Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 11: The Woven Web

Flashback

She was tired but it was a good kind of tired. It was the kind of tired she did not mind at all. Yesterday had been unexpected, spontaneous, and completely satisfactory. Yesterday might just be her new favorite day ever. It was one of many good days to come. There was a sense of tranquility that she felt that she was not expecting. She had just woken up and realized the feeling right away.

She knew he loved her. He had not wavered once since that day he showed up in her office after the invasion all those years ago. She knew it just by the way he looked at her. She thought it would be a formality of sorts, nothing more. A document did not define their relationship or alter their commitment. She thought it was just something that made sense, nothing more or nothing less.

She was wrong. She felt different. The smile on her face was threatening to stay there until the unforeseeable future. She was his and he was hers. They were husband and wife and that fact made her so incredibly happy. It was unbelievable how something that did not even take twenty minutes had such a profound impact.

She pulled the covers around her. The cool morning air was caressing her skin and she wanted no part in it. Sakura sat up. Their own little bubble had been nice, really, really nice. It was warm, safe, and oh-so-fun. It was just the two of them. She never wanted to leave but the world was not just the two of them. They had responsibilities and commitments beyond the ones they had to each other. They were in high demand. Time was finite and that was what made yesterday all the more precious for her.

She bit her lip as she felt his calloused fingertips move up along her spine. Before the warmth was gone completely from his touch, his lips reignited the area. Her eyes slipped closed. He was making it very hard to remember what she was thinking about just now.

"Sakura," he rolled each syllable off his tongue slowly. He knew what he was doing. The kind face and eyes were a trap. He was diabolical.

Her eyes snapped open when she felt a pair of arms tether themselves around her waist.

"Minato, no!" She protested weakly as she felt herself being pulled back. Her laughs probably did her no favors. Even she could not take herself seriously. "We have work to do." She reminded him as his arms pulled her closer to him. She was trapped. She blew a strand of pink from her face. Her hair, much like their night, was wild and free.

She told herself maybe it was not so bad. Of all the places to be imprisoned, her bed was not the worst. She lazily rolled her eyes to look at him. And of all her captors he certainly was the most pleasant to look at.

"No work talk." She did not like the look in his eyes. It made her toes curl. His voice was messing with her head. She was convinced he was purposely doing that to keep her distracted enough that she could not plot her escape. If worse came to worse she could always fall back on her strength. She had not been a wife long but even she knew that it was usually frowned upon to do bodily harm to one's spouse. Especially on the first day.

"The hospital needs me." She muttered as she tried desperately to ignore the trail of tingling skin he left with his lips as he made his way up her neck.

"Tsunade can manage for one day." He said dismissively. His breath was hot against her skin.

"Maybe." She turned in his arms. The sheets pulled around her. She pinned him with her no-nonsense look. "But the village can't manage without you."

"The village will understand if I'm a little late." He kissed her before she could get a word in edgewise. He did not fight the satisfaction he felt as she responded eagerly despite the front she was putting up.

Her mind went blank as she curled her fingers in his hair. He was too close. He smelled too good. He was so solid against her that she completely forgot - wait. Her eyes opened.

"No way." She pulled away from him. The frustrated groan that left his throat was very much not the sound he wanted to make. Her eyes were clear and her brain was free of the muddle he caused. "I will not have the village think that I'm the reason why you're late. You're not pinning this on me."

She was not dumb. He was being sneaky. He almost got his way. She had almost set a horrible precedent for herself.

He propped himself up on his elbow. His blond brow was arched upwards. "But you would be the reason. I think we've earned a pass this one time. No one expects me to be on time the day after I got married."

She rolled her eyes. "Except no one knows that." The statement was not entirely true but it helped her case.

"It won't be long before they do. Want me to shout it from the monument?" He asked her in a teasing tone.

She rolled her eyes. "As if you'd do that," she could not picture it. It was too ridiculous.

"I'll do it if it gets to stay in bed with me," he said huskily. "I tell the village that I got married yesterday to the most stubborn woman on the face of the earth. Then no one will expect anything from me for the rest of the day."

"All the more reason to not be late. You're all about exceeding expectations. It's your thing." She grinned at the annoyed look on his face.

He flopped onto his back. Sakura thought that he was being rather dramatic. "Go to work. I'll be here when you get back, husband." She kissed the corner of his mouth before she peeled herself off of him to sit at the edge of the bed where she had a little more clarity. Husband. She was still not used to calling him that. Her lips tingled. She looked around the room.

She bit her lip as an idea occurred to her. She looked back at him over her shoulder.

He must have felt her eyes because he lifted his arm and looked at her with a curious look in his blue eyes.

She traced circles on the mattress. "I was just thinking…" her face was darker than her hair.

He continued to give her his undivided attention. "You were just thinking what?" He prompted her. He searched her face with an intensity that set a fire in her that she never wanted to be put out.

