. "He's a good kid."

"He's wild. He and the Inuzuka boy, Kiba. It's going to be a full-time job just to keep them focused and engaged. Otherwise, it is going to be pure chaos." Iruka shuddered.

Joben saw a flash of red from the corner of his eye. He turned his head just in time to see Kushina with Karin and Tukiko in tow enter a room across the courtyard. He frowned.

Iruka followed his eyes. "Ah, I forgot Uzumaki-san was coming in for a tour as well," Iruka said in a spacey tone.

"Is Tukiko enrolling in the academy this fall?" Joben asked Iruka.

"You know them?" Iruka said in surprise. He did not wait for him to answer. "No, it is the younger sister Karin who they are here for. She's enrolled in the pre-academy."

"I see," Joben said distractedly.

"Do you want to go say hello?" Iruka asked him.

Joben shook his head. "It's probably best that I don't, given Tukiko's phobia."

Iruka's eyes softened in sympathy. "Yeah, poor girl. I can't imagine what it must be like."

They watched as Tukiko poked her head out of the classroom. She must have felt their eyes because she looked in their direction. Her dark eyes locked with Joben's. He was surprised that she did not look away. He was emboldened by that fact. He raised his hand and waved to her. She continued to look at him blankly.

He grinned. It was a start.


He found him on the same perch only this time he was surrounded by birds. The ravens were unbothered by the visitor's presence. There was a look in his eye. Itachi already had a feeling he knew where this was headed. He watched the Namikaze lower his frame down on the edge of the building. He brought his hands together. There was no one else around to eavesdrop. Just Wolf.

"I'm taking you off." Minato did not look at him. His blue eyes stared at the mid-morning sun.

"I'm fine. I can handle it." Itachi responded calmly but firmly.

"Itachi," Minato turned to look at him. His stern expression was not unlike his father's. "What happens with this is my responsibility. It is not yours. It was never yours. I will find another way."

"We lost too much time already." Itachi pointed out. "Sending someone new in will only take up the time we do not have at best and raise suspicions at worst."

Minato's cobalt eyes narrowed slightly. "The burden on the decision lies with me."

"The nightmare had nothing to do with any of this." He lied. "I'm fine." He repeated.

Minato looked far from convinced. "Regardless. I will find another way. I was wrong to ask this of you. It's too much for one person. I'm sorry, Itachi."

Itachi could not bring himself to look him in the eye. The Hokage apologizing to him did not sit right with the teen.

"I can do it, Hokage-sama."

"Itachi -" Minato began.

"You can't do it Otosan's way." Itachi's fist curled. He would not be the reason why that path was taken. He felt Minato's eyes.

The surprise slowly left Minao's face. He turned back to look over the village.

"Fine," he said tightly. "But next time there will not be a conversation."

"Agreed," Itachi said with a nod. "But there will not be a next time."

Minato spared him a sidelong glance. "I hope you're right, Itachi."

"And I hope you're right, Hokage-sama."

Minato sighed deeply.


She looked at the list in her hand. She still had so much to do. She had to pick up a ridiculous amount of school supplies before Karin started school in three short weeks. She had no idea just how much stuff they were requesting this year. So much had changed since she entered the academy. She had arrived with her lunch and that was it and she survived.

Kushina knew she was just complaining for the sake of it. She wanted Karin to have a better experience at the academy than she did. It scared her a little how much she saw herself in Karin. She had no doubt in her mind that Karin would level a bully or two if they dared to mock her for her hair or glasses. She was a tough kid.

With each day that passed she was getting closer and closer to the conversation she dreaded having. She needed to tell the girls about the Kyuubi before Karin heard about it at school. Kushina has no doubt that she would. They had been proactive with Naruto. They told him when he turned three and a half.

She would never forget how nervous she was. She was not even that nervous when she held him for the first time or the first time Sakura left him alone with her for an afternoon. Her palms were sweating and itchy. She had sported a sweatstache in early April. Sakura and Minato had been so calm as the three of them sat him down. She did not understand how they were that way, maybe it was because they had nothing to lose really. It was her relationship with the boy that was on the line. She supposed it was just as likely that they had faith in her. It did not matter all that much.

The reason behind their calm did not impact the energy she was putting out there. Her voice had been so shaky. She had explained it to him the best she could. She had stressed that while it sounded scary she was still the same Kushina-Obachan that loved him and that nothing changed. She would never forget the way he had looked before he gave her the biggest hug he could. It had been pure relief. She had nearly cried.

She and Naruto had over three years of history and an established relationship. He did not remember life without her in it. It was different with the girls. They had seen real monsters in the form of Kohana's husband, the Collectors, and even the old woman who exploited them. They only had a few months where they knew each other. She wished she had more time to build their connection before springing it on them but it was important that they heard it from her.

She looked at the bags in her hands. She had been incredibly productive. She did not realize just how much slower she had to move when she had two little girls with her. She was determined to make the most of the half day that she was paying Mako to spend with the girls. She could now afford to keep Mako as a sitter and building manager for the orphanage full-time. Mako was the best pair of hands she could hope for. It would take forever to train someone to be half as good as her.

