Tsunade fought a sigh as she waited in the depths of the T&I facility, mulling over her most recent correspondence from Sakura. She had not liked the sound of it one bit. A deadly seal harbouring a potential weapon, a race to obtain it against an unknown band of unaffiliated shinobi; and with nothing but hearsay and the extrapolation of an Uchiha to go off. And all linked back to her own traitor of an ex-teammate. Of course, that was just Team Seven's style wasn't it? Damn all those kids for bringing my blood pressure up, again. Drumming her manicured fingers absently on the flesh of her forearm, she assessed gathering of shinobi before her.

The Nara was slouched against an alarmingly bare bookcase – one of the only pieces of furniture in Ibiki's dreadful office – looking decidedly uncomfortable in the dreary chamber. She couldn't blame him, it was like Ibiki decorated his place to put people on edge in the most unsettlingly mundane of ways. The Head Torturer himself stood rigid near the doorway – strategically blocking the only exit likely out of habit of intimidation – having vacated his chair the moment she entered, in a show of respectful offering. Not that she felt she could sit with how wound up she was becoming. All they were waiting on now were the last two-sixths of Team Seven.

Ah, speaking of! They all felt the subtle flair of two chakra signatures from the other side of the door, slightly preceding a firm series of knocks.

"Yamato!" Tsunade bellowed, beckoning him to get his ass in there already.

The door edged open to reveal a stern-faced Yamato and a blank faced Sai. "Hai, Tsunade-sama. We apologise for our delay." He responded, closing the door after Sai entered in behind him. Ibiki wasted no time in immediately activated his privacy seals; the room descending into an unnatural quiet.

Tsunade waited a beat, ensuring all attention was on her before speaking. "As of this moment, what you learn here does not leave this room, got it?" The tense nods she received were almost as redundant as her initial request. "As you all know, Team Kakashi has been briefly reunited to chase after the whims of that Uchiha brat again, with little intel and no backup. The situation is delicate, and the mission has now been classed as S-ranked. It appears that Sasuke's gone and got his old team invested in a highly temperamental and deadly seal left behind by none other than our mutual snake friend."

She saw the way Yamato's eyes darkened and the twist of his lips, and couldn't agree more with the sentiment. "Orochimaru." He stated more than asked.

"Yes. Seems the old lizard left some little prizes for those stupid enough to try and find them."

"And of course, Team Seven has to be at the centre of it." Shikamaru clicked his tongue.

"You wish for Taichou and myself to pull them out, Tsunade-sama?" Sai inferred.

Tsunade fought a quirk of her lips. If only it were that simple. "Not quite. Which leads me to why we are currently gathered in Ibiki's office and not my own."

All attention was then squarely settled on the scarred man. "As you all know, the official report states that Orochimaru died in the Fourth Shinobi War. Only the remains of his partial carcass were found. But eyewitness accounts by Yakushi Kabuto and Uzumaki Karin place him as 'irreversibly deceased'." His gravelly voice echoed off the dark walls, tinged with lingering distaste for the topic.

"Congratulations, those in this room now occupy the small number of people who know the true validity of that statement. Orochimaru is alive. He enlisted Kabuto and Karin to help fake his death and disappear after the war effort. As we are all aware, Kabuto has been spending time here in Konoha, atoning and whatnot under an exceptionally short leash. However, Karin has not been seen