"We both need to shower," she tilted her head to the side. Her pink hair fell over her shoulder. Her eyes darted to the bathroom.

She barely had time to react after the presence of an impish smile appeared on his face.

"Minato!" She laughed as he carried her over his shoulder. He was not called the Yellow Flash for nothing. She was thankful that he knew when to take things slower where it mattered.

End Flashback

He hissed as the chakra made contact. His skin burst open as it sliced through the tendons. Raven-colored eyes widened. The man leaped back. "I thought you'd dodge that." Accusation colored his tone.

Minato held his arm. The blood spilled through his hand. He frowned. "You were bound to get lucky eventually." He grumbled.

Joben shook his head. "You're distracted." He winced. "You should probably have someone take a look at that."

Minato shrugged his only working shoulder. "It's fine. You didn't hit anything major." He pulled off his sleeve. He used it as a makeshift tourniquet around the wound. He used his teeth to help tie it securely in place. It was not pretty. But it would have to do until he found a medic that could take it from here.

Joben frowned. "Not through lack of trying. I was able to pull back just in time. If I hadn't you could have lost that arm."

Minato sat on the grass. Joben joined him. The blond tossed his kunai in the air. He looked like he was being tormented by something or the other. The samurai cleared his throat. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked carefully.

Minato chuckled dryly. "Just have a lot on my mind."

"Troubles at home?" He asked as he cleaned the blood from his katana. He frowned as it dripped down on the blades of grass like crimson rainwater.

Minato shot him an inquisitive look.

Joben shrugged easily. "I have eyes. That day at the hospital, that tension had more than just a professional undertone to it."

The blond shook his head. He should have known. Joben was exceedingly observant. "I didn't think we were that obvious."

Joben grinned at him. "Maybe not. Naruto-kun looks just like you. I ran into the two of them a while back. I had my suspicions. The day at the hospital, the math just added up."

"Ah," there was that pesky detail. He had forgotten Sakura mentioned that to him in passing. "I wouldn't call it troubles. We haven't been in sync for a while now. Lately, it just feels like whatever I do is the wrong thing."

His admission left Joben scrambling for what to say. If there even was something that he could say that would help.

"Have you considered telling her that?" From where he stood it could not hurt to share.

"Hm," Minato made a noncommittal sound. It was easier said than done. He did not even know where to begin.

"Why do you hide that you're married?" The slightly perplexed look that donned Joben's face was discernible in his tone.

Minato's eyes flashed to him before they were focused on the kunai. He caught it. "We both have a lot of enemies. If it stayed quiet it couldn't be used against us. That was the thought anyway."

The thought had never occurred to him. He never had to truly consider it before. "What a world we live in." He commented solemnly.

Minato made a sound of agreement. "Makes me wonder if we're crazy to bring another life into this all."

Joben watched the man closely. "You're not saying…" he stopped himself from asking the question. The conversation was veering down a path that he was not prepared for.

Minato shook his head. "No. Never. I don't regret it. I just wonder if the timing could have been better. There's so much going on right now. I feel like I'm being pulled into two different directions and I can't give either of my responsibilities what they deserve."

Joben scratched his chin. "I don't know much - if anything - about running a village or being a father. If you spend all your time planning and waiting for the right time, life will pass you by. Maybe there is no such thing as the right time. You just make it work regardless of the circumstances." He put his arms on his raised knees. "And as for the former thing, all we can do is our best. That is the most anyone can do. Learning to live with it is the hard part. No one has any, much less all, of the answers."

There was a reflective look on Minato's face. Joben looked at Minato uneasily.

"Mind if I ask you something?"

The blond gestured for him to continue. "After all that sagely insight, I'd say you earned it." The easy grin was back on the Hokage's face.

"What about her made you choose Haruno-san?" He pointedly fixed his gaze off to the horizon. While he had managed to work up the courage to ask the question, he did not have to look at him as he did.

Minato laughed. "It wasn't really much of a choice."

Joben looked at him with confusion marring his features. "What?" His mind jumped to a conclusion. He thought it would be best not to voice it.

Minato's expression softened. "It really was not an active choice. It just happened. There were exigent circumstances. I was asked to help her. She ended up helping me more than even she realizes, I'm sure. She drove me crazy. Crazier than anyone I've ever met. She challenged me on everything it felt like. She pushed me to extremes that I've never felt before. It felt like I was this completely different person."

Joben held his tongue. He was not an expert. He was perpetually single. So maybe he was missing something. But what Minato described did not sound like the healthiest of things. Minato spared him a knowing look.

"It took me a while to realize that I'd rather be that crazy person, that stranger, and be with her than be the person I was without her. And like everything else, she fought me on it." He chuckled as he thought back. "But in the end, things worked out and I would do it all again. In a heartbeat. My world would be a lot smaller had she not come around."