She reached into the pockets of her pants. She pulled out the small envelope. The letter that A had sent her in response to her goodbye. She turned it over. The seal was still intact; she had yet to open it. She had some time. She had told herself that she was closing this chapter with this version of A in her head but that was before.

Her mind went back to before, when she saw the very hawk she had set off land on a rooftop in Konoha. A was here. It blew her mind. She took a deep breath. Kushina crossed the street. Her eyes locked on the empty bench. The same bench she had made out with Joben on. She sat down. She set the bags next to her.

"It's just a letter, dattebane! Nothing to be scared of!" She gave herself the push she needed to open the seal. She pulled out the folded-up piece of paper. She opened it.

Dearest LP,

I am incredibly happy to learn that the intel was accurate. I understand that your situation has changed. Good luck to you. Do not lose your light.

Forever Yours,

A

She read and reread the letter. She was disappointed. This was six long years, this relationship. A, whoever he was, seemed totally okay with her telling him goodbye. She had felt so much torment at writing goodbye. She had lost many a hair to frustration during the endeavor.

And A was totally fine?! She scowled, the 'forever yours' did nothing to dampen her anger. She was willing to let it go but not after reading this letter. It was insulting. It would have been better for A not to write back at all. At least that way, the depths of A's disappointment could be implied by her. But this letter, this letter was unacceptable.

Kushina set her jaw. She rose up to her feet. She grabbed the bags. She pictured the black roof and white walls of the house the brown hawk had landed on. She was going to find out who A was, just to tell them in person that this was not how you say goodbye.

She was practically seething in anger. It was building with each step she took. It was not right. She deserved better. Their relationship deserved better. She narrowed her eyes. She cocked her fist back. She struck it against the green door four times, loudly. She tapped her foot. She clenched the letter with her hand that was not holding the bags. She muttered unintelligibly to herself. She knocked four more times in rapid succession, her anger and impatience mounting.

She could hear A stir from inside the residence. She squared her shoulders. Her violet eyes were narrowed and ready for confrontation. Kushina kept the glare on her face. The fire turned into ice when they locked onto a familiar pair of onyx orbs just as the door opened.

"Unbelievable," she hissed. Her nostrils flared. "You sick, lying son of bitch." She shoved the letter into his chest so hard that he actually stumbled backward. His face went from surprised, to happy, back to surprised faster than the time it took Kushina to get her sentence out.

Understanding hit Joben harder than Kushina did when he recognized the letter.

"I can explain." He said quickly. "Kushina!"

He reached for her elbow to stop her from walking away. It was a mistake. He landed on his back heavily as he clenched his jaw, he slid a couple of feet on the clean, shiny hardwood floors. His frame squeaked against the floor the whole way. She had landed a clean uppercut.

"I don't want to hear it, I don't have time for your twisted mind games." She dusted off her hands. "I never want to see you again." She was a cool inferno.

Joben was on his feet surprisingly quick, for someone who was probably still seeing stars.

"Will you just listen to me?!" He raised his voice slightly.

She glared at him. The contempt was rolling off of her in spades. If it could be captured and processed they could heat a one-bedroom apartment with it.

"Why would I want to listen to anything you have to say, you bastard?" She asked him with a curled lip.

His eyes went hard. "You owe me. For the tip." He hated himself for invoking it but he did not see any other way. She was not being rational.

She let out a sound that could only be described as a growl.

"You asshole!" She bared her teeth at him. "Fine. You have five minutes. Talk!" She shouted.

"Can we do it inside, please?" He touched his jaw gingerly. She did not feel remotely bad that a bruise was starting to develop. She could see it from underneath the stupid stubble on his equally stupid face.

"Fine, don't touch me!" He held up his hands and took a step back as she pushed past him. She settled on the middle of his couch. She angrily clutched the bags still in her hands.

He walked to the fridge. He pulled out a bag of frozen peas and pressed it to his face.

"Can I get you something to drink?" He called over his shoulder.

"Tick Tock!" Kushina yelled back irately. She tapped her wrist in an obnoxious, exaggerated gesture.

He somehow managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. He came back around from the island and sat down on the loveseat across from her. There was now a coffee table between them. He had no doubt that she could throw it over his head to bludgeon him to death if he said the wrong thing.

He kept the bag of peas pressed to the side of his face.

"I never lied to you." He ignored her scoff and eye roll. "I just did not want to tell you I was A because I wasn't ready. This is not how I intended for you to find out." He began in a smooth, even tone.

She looked like she wanted to claw his face off just for the hell of it. He swallowed and kept going.

"I'm an orphan. I was found by the samurai. They raised me as one of their own. I have no idea about who my parents are or where I came from. I am grateful that I was taken in and raised by a community with honor. They accepted me as one of their own. I can never repay their act." He cleared his throat.

She clung to her anger. She surrounded herself with it. She was not ready to forgive him just because he was an orphan. So was she. So were all the kids she worked with. This guy needed to get in line.