Joben shook his head in disbelief. "So you had no choice in the matter then?"

"I had no choice in who I fell in love with. But I do choose to be with her every day. I choose to stand by her no matter how crazy we drive each other or how much we don't see eye to eye. I choose to want to be in her life. And I'll keep choosing her until the day I die. So I guess there is a choice."

"I think I understand." Joben cleared his throat. He was not used to the openness of these Konoha shinobi. He grew up with the mindset of keeping your thoughts and feelings inside where they belonged.

Minato spared him a small smirk. "Do you need to hit something to balance everything out?" He was used to it. His wife and child loved to talk. It was an adjustment at first. He remembered the early days. It took a lot of convincing for Sakura to believe that he was capable of thinking about absolutely nothing at all. That, not all his silence was bad.

Joben shook his head. His eyes became more clear. He looked at the kunai that Minato was still tossing in the air. "Don't keep me in suspense any longer. Is that one the winner?"

Minato caught the kunai. He held it in his hand. It was lighter than he was used to. The slight difference in weight was enough to throw him off. It was the heaviest of the three kunai that Joben had presented him. It was the closest to what he needed. He nodded.

"Great. I can make more now that the materials are here." Joben looked at the outstretched hand. Minato was offering him the kunai. "Hang onto it. I know which one it is."

The blond nodded. He put it away in his kunai holster. He would need to create seals once Joben had the batch ready for him. "How did the overview with Rin and Shizune go?" He asked.

"Well," Joben put the katana blade back in its sheath. "They are really passionate about it. I'm really impressed." He paused. He watched the Hokage from the corner of his eye. "How did you find the shipment?"

"There were no surprises." He stated simply. His blue eyes locked onto a cloud in the sky. Shikaku was starting to rub off on him. He was finding it not unpleasant to look up at them.

Joben rubbed the back of his head. "Well, that makes what I'm about to say really awkward then."

Minato turned to look at him. He had his undivided attention.

"I need to go back to the Land of Iron for a bit. There's something I need to take care of. Don't worry. Everything with the treaty is fine. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Minato frowned. "Why are you going back then? Didn't you say you wanted to help the first wave of trainees get adjusted?"

Joben grinned. "You're just going to have to trust me on this. Not all surprises are bad." He got up to his feet. He held out his hand. Minato clasped it and the samurai hauled him to his feet. He looked at the now purple cloth on Minato's arm with a grimace. "You really should get that looked at."

Minato sighed. "You're right."

He frowned. When he had read the note, attached to the kunai that had whirled just past his ear in the training ground earlier, telling him to meet in an Uchiha-owned bar he did not know what to expect. He looked around the place. It was inhabited by two people that did not work there. There was a drunk passed out on the counter, his face was resting in a pool of his own droll. He was snoring loudly enough to alarm the cats in the alley behind the establishment. The other man was drinking his beer. The Uchiha behind the counter was drying glasses and putting them on the counter. He rarely took his eyes off of Itachi. His suspicious glance did not faze the younger Uchiha in the slightest.

Itachi had never been in a bar. He had not expected anyone to be in the bar. It was still officially the morning. Or maybe he did expect people to be in the bar. His eyes did look for Shun or his trusty lackey Uito but they were not there. The note had been burned so he could not even look at it again to see if he got anything confused. Itachi knew that was just doubt speaking. He had memorized the note. He had inspected the note. There was nothing special or hidden in the note. The note was just a note. So maybe this bar was just a bar.

He walked over to the bartender. The man crossed his arms. His hair was tied in a thick braid down his back. He had a beard. It was unusual for an Uchiha. Facial hair was considered uncleanly amongst the clan. He regarded him just as the man had been regarding him. This was a test. He was sure of it. He was less sure of what the answer was.

"The will of fire is strong." The man said measuredly. His dark eyes bore into Itachi's.

Itachi stood there trying to place why what the man said sounded vaguely familiar. He turned his head in time to see Shun saunter into the room. His hands were shoved into his pockets. There was a cold smile on his lips.

"Itachi! As punctual as ever. Did you have to wait long?"

Itachi shook his head. From the corner of his eye, he saw the bartender turn his back to them. He buried himself in his next task. The younger Uchiha felt himself being led to a table in the corner. Shun slid into the booth and instructed Itachi to do the same.

"Want anything to drink, cousin?" He asked him casually.

Itachi shook his head. Shun propped his elbows up on the table. "You're probably wondering why I asked to meet you here."

Itachi's lips parted. "Was there something wrong with us meeting at the police force headquarters?"

Shun seemed to be annoyed at the question. He clicked his tongue. "Use your head, Itachi. Your father goes to work there every morning. We can't talk freely there. Too many ears and eyes." Itachi said nothing. Shun leaned forward. Itachi could smell what he had for breakfast on his breath. "Before we get ahead of ourselves on our little," his lips pressed together as he thought of the right word, "arrangement. We need something from you."

"We?" Itachi asked.

Shun leaned back. He draped an arm behind the booth. A bored expression overcame his face. "I believe you, okay? I know how much of a hardass your father's been to you. Others aren't as convinced. Before you can meet other like-minded individuals there needs to be a show of good faith." His eyes scanned Itachi. "You can never be too careful these days." He added as an afterthought.

Itachi kept the sinking of his stomach from showing on his face. "What do you need?"

A sinister grin stretched across Shunsuke's mouth. "I need you to steal one of the Hokage's special kunai. Should be a piece of cake for you."

His stomach dropped completely. So many different questions swam in his head as he struggled to keep up with the various trains of thought.

He licked his lips. "Why do you need one of Yondaime's kunai?"

"You let me worry about that Itachi-kun. You worry about getting the kunai." Shunsuke's easygoing persona was gone. The man was completely serious. It was not a twisted joke or prank.

Itachi nodded his head. "Consider it done."

"It's good to see you again, Jiraiya-sama." Minato gave the man a carefree smile. His mere presence made him feel better.

Jiraiya grinned. "You missed me that much, eh?" His sharp eye did not miss the barely there signs of stress on Minato's person. He was masking it all very well.

"You have no idea." His expression turned suddenly solemn. "So you're sure?"

Jiraiya's own face slipped into a serious expression. He nodded his head slowly. "No word of the Akatsuki. They are still dead and gone."

"You don't sound happy." Minato pointed out the obvious. Everything from Jiraiya's body language to tone communicated as much.

"It's only temporary. There will always be an Akatsuki either as an idea or in practice. As long as the Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki exist their existence will be threatened because people will always see them as a threat." He brought a large hand to his face. He rubbed it.

"It is unfortunate but it is a reality we will have to work with. It is a burden all the jinchuriki carry. The best we can do is offer support and protection." Minato tried to remind himself that not finding anything was a good thing.

Jiraiya took a step forward. "Where are we with the plumbing issue?"

Minato's eyes darkened a shade. "We found the leak. Now all that remains is fixing it."

Jiraiya grunted. "And who decides how best to go about the fix?"

The blond leaned back in his chair. "Leaving it to the heads of the households. The meeting is next month."

Jiraiya closed his eyes as he contemplated the full weight of the statement. He opened his eyes to pin his prized student with a stern look. "There seem to be a lot of changes that I missed. I hope the assessment was not incorrect."

Minato nodded. "I hope so too."

"Obaachan!" She barely had time to turn her head before a blond missile came shooting right at her. She made a sound as his arms wrapped around her legs. He was shorter than the stool she was sitting on.

"Naruto, it's Obachan not Obaachan." Tsunade reminded him in a slightly annoyed tone. It did not last long. The little face looking up at her with so much love made it hard to be anything other than happy. She lifted him onto her lap.

"Okay, Obaachan." He grinned devilishly at her. Her eye twitched in response.

Sakura ducked behind the curtain and joined them at the counter. "That's one battle you're not going to win, Tsunade-sama." She ended her statement with a laugh. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't teach him that." She held up her hands when she found herself on the receiving end of Tsuande's glare.

Naruto wiggled out of Tsunade's lap and opted to sit next to her on the stool. "Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" Naruto sang happily as he tapped his palms on the counter surface.

"Sorry about the last-minute restaurant change. We were craving something salty." Sakura supplied as she perused the menu. "We should be done with the rest of the ANBU by tomorrow."

Tsunade nodded her head. "Then we don't have to deal with the madness for another year."

"I thought I saw Jiraiya-sama this morning. He was headed towards the tower." Sakura began innocently not looking up. Seemed like a natural enough segue to her.

Tsunade shrugged. She feigned indifference. "I wouldn't know anything about that."

"Really?" Sakura's face fell. It seemed like her chances of learning anything from Jiraiya through Tsunade were now slim to none. She had hoped the two had talked.

"Really," Tsunade said firmly. It was not often that Sakura and she were both free for lunch. She rather not spend it talking about her former knucklehead of a teammate. "You know what I do know though," Tsunade paused to make sure that Sakura was listening. "That a certain samurai and redhead have been getting pretty cozy lately."

"Kushina-Obachan has red hair!" Naruto piped up helpfully.

"So you do know how to say Obachan correctly." Tsunade playfully narrowed her eyes at Naruto. He stuck his tongue out in response. Sakura sighed. Naruto was playing with fire. "You're lucky I like your mom so much, kid. Otherwise, things would not be pretty."

Sakura put aside the fact that her mentor just threatened her young son. She was too busy fighting the bile that rose in her throat to do anything else.

"How cozy?"

Tsunade shrugged. "They've been spending time together. Laughing, touching, smiling, the typical obnoxious things people do when they are infatuated." Even she could not look past the gruffness of her voice. She was young-ish once. "No word on kissing, yet."