"I could not help but wonder who my parents were. Where I was from. Land of Iron never felt like home. So I took missions when I was old enough. I traveled as often and as much as I could. I've been all over. I started hearing rumors and stories about this woman out of the Land of Fire who reunited children with family or found a family for children. A woman who helped orphans, kids who were just like me." He smiled fondly at the memory.

Kushina listened intently. Everything about his posture, his voice, and his demeanor was honest. She felt herself being drawn in. Her curiosity, unbeknownst to her, was growing to be greater than her anger with each word.

"I was floored. I never thought to do anything like that. I had been selfish. I set off to find myself and define myself and here you were helping kids who had it worse than me. I had the samurai. These kids had no one. So I decided I would do what I could to help you. From my travels, I had many connections. I reached out to them. Told them about this Princess of the Lost, the Lost Princess, and they were eager to help."

"Slowly I built up a network. I learned how to tell a bad tip from a good one, which contacts were reliable and which ones weren't. When I found my first bonafide case I reached out to you. You were pretty famous already. It was not hard to point a bird in the direction of Konoha for the only Uzumaki that lived there. The wait was agonizing. I second-guessed everything from my tone, to my word choice, to the whole thing. You had no reason to trust me. It was then the thought occurred to me that you probably received hundreds of tips telling you all kinds of things. I almost gave up when I did not hear back for two weeks. I wanted to." He looked at his hand. He flipped the side of the pea pack.

"Why didn't you?" Kushina asked him in her normal voice and tone. Her anger was completely forgotten.

"I thought of the kids. They needed you. So I wrote again. This time I included pictures of the children and a map of where to find them. I thought that surely now you could not ignore them; not someone with the heart to start something like this." He smiled with pride at her. "And you didn't. You got them out. You wrote back. Up to that point in my life, I had never been happier."

"I remember. Saru and Maru. The brothers. They are like 15 and 18 now. Can you believe it?" She asked him with a small smile. "They are doing so well."

"Wow," he shook his head. "Now I feel really old." They had been doing this for some time now. He was more hands-off, he did not know what happened to the children once he handed off the intel. Tukiko and Karin were the only exceptions to date.

"I jumped at the chance to come to Konoha when the leader of the Land of Iron was proposing making a treaty with any of the nations. It took some lobbying, but it did not hurt that Konoha has two of the best medics in the world. So then I arrived and the rest you know." He finished. He gingerly poked at his jaw. He set the defrosted bag of peas on the coffee table.

"Why didn't you just tell me who you were?" She asked him, guarded. Her heart was hurting. He played with her emotions.

Joben sighed. His eyes were gentle. "I fell in love with you through letters. Without knowing what you looked like, or sounded like, or were even like, really. I wanted to have an opportunity to meet you semi-organically. Find out who the person behind the legend of the Lost Princess was."

His smile made her heart burst.

"You loved me?" She asked him incredulously. Surely she had heard wrong.

"I did and I do. First I fell in love with your heart because of what you made your life's mission. Then I fell in love with who you are as a person. Your hair, quirks, fists and all."

"You didn't tell me." She said hollowly.

"It was selfish. I wanted to see if you could like me for me. Without the history we shared." He scratched his cheek. She was beginning to recognize that he only did that when he was nervous. He was almost timid as he sat there in front of her bearing his heart. "I pictured you over the years in my head."

"Did I live up to expectations?" She asked him in a small voice. Her heart was beating noticeably in her chest.

"Exceeded them in every way. You're nothing like I pictured. You're so much more." He said with marvel in his voice.

"That's why you did all these crazy things," she muttered more to herself. "You're not a stalker." She thought about it. "I guess you kind of are."

Joben winced. "I was hoping you would find the whole thing endearing and romantic."

She looked at him. "Yeah, let's go with that." She could not take it anymore. He was too far away. She shot up and jumped over the coffee table. Her hair was wild. She threw herself into his arms.

"Damn it, Joben!" She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. She pressed her lips against his firmly, with hunger.

It did not take him long to respond at all. They were a tangle of limbs on the charcoal gray loveseat. Her red hair stood out against it like fire against a dark sky. Joben ignored the pain in his jaw as she slipped her tongue into his mouth. His hands came to find the curves of her backside.

They were wild. They were contained. Kushina pulled back for air.

"You love me?" She asked in a husky voice and looked at him through her lashes. She traced the curve of his nose.

"I do." He looked up at her with eyes so dark that she could get lost in them.

"I should go," Kushina sat up as abruptly as she had tackled him just ten minutes prior.

He looked at her. "Really?" He raised his eyebrows in bemusement.

"It's not like that!" She snapped. "It's just this is clearly headed in a direction, that don't get me wrong, I would not mind at all. It's just I need to go relieve the sitter and I have a million things to do and…and," she looked at him and her mind went blank. She bit her lip.

"You want to wait." He said with a sigh. "It's only been six years in the making right?" He asked her jokingly.

"Right, I'm sorry. I don't want to rush into things. And truth be told I've dreamed about meeting you too. You're the longest relationship I've had," she traced the letter 'A' on his chest. "I don't want to mess this up." She said honestly. Her violet eyes pinned him in place.