Naruto made a face. "Eww. Kissing is gross."

"Yes, Naruto. It is gross." Tsunade agreed wholeheartedly.

Sakura's face pulled into a frown. The news was making her more upset than she would care to admit. She bit the inside of her cheek. "What do we know about him? I still don't trust him." She said in a low voice so that Naruto would not hear. She looked at Teuchi. "Naruto and I will have our usuals, thank you." She smiled as the man nodded. The sooner Naruto had a bowl of ramen in front of him the sooner he would forget about the world around him.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You really haven't learned your lesson. Have you?" She tapped Sakura on the forehead. The pinkette scowled. "Butt out of her love life. You made a mess of things enough already."

Sakura lowered her face into her arms. She groaned loudly. Tsunade was right. She could not go around telling Kushina what she thought of her potential new budding romance. She had no right to do so. Especially when they had just made up and Kushina had not told her a thing. Kushina had been gracious enough to forgive her once but even she would not be able to forgive her twice for the same thing. Even Kushina's capacity to forgive had limits.

"She seems happy, Sakura. Leave it at that." Tsunade said firmly. She nodded her head in Teuchi's direction as he put a bowl in front of her.

"It's a little more complicated than that, Tsunade-sama. He's an outsider. What would a relationship even look like? What are her plans? Is she going to move? Can that even happen given that she's, well you know!" Sakura was feeling the unease rise in her. Her mouth was working overtime to keep up with her mind.

"She's more than just being the jinchuriki, Sakura." Tsunade frowned deeply. She did not hide her disappointment at Sakura's reaction. She had thought the woman would be excited for her best friend. This was the first time Kushina showed any interest in a romantic relationship since her last.

"I know that!" Sakura snapped irritably. She registered the whispers and murmurs her outburst caused. She shrank in her seat. "Sorry." She mumbled. She looked at Tsunade with pleading in her eyes. "I know that. I want her to be happy. More than anything. But we both know it's not that simple. I don't want to see her get hurt or disappointed. The Council and the Elders won't just let Kushina up and move." She told herself that she was just being realistic. She was looking out for Kushina's heart, that was all.

"I don't want Kushina-Obachan to move!" Naruto's voice was dangerously close to breaking. His bottom lip was trembling slightly.

Tsunade gathered him into her arms and pulled him into her lap. Sakura inwardly cursed herself for being so careless with her tongue, as she held his face. "Kushina-Obachan is not moving. Mama was just talking pretend." She reassured him. She could see the tears swimming in his eyes.

"She's not going anywhere, Naruto." Tsunade patted him on the back.

"Promise?" Naruto asked with hopeful eyes. The women exchanged looks.

"Naruto," Sakura searched for the right words. She had painted herself into a corner. "Mama was just talking pretend. Kushina-Obachan has never brought up moving. Konoha is her home. She'll be back from her mission soon. And then we'll go see her. Okay?" She searched his face. She hoped that he would be more convinced by her words than she was.

"Okay." He nodded. He crawled back to his seat. He did not look as upset as he was but he was also not as happy.

Sakura smiled in genuine gratitude as a bowl of ramen appeared in front of Naruto. The ramen stand owner might just be her new hero.

"That really hit the spot." Sakura patted her belly happily. Naruto mimicked the gesture. Tsunade shook her head as a soft smile graced her lips. It had been a good lunch despite the shaky start. Naruto and Sakura were a pretty entertaining duo to be around.

Naruto walked between the two women. Holding each of their hands. He ignored the conversation they were having and tugged at Sakura's hand.

"Mama, look!" He pointed in excitement. "There's my friend! There's Spider!"

Sakura snapped her head in the direction of his finger. Her jaw clenched on reflex as she saw the hooded figure donned in all black, standing across the way. The dark magenta lines across the white mask were the only color on her person. She felt all her muscles tense.

"That's great Naruto. Mama is going to go talk to your friend. Stay here with Tsunade-Obaachan." Her eyes never left Spider's mask.

Tsunade looked at Naruto. "Come on Naruto. I want to teach you a new fun game. It's called gambling! You can win a lot of chocolate." She ushered him into the doors of the hospital. The boy was too enthralled at the prospect of the new game to put up resistance.

Sakura took slow, deliberate, measured steps to clear the gap between her and Spider. The ANBU did not move a muscle. She was either completely oblivious to the anger rolling of Sakura's person or she did not see her as a threat. Either way, the ANBU was going to pay dearly.

Chakra pooled around her fists. They were pulsing in a visible blue as she struggled to get a grip on her anger. As angry as she was she was not too far gone to recognize that she was in public. She came to a stop when she was toe to toe with the taller woman.

She narrowed her verdant eyes. The ferocity in them should have given the ANBU all the context she needed. Spider did not seem to have a self-preservation bone in her body. She did not so much as flinch.

"Consider this your one and only warning. If I see you around my son again, it's going to end badly for you," Sakura said in a low, even tone. "Stay away from my family." She let the last part out in a growl. Her fists pulsed. They were eager to take a swing at the emotionless mask.

Instead, she turned on her heel and set her sights on the Hokage Tower.

She felt something stir inside her. She knew exactly what that something was. The Kyuubi was feeding off of the tidal wave of rage that was building inside of her. She stood there in the doorway looking around the small cramped storage room. It was filthy. The floor looked sticky just to the eye. There was one lightbulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling. It flickered on and off. There was a low buzz of the electricity. The odor was musty. It made sense. There were no windows or other sources of ventilation. There was only the door. And from the looks of things, it did not stay open much.

Her eyes landed on the dirty residue on the once-white door left by fingerprints. The room has not been cleaned in a while that much was clear to her. There was a bucket in the corner of the room. Her lip curled in disgust at the sight of it. It was not what enraged her the most. She looked in the other corner. Dirty blankets were piled into what could only be makeshift beds. The strands of black and red hair on the floor were not missed by her scrutinous gaze. The woman had lied to her. Right to her face.

It took all her will not to march back and drag her to the room by the back of her neck. The demon inside her was telling her just to do that. It wanted to rip the woman limb from limb and slather her insides on the wall. Maybe even put her head in the bucket. But Kushina fought back against the need for bloodlust. She pushed through the need to scream. Instead, she closed the door and slid the lock back in place. She even put the padlock just as she had found it.

In order to remain calm, Kushina told herself that this was a good thing. The girls were alive. They were close. It was a good thing. The sooner she could find them, the sooner they could get them as far away from this woman as possible. She rounded back to the hallway before it split. She ruled out the kitchen. It would be too public of a place. Someone would have spotted the girls. She did not think many could stomach child labor if they had to see it day in and day out. Instead, she focused on the door at the end of the hall. With her heart in her throat, she opened the door and found herself faced with stairs. It was a basement of some kind.

She pulled out a flashlight from the backpack she was carrying. She turned it on as she closed the door. Obito could talk. She just hoped the man had enough sense to keep the woman engaged while she looked around. She took slow, even breaths to remain calm. She moved down the wooden steps slowly. Once she reached the foot of the stairs she saw that there was enough light filtering from the window that she could see. She turned off the flashlight.

She moved slowly through the room. So far nothing stood out to her. It looked like a normal basement for a restaurant. There were storage shelves that were filled sparsely with cooking and serving supplies. There was a row of small square windows just where the top of the basement met above ground. Kushina tried not to let the disappointment reach her face. It was underwhelming.

"Maybe she keeps them in the room upstairs during the night and somewhere else during the day?" She muttered to herself as she looked.

She let out a defeated sigh. She did not see the girls. She needed a new plan. Kushina settled on watching the woman in order to get a better idea of her routine. It broke her heart having to leave the girls to that room but she told herself that it was only a little while longer. She would get them out. She turned on her flashlight once she reached the base of the stairs.

She heard a sound behind her. A box fell and there was a small voice that let out a sound of pain. Her eyes widened. She moved much slower than she wanted to given the situation but she did not want to startle the little girl who was holding a hand over her bumped knee.

"Hi," she said gently. She maintained enough distance so the girl did not panic.

The little girl had tears in her eyes. "Who are you?" She asked with clear distrust. Her eyes were red. She did not fit the description they had for what they thought was Kohana's only daughter. It could only mean one thing.

"My name is Kushina. I've been looking for you, Karin-chan." She smiled. Relief flooded through her. The girl was okay. She was the younger of the two. It could only mean that her sister was somewhere close by. "Where's your sister, Tukiko-chan, Karin-chan?"

Karin scurried away from her. "Mama said talking to strangers is bad."

Kushina held up her hands and took a slow step back. She kept the smile firmly in place on her face. "That's a very good thing your Mama taught you. And you're so clever to remember." She kept the anxiety from her voice. She needed to find Tukiko and get the girls out of there sooner rather than later. But she also did not want to traumatize the girl any more than she already was. For the first time in her life, Kushina found herself wishing she was a Yamanaka. She could not help but think how helpful it would be to send a message to Obito to look for the older sister without so much as moving.

"A friend of your Mama sent me to check on your Mama." Kushina kept her tone bright. "Now it's really important that you tell me where Tukiko-chan is."

Karin looked at Kushina with a guarded expression on her face.

Kushina crouched down so they were on the same level. "It's bad to lie, Karin-chan. I'm telling the truth. I want to help you. Please tell me where Tukiko-chan is."

A guilty look overcame Karin's face. "Kiko-oneechan is in the kitchen. Obaachan sent me down here because I broke a glass."

Kushina felt her anger come back two-fold. She kept a smile on her face. "Can I pick you up? I want to take us to your sister."