He nodded his head. "You should go." He sat up as she climbed off of him.

"Right," she agreed unconvincingly. "Because if I stay here I will end up doing something that I won't regret." She looked at him as she ran her fingers through her hair, conflicted.

He kept the smile he felt from showing on his face. "Right. Because I wouldn't want you to do something that you would not regret."

"What?" She asked him confused.

"Let's wait." He said. His eyes moved slowly to her lips.

"Let's wait." Kushina agreed. She shivered as his fingers moved slowly down her neck. She could not help but think that he smelled so good. "I have time," she said slowly in a distracted manner. The way he was looking at her was making her head spin.

"You have a million things to do still," he reminded her in a low throaty voice.

"So what's one more?" She asked him with a particular look in her eye.

He moved so fast. She had her legs wrapped around his torso and her arms around his neck as he carried her to his room. She kissed him.

"The milk!" She exclaimed with a gasp. "It'll go bad."

"You can take mine." He all but growled out.

"It's bad to waste food," she argued weakly.

"Kushina, let it go." He said forcefully.

"Okay," she said as he claimed his lips again.

She laughed as he dropped her unceremoniously on the bed. She liked the look in his eye. It set a thrill down her spine. She stared appreciatively as he took off his shirt. The bed dipped as he climbed on top of her.

Sometimes it was the unplanned things that ended up being the best part of the day. She definitely did not regret not waiting.


The clock ticked loudly. It was practically deafening.

"Maybe we scared them away." He said without much conviction. He just felt something needed to be said. The silence was starting to feel like it was strangling him.

"No," Minato shook his head slowly. He leaned his forearms against the back of his purple chair. "We can't operate with that assumption." It was a nice assumption but it was fantasy and not reality.

"You're going to give yourself an ulcer, Minato." He was only half-joking. Minato looked haggard.

"That would be the least of my worries." He said with a sigh. "Two separate shinobi infiltrated the village and tried to kill us and both were able to get away. It's unacceptable. It's laughable." His fingers curled into a fist before he stretched them back out.

"The ANBU need a refresher course," Jiraiya said dryly.

He lowered his head into his hands. "It needs a lot more than that."

"What do you need from me, Minato?" Jiraiya asked him earnestly.

"I need you to stay alert and keep an eye out." He swallowed thickly. "I need you to be ready."

"What else is going on?" Jiraiya's eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the lines of Minato's face.

"Something you will never know if things work out." Minato looked down at his hands. "I need you to not hesitate and to not be the reason why I hesitate." His eyes were practically navy. "I need you to not stand in my way."

Jiraiya ran tongue along the bottom row of his teeth. "That's asking quite a lot of me."

"I know," Minato directed a smile that lacked warmth at him. "But it would not be the first time."

Jiraiya's expression became as cold as stone. "You have my word," Jiraiya said in a voice tight with conviction.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei." There was gratitude etched in every feature.

Jiraiya nodded his head. A lump was firmly lodged in his throat.


She looked up from her paperwork for the umpteenth time. She twirled her pen anxiously. Spider was watching her. She was always watching her. The only time Spider was not watching her was when she was with a patient and that was only because Sakura set her foot down. She did not need any help in discouraging people from coming into the hospital. The whole village was lousy with the avoid-doctors-like-the-plague mindset.

She scratched the top of her scalp with her index finger. She looked up again. Yep, Spider was still watching her. She looked back down and feigned interest in the documents in front of her. It was the yearly budget proposal for the next year. She was asking Minato for yet another thing. Her eyes wandered to Spider again.

"Is there something you'd like to say, Sakura?" She asked breezily. There was a touch of amusement in her voice.

"It's none of my business," Sakura said quickly. She added a zero to the total requested amount.

"As if that ever mattered," Spider said dryly. Sakura hated her voice. It was so damn pretty. She could only imagine what her face looked like under the mask.

"Your mother," she began. She put the pen behind her ear. "You mentioned that you wanted to set a better example for your daughter than she did for you. Were you referring to the affair?" It was a touchy question but Spider was the one to overshare.

Spider shook her head. "No. It was because of the work she did when I was growing up." She said in a distant voice.

Sakura furrowed her brows and frowned. "Being a midwife is a respected occupation."

Spider sighed. "When word got out that she was a husband stealer, which was inaccurate to be fair, no one wanted to hire her. No one wanted her near them." Spider picked a piece of lint off of her gloved hand.

Sakura leaned back and tilted her head to the side. The spot where her band held her low ponytail together, rubbed against the back of her chair.

"So what did she do?"

"She ended up working for a seedier client base: prostitutes. She helped deliver babies, give prenatal care, abortions - basically whatever they needed or wanted." Spider said flatly. Sakura detected the undertones of resentment. "A brothel is no place to bring a child." She added bitterly.

"I'm so sorry." Sakura meant it. It took two to make a baby. Two consenting adults in this case but only one took responsibility.

Spider shrugged. "My mother did what she had to. We were ostracized. She aligned herself with the members of society that were also shunned. She made it work."

"Still, it must have been really hard," Sakura said.

"Not any harder than growing up knowing that my father never knew I existed," Spider said off the cuff.

Sakura flinched. Spider's tone had been impassive but Sakura felt the sting anyway. She was privileged. She had both parents well past her childhood. It was an anomaly, something that she took for granted. To know the love of a father and a mother. Not many of her peers had that. Sometimes she forgot that.

"Minato was raised by a single mother too. His mom was a widow. I can't imagine what either of your mothers went through raising their child alone." Sakura said softly.

Spider nodded. "He told me."

Sakura kept the surprise off her face. Her stomach churned.

"He told you?" She asked with forced neutrality.

"A while ago." She answered in a light tone oblivious to how the air around Sakura became heavy.

"Oh," Sakura said simply. Her insides began to crumble with the ramifications of Spider's innocent admission. It was not that Minato did not want to talk. It was that he did not want to talk to her, specifically. He had no qualms about opening up to Spider. Jealousy spiked in her along with uneasiness and restlessness. She looked down at the paper in front of her. She zoned out.

There was a lot she did not know. Apparently, there was a lot that she overlooked. But she was a fast learner. And she had just come to learn that Spider was not her friend. That much she did know.


"Uh, Kakashi…." Her tone was layered with a lack of confidence. "I don't think that goes in there."

Kakashi grunted from the exertion. "Shizune, trust me, it's in the right spot."

"If you say so," she said in between breaths. She kept her mouth shut as she followed his lead. "Is there supposed to be so much resistance?" She could not help but ask.

"I just haven't found the right angle yet." He pivoted his hips slightly and moved closer to her.

She moved along with him. Her head banged against the wall. "Ouch!"

"Sorry!" He apologized quickly. "Are you okay?" He looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"I've been hit harder," Shizune rubbed the bump that was surely to form on the back of her head. It was nothing compared to one of Tsunade's 'taps'.

"I think we should take a break." He used his forearm to brush the sweat from his brow.

"I agree, I'm not having a good time."

"On three. One, two, three." He counted down. They both set down the ends of the wooden pieces of the bed frame they were holding.

Shizune let out a sigh as she looked at the three planks of wood that were haphazardly connected together but not at 90-degree angles. She slowly raised her eyes to his.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "They're not in the right spot."

"Huh," she said with feigned surprise.

Kakashi sighed. He held out the sheets of paper begrudgingly. Shizune took the instructions from him wordlessly. She scanned them with her dark eyes. She lowered the paper back down and stared at the pieces waiting to be assembled.

"How much time do we have before they get back?" She asked him calmly.

"Forty-five minutes."

"Okay," she put her hands on her hips. "Forty-five minutes to assemble two beds. Should be doable." They had already disassembled the queen that was in the room and moved it outside of the room.

"Tell me what to do," he looked at her expectantly.

Shizune could not help but smile. It did not last long as she looked back at the instructions. Her face was a picture of seriousness.

"See that part right there?" She pointed to a panel that was on the right. "It needs to go into this part right here. There should be wooden screws already in there that it clicks into place with. That will form half the frame. There are screws on the back of the backboard plank that will need to be tightened. Then we repeat the same thing for the other half." She looked up from the paper.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked him with a puzzled look on her face.

He took her in with crinkled eyes. "I'm just really glad you're here."

She felt the heat rush to her face. "Um…okay then," she looked back at the paper. She cleared her throat. "Let's not waste any time. Karin-chan and Tukiko-chan will not be sleeping on the floor tonight if I can help it."

"Yes, ma'am." Kakashi moved toward the panel she had pointed out. Shizune was there next to him. He inserted his end into the one she was holding up.

Shizune looked up at him with a smile on her face and an intense look in her eye.

"I'm really glad you asked me to be here." She said in a low voice.

She stilled the restlessness that he felt inside of him. She was steady and he was drawn to that. He found himself thinking that he wanted to build more than just a couple of beds with her.


Tsunade ignored the atmosphere of the room. She was used to all kinds of climates when performing one of these exams. Not that she performed many now but she had done her fair share in the past. She was used to tension and awkwardness usually from two strangers who decided to have some fun maybe not always responsibly. She could always tell the one-night-stand-turned-into-a-lifetime-commitment couple, apart from the happy-to-be-here couple and the we-used-to-like-each-other couple. It was a gift. She could do it within a span of thirty seconds and that was just her being humble. She really only needed five.

She looked at the couple in front of her and she did not know what to think. They were trying so hard to pretend that things were not weird that they were making it very weird. It did not impact her ability to do her exam. She was a professional. She was rock solid. Nothing could faze her. That was the medic in her. The woman in her, the one who cared deeply for the pinkette and mostly tolerated the blond, was growing more concerned. She hardly recognized the couple in front of her. She recognized both of them individually but who they were together was something new entirely.

"Okay. We are nearing the home stretch here." She looked at Sakura. "How are your energy levels now?"