"Are we leaving Obaachan's?" Karin asked with painful hope on her face.

Kushina nodded. "Yes, we're leaving Obaachan's."

Karin nodded in response to Kushina's earlier question. Just as Kushina started to reach for Karin the door to the basement opened. Kushina pressed her fingers against her lips and motioned for Karin to get low. She was at the base of the stairs by the time the old woman fumbled for the light.

"What are you doing down here!" She demanded. Her hands were on her hips and Obito was on her heels.

"Funny," Kushina's eyes narrowed. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Do you still want to stick to the story that you haven't seen the girls?" Kushina challenged her.

She thought the woman would deny it. Instead, her sneer grew. The older woman was irate. "I kept them off the streets. I put a roof over their heads!"

Obito looked between the two glaring women. "Can someone please tell me what's going on here?" He demanded loudly.

"This old bat had them here the whole time. She's been using them as labor." Kushina's voice sounded more animalistic than human.

Obito's eyes widened. He looked at the woman angrily. "Is that true?!"

The white-haired woman did not back down. "What was I supposed to do? Everyone has been struggling since the war. I gave them food, shelter, and water in exchange for their services. It is a fair deal."

Kushina could not even bring herself to dignify that with a response. She looked at Obito.

"Tukiko is in the kitchen, go get her." He nodded his head and made to turn around.

The woman's bitter laughter stopped him in his tracks. "They're long gone by now. Good luck finding them."

Kushina looked at her confused. She turned and went to the spot she had left Karin. It was empty. She saw one of the windows; it was open. Her heart sank. She clenched her jaw. It was too small for her to fit through but just big enough for children.

"The girls have nowhere else to go. They'll be back here as soon as you leave. You'll never catch them." The woman taunted.

Kushina put all her fury behind her gaze. "I'll find them." She promised.

The woman shook her head. "Not if I tell the whole village that you're here to kidnap them."

"You would do that?" Obito asked. He stood there shaking in anger.

The woman shrugged dismissively. "How much?" Kushina asked through clenched teeth. She did not have time for this. Not when the girls were out there. "Name your price."

Obito looked horrified. The woman's face became reflective. "Four hundred, plus ten for the glass the younger one broke."

Kushina pulled the bills from inside the pocket of her pants. She counted them slowly. She put them on the woman's outstretched hand. She swallowed the bile in her throat.

"Do we have an understanding?" She asked the woman.

The woman nodded. "They are all yours."

Obito had an unreadable look on his face as they left the noodle house.

She stood leaning against the wall. Her foot tapped impatiently. Her fury was rolling off of her in waves. It was still red hot. Her anger towards Spider had cooled but that was before today. Before the ANBU had the audacity to show her mask in public when she was out with her son. Sakura recognized a direct challenge when she saw one. It did not get much more blatant in her eyes.

She could feel his eyes. She ignored him. He was not the target of her rage. She did not want to misallocate an ounce of it. If Minato thought he was getting a fight last night, he was getting a declaration of war right now. She did not remember the last time she was this angry. The kind of anger that sank deep into her bones and never truly went away. That was the anger she felt.

"Sakura now is not a good time." Shikaku ventured to test the waters. Every instinct he had told him to not engage. It told him to go home but he had made a commitment to his Hokage, to his friend. If this is how he went out. This was how he went.

He felt the weight of her emerald eyes on him for a split second before they were back to shooting daggers at who sat behind the other side of the door.

"I can wait." She stated with finality.

That was it. That was his sign. She would not waver. She was hunkering down for the long haul. He knew that look all too well. He knocked on the door. He cleared his throat before opening it just enough to slip through. A pair of blue eyes looked up from the paperwork blissfully unaware of what was waiting outside for him.

"Hokage-sama," Shikaku scratched the back of his head. "Haruno-san is here and she," his eyes moved back and forth as he thought of the words. "Is not happy."

Minato's brow furrowed together. He had the look of a husband who was trying to remember what he could have possibly done to set off his wife now. He looked at the clock on the wall. He still had time before their appointment. Unless….His eyes widened. He reached into his desk and pulled out his calendar hastily. There was panic as clear as day in his features.

"Shikaku, what day is it today?" The panic had spread to his voice.

Shikaku looked at him puzzled. "Wednesday, May 11th." He supplied.

Minato rose from his chair. "No, yesterday was Monday, May 9th."

A genuine look of concern crossed Shikaku's face. "No, Minato, yesterday was Tuesday, the 10th. Making today the 11th."

He watched the color drain from Minato's face. He looked crushed. "Send her in, please. Oh and Shikaku," he looked at his advisor with a grim expression. "You may want to activate the sound seal."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." He found himself sending a little prayer on behalf of his friend. He held open the door. She slipped through without a word. The door shut behind her. He touched the surface. The seal was activated.