"Better. I'm not sleepy all the time. No more brain fog and lack of focus. I feel pretty close to normal." Sakura answered the question in a rehearsed response. "I also haven't fainted in over nine days."

Tsunade nodded. She looked at Minato. He looked torn between hovering and standing against the wall. So he picked neither option and stood an awkward distance from both. It was a far cry from their first time around when he insisted on holding Sakura's hand. She was fine but Tsunade was convinced that Minato needed it more for himself than anything.

"Do you have anything to add?" She asked him.

Minato felt both their eyes. "No. She looks better. Not as pale or sickly. She's also not as out of breath. Less forgetful."

Sakura looked at Tsunade. "You could have just asked me."

Tsunade regarded her. "I could have but it's more fun this way." She looked at both of them. "Are you ready?"

Sakura nodded. She tucked an arm behind her head as Tsunade rolled up her top. The pink-haired medic watched closely as Tsunade's glowing hands poked and prodded her extended stomach. She craned her neck.

"Sakura," Tsunade called out in a light tone. "What are you doing?"

Sakura looked at her demurely. "Nothing."

Tsunade did not miss the way her eyes darted to Minato. The blondes exchanged a look. She let it go. She focused back on her task at hand. She stood back.

"Okay, everything is fine."

They both looked relieved at the news. Sakura pulled down her white shirt over her stomach.

"Get whatever out of your system now because the no-sex window is approaching fairly soon." Tsunade looked at them. They pointedly avoided looking at each other. She had meant it mostly as a joke to lighten the mood but maybe she should have left well enough alone.

"Thank you, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said as she sat up.

Tsunade watched wordlessly as the pinkette lowered her feet onto the ground. She had done so without accepting the help that Minato was offering. She watched them leave the room without so much as looking at each other, much less touching. Her sense of unease only deepened.


Uito picked up the wallet that had fallen to the ground. He dusted it off and handed it to the older man in age. He was visibly shaken.

"It's alright." He said gently. He smiled disarmingly.

"I don't want trouble." The man said. His hazel eyes darted to the wallet in his outstretched hand. He looked over Uito's shoulder at the teen who had stolen it. He was sitting on the curb with his hands behind his back.

"He won't bother you again, sir," Uito assured him. The man slowly reached out and took the faded black leather wallet.

"Thank you, officer." The man put it in his back pocket. He dipped his head in gratitude and hurried off.

Uito turned his attention to the teen. He was glaring at the ground. His jaw was clenched. He was stewing in indignant anger. His teal-green hair matched his eyes.

"Get up," Uito said gruffly.

The teen pressed his tongue to his cheek but he got up slowly. He never looked up from the ground.

"Turn around," Uito repeated the command in the same tone.

The teen hesitated but he ultimately complied. Uito took out a kunai and cut his restraints in one swift motion. The teen began to rub his wrist instantly. He turned around. He stared at Utio with barely discernible confusion.

"Why did you steal?" Uito asked him.

The teen scoffed. "For fun," he said in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

Uito took in his dirty hair, face, and clothes. "When was the last time you ate?" He asked him.

The teen smirked. "It looks like you haven't skipped a meal ever, huh, Big Boy?"

Utio sucked his teeth. "Answer the question, kid."

"I haven't been a kid since my parents died." The teen shot him a dirty look. "Throw me in jail. I don't need to answer you."

Uito sighed. "If I do that you'll never be able to find a job and turn your life around."

"What of it?" The teen shot back. "I'll just get arrested again. They give three meals in the slammer don't they?"

"Is that your grand plan? Just keep getting arrested so that you have a roof over your head and food in your stomach?" Uito asked him in a rough tone.

The boy narrowed his eyes. "It's better than starving out here in these streets."

"There is another option," Uito said patiently.

"Oh yeah? What?" The teen shot back.

"I can help you find a job," Uito said.

The teen looked at him in disbelief. "Keep dreaming. I'm never going to be a cop!"

Uito rolled his eyes. "You couldn't be one even if you wanted to. You're not an Uchiha."

The teen seemed to deflate. "What then?"

"I know some people." He pulled out his card. "Go to the sushi restaurant near the ramen stand. Tell them I sent you. They'll get you squared away. Be there at 8 in the morning, sharp. They'll provide meals and give you the uniform. If you work hard, you'll be standing on your own two feet in no time. Don't be late. And don't steal from them."

The teen looked at him taken aback. He stared at the card as if it was going to bite him.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked suspiciously.

Uito sighed. "Just take the card, kid."

"Not until you tell me why." The teen crossed his arms in petulance.

"You had a rough go of things. I'm just trying to help out." Uito said honestly.

The boy narrowed his eyes. "But you're an Uchiha. Isn't helping someone like me beneath you?"

His lips twitched downward. "Don't believe everything you hear." He flicked the card. "Do you want it or not?"

He stared at the card. He took it slowly. There was dirt deeply embedded in his nails.

"I won't be late."

"Good." Uito nodded. "Come with me." He said firmly.

"What? Are you arresting me?" The teen asked incredulously. "After all that?"

Uito let out a frustrated grunt. "You need food now and a shower. You can't show up to work tomorrow looking like that. Come on, I know a place where you can get cleaned up and then I'll get you a meal."

The teen looked at him. "Really?"

"Really," Uito said.

"You're not some kind of creep are you?" The teen asked him.

Uito threw up his hands. "Forget it." He stalked off.

"No wait! I take it back." The teen followed after him. "I want your help!"

Uito shook his head. He had signed up for the Police Force to make a difference. On days like today, he thought maybe he was.


"The antidote worked?" He looked between Wolf and Shikaku.

Wolf nodded. "It did but news of its existence needs to remain in a tight circle."

"I agree. We still do not know which of the four is responsible, correct?" Mintao looked at Wolf.

Wolf shook his head. "No. I have narrowed it down to two. With the shifting focus, it was slower going than I would have liked." Wolf said with a touch of frustration.

"No, it's great that you've managed to do this much with how stretched thin you have been. Thank you, Wolf." Minato said with sincerity.

Wolf said nothing. "I'll keep working on the two leads."

Shikaku looked at Wolf. "How close are they to recovering Bat's memories?"

"Not close. Tsunade-sama is keeping him under to prevent him from waking up. His brain is pretty scrammed still. She thinks it would be too distressing for him to wake up and not remember who he is. Yamanaka-san is trying to make sense of what he can. But from what I understand it is too fragmented to be of much use." He finished with a small sigh.

"Do Salamander and Crane know about the antidote?" Minato asked him in a low tone. He ran his thumbnail along his jawline.

"No. Just Yamanaka-san knows." Wolf responded matter-of-factly.

He sighed. He did not have to say it. They both knew how important it was to apprehend the person responsible. His eyes darted to Naruto. He was taking his afternoon nap. The swim sessions in the morning were tiring him out. His mind was swirling with all the ways things could play out. The pangs in his gut did not help one bit. It only served to fuel the intrusive thoughts.


She sighed in frustration. She was in a foul mood. She looked at the demanding blue eyes staring back at her. She was not the only one.

"No, Naruto." She repeated.

She knew that he wanted to spend time with her. Because of their arrangement, she was seeing less of him during the day. He missed her just as much as she missed him. She knew that she should be grateful, that one day would come when he would stop asking her altogether but there was a mountain of things that needed to be done. She simply did not have the time or the energy.

"I want to go to the park!" Naruto stomped his foot.

"I said no, Naruto." Sakura held firm in her stance.

"But I want to play!" Naruto said in a voice that was both too loud and too high. It was hitting all the wrong spots in her brain. A migraine was starting to form on the right side of her head.

"Mama is doing something right now, maybe later." She sighed as she moved by him. She dusted the wooden surfaces as she walked. The house was in a state of disarray. It was starting to make her anxious. Well, even more anxious.

"Mama, I want to play with you, now!" He moved to stand in front of her. He extended his arms. "Pick me up, please."

"Naruto, you know I can't pick you up anymore." She patted him on the head as she moved by. She gathered the toys that were littered about. "Why don't you help me clean up? Doesn't that sound like fun?" She asked him without much enthusiasm. "We can play the clean-up game."

Itachi had just entered the space. He went to the sink and filled a glass with water.

"No!" Naruto pouted. He huffed as she put all his toys away in the toy basket. No sooner had she turned her back he emptied out the entirety of the basket.

"Mama, play with me!"

"Naruto," she closed her eyes and counted to three. "Put those toys back in the basket."

"No!" He ran to the couch.

Sakura all but threw the toys back in the basket with force powered by her growing anger.

Naruto climbed onto the couch. He began to jump up and down.

"Look! Mama!"

"Naruto, you know you're not supposed to be jumping on there. Get down." She said firmly. A sharp pain in between her eyes caused her to wince. She pressed a fingertip in between her brows.

He continued to laugh loudly and he jumped on the cushions. The couch creaked and moaned every time he landed on it. It scraped across the tiled floors with each jump. She brought her hands to her temples.

"Get down, Naruto." She said with closed eyes and gritted teeth. "You could get hurt."

"No!" He said cheekily in glee. It was a game to him. She brought her hands to the back of the couch.

"I'm Jumpy the Jumping Frog!" He let out a jovial shriek. "Jumpy! Jumpy! Jumpy!"

Each utterance was yet another searing nail being driven into her brain.

"Naruto, please be quieter." She closed her eyes in an attempt to slow down the severity of the migraine.

"No!" He shouted in defiance at an even louder volume.

She felt something snap.

"Stop it right now, Naruto!" She yelled at him. He instantly froze. He stared at her with fear in his eyes. She realized her mistake. Her eyes widened in horror at her actions. She registered her raised fist in the air, poised, ready to strike. Ready to strike her four-year-old son.

"I'm so sorry," she said in a soft voice. She quickly lowered her arm back down.

Naruto shook his head. He took a step back. He nearly lost his balance. He looked terrified. His eyes darted behind her. She turned around to see Itachi watching her with something unreadable in his eyes. The guilt grew tenfold.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." She did not move from her spot. She was worried that he would run away from her and that would truly devastate her.