"Sakura, I'm so sorry. I got my days mixed up." Minato crossed his desk and walked to where his wife stood. "I wanted to be there. I planned on being there."

Sakura took in the guilt in his eyes. She believed him. "I'm actually here about the other one."

"Naruto?" He asked. The confusion was clear on his face.

"Oh good you remember his name. We're off to a promising start."

He flinched at her clipping tone. He felt that he probably deserved that. "What about Naruto?" He asked to keep the flow of the conversation going.

"Do you want to tell me why a stranger is talking to our son without our knowledge?" She was making a concerted effort to be coherent. Punching him through a wall would not solve anything even if it would make her feel marginally better.

His confusion only grew. Nothing he heard so far warranted anything close to the level of venom she was spitting out.

"Spider is hardly a stranger." He said before he could stop himself.

Her eyes flashed dangerously. "You knew?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. It sent a chill down his spine.

"Naruto mentioned it to me weeks ago. I told her not to do it again." He watched with a guarded expression on her face as she pulled together the pieces.

'That explains why Naruto has not seen her in a while.' She thought to herself. "And what was your plan? Never tell me?"

Minato shrugged. "It was handled. Didn't see the point."

Her nostrils flared. Handled. There was that word again. She was getting really sick of hearing it come out of his mouth.

"What do you even know about her?"

He tilted his head as he thought. "Not much. She was in the third wave of refugees that came to Konoha after the war. She's from Yumegakure originally, if I'm remembering right. Has worked her way up the ranks since. No complaints, reprimands, or notes in her file."

Sakura could not believe what she was hearing. They knew next to nothing about this woman. She was virtually a stranger.

"So she's perfect. Except for her tendency to approach tender-age children when they are alone."

Minato crossed his arms. "She's not a predator, Sakura." He did not care for what she was implying. "She made a mistake and stopped doing it when I told her to stop."

Sakura took a step forward. "She made it multiple times. Naruto's talked to her at least twice in the past six months. And that's just the time he knew she was there!"

Minato scoffed. Sakura pinned him with a look that said 'explain'. "You never cease to surprise me. I thought you would be happy."

She looked at him in disbelief. "What in the world could I possibly have to be happy about in any of this?" Her voice raised up a couple of octaves as her exasperation grew.

"You're always the one telling me ANBU needs more women. That all of the various divisions need more women. And now there's a woman amongst the highest-ranking ANBU." She detected traces of exasperation in his voice.

"I don't have to like her just because she's a woman. Maybe we could have been friends but she screwed that up. She was alone with our child, Minato. Our child." She could not believe she had to explain this to him. His emotional intelligence was one of the things she loved the most about him. She did not understand why he was being adamant about sticking his head in the sand.

"Move on. It's in the past." It came out harsher than he had intended it.

"Only it's not. I saw her today. I don't want her around. I want her gone. She needs to stay away from Naruto. And me." Sakura did not care that her voice was dangerously close to demanding. She was not making a request to the Hokage. She was telling her husband what she needed from him. If he really was so pressed to handle something, he could handle that.

Minato's jaw flexed. "That's going to be impossible."

Sakura's brows shot up. "How's that?"

"She's been promoted from the shadow guard." His tone left no room for argument or defiance. "Owl has moved into her previous role."

The air left her lungs at his words. Something vile rose up in her which caused her stomach to revolt in response. She flinched. She pressed her hand against her abdomen out of pure reflex. She stopped Minato from coming to her with a raised hand.

"Is your mind made up on that?" She brought her eyes to his. They were unyielding. Unflinching.

"Sakura, are you alright?" He asked in a strained tone.

"I'm fine." She spat out. "Answer the question."

She saw his eyes lose the warmth they momentarily held. "Yes." He said.

She stood there for a second. Something had just occurred to her and she was mentally kicking herself for seeing it so late. She had been focusing on the wrong things. Joben, the autopsies that an academy student could have done a better job with, all of them were distractions. Ryo was not a problem. Minato was.

She had just been too close to see it. He was nothing if not calculating and meticulous. The autopsies were a joke. He was not one to set up someone for failure. She believed him when he told her, all those years ago, that he wanted to encourage the people of Konoha to pursue their interests and talents. He believed it made the village that much better if people were given freedom and the ability to do more than what the job description was.

Someone who was trained to keep shinobi alive was not best suited to cut open corpses. They had different eyes. She knew that. And she knew that he knew that. Giving such a task to a rookie was not something he would ever do. The reports were fake. They were to keep her busy. To keep her from digging. Perspective was everything. She saw that now.

She squared her shoulders. "I understand. Thank you for taking the time to listen to my concerns." She made a show of bowing. "May I be dismissed, Hokage-sama?" She asked him in a sickly-sweet tone. Her own insides curled at the sound of her voice.

He was not happy. That made two of them. He nodded his head. She left the room without so much as a second glance in his direction.