"I raised my voice. I raised my hand. I shouldn't have." She said gently. The headache was now head splitting but she pushed through. "Mama would never hurt you." Her voice broke.

There were tears starting to swim in Naruto's eyes. His bottom lip was shaking slightly. She did not mean to use such a harsh tone on Naruto. It was true he had been disobedient but that did not warrant or justify her behavior.

She saw her opening. She moved to him. She wrapped her arms around him. He let out a wet sob.

"I'm sorry for not listening, Mama," Naruto said tearfully as he hugged her back.

"I'm sorry for yelling, Baby." She whispered into his soft hair. Her palm cupped the back of his head. "I'm sorry for scaring you." She had scared herself. "Mama would never hurt you."

"I'm so sorry." She repeated, waiting both for him and her frantic heartbeat to calm down.

She had no idea where all that rage came from.


She watched the fan spin. It was on the fastest setting. It was better at making more noise than it was at cooling the space. Today had been an awful day, the kind where nothing went right. Her conversation with Spider had left her shaken. She could not stop thinking about what the woman said. They had been talking. It bothered her immensely. Here she was waiting for Minato to broach the topic of the aftermath of the hearing thinking that he needed more time and space all the while he had been talking with Spider for Kami knows how long.

It did not make any sense to her. Why would he be talking to someone else, a woman, no less, about things like his mother? She knew that was not something Minato brought up willy-nilly. Hell, she learned more about her in one conversation with Jiraiya than she did over the course of months of being with Minato.

He was talking to Spider. All the while she was begging him to let her in, while he assured her that she had nothing to worry about. She could not stop her brain from wondering what else they talked about. Did they talk about what was clearly bothering him? Did he let her in? Did he tell her what he was afraid of? Did he tell Spider things that he felt he could not tell her?

She was hurt. She was angry. She did not know how Minato could do this to her. All she wanted was for him to tell her what was weighing him down. She wanted to help ease his burden. She wanted to share it. That was what being a partner meant to her. She just wanted him to talk to her. That was it.

But he was too busy doing it with someone else to brother with her. It made her question everything. What was worse was Spider was taunting her this whole time! She came in with her charm and sultry voice and got her sympathy. She got Sakura to drop her guard. She let down her walls thinking the woman was her ally. She felt sympathy for her. All the while the woman plotted to ruin her life. She had all but announced that she would take her husband.

Sakura's stomach turned. She had been a fool to trust her even if it was for a short time. She should have stuck to her gut and kept her at arm's length. The woman was trouble. The problems in her life all started right around the time she found out about her existence.

Minato was not acting like Minato. She had been living with a man who sounded, looked, talked, and smelled like her husband but something had been off with him for months now. She could not even remember the last time he had initiated touch when it was not out of necessity. He had been cold and distant. He had been short with her. Sakura thought back to the way Minato's eyes had looked when he yelled at her. There was nothing behind them. Nothing was held in them for her. She did not recognize them. There was no familiarity or warmth in them. A warmth she was accustomed to seeing. That was not him.

She was not herself today. She had nearly lost control. Today she had come too close to doing something she could not never take back. She almost put her hands on her son. That was not her. That could not be her. She did not know what that was. She kept seeing his terrified face in her head every time she blinked. Never. Never had she come this close to losing her cool, to losing her control of her anger around Naruto. He was just a kid and he was being a kid. Sure, he was being difficult but that did not warrant her reaction. She had overreacted. She had almost done the unthinkable.

They were both not themselves.

She furrowed her brow. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as her brain worked faster and faster to move the pieces around. Spider was the problem. The ANBU, the one they were searching for, was her. She was the only one with the means to do so. She had access to knowledge. She was in the room during the Clan Council meeting. She heard and saw all. She had access to Bat, she had access to Sakura, she had access to Minato. She could have placed her seals on them at any time.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. Spider had just touched her not even a week ago. She could have put the seal on her then! She could have put a seal on Minato anytime before or after. The more and more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Spider, the woman who was taxed with protecting her, was the one trying to kill Minato. She framed Bat. She was messing with Minato's mind. She was the one that pushed Sakura to this point.

She turned to face the wall. She could not tell Minato. Not until they figured out the seal, not until he had taken doses of the antidote. She could not risk Spider catching on and doing to his brain what she did to Bat's. Sakura closed her eyes. She could not let Spider catch on to her. She would have to keep her close. She would need help. She could not give Minato the antidote where Spider was. It took time to build immunity. Minato would need to take it for at least a week. Then there was the seal.

She bit her lip. She willed her breathing to slow. She was being watched. She would have to be careful. The life of her husband depended on it. She was holding his brain hostage. It explained everything that had been going on with Minato lately. It made sense. She was filled with a mix of relief and dread. Minato did not really think those things about her. Minato was not pushing her out willingly. They were being pulled - forced - apart. It was all Spider's fault.

It was Spider. Spider was the traitor.


A/N: Thank you all to those who reviewed, favorited and followed. It makes me happy. :). If you can spare a moment and share your thoughts. Please and thank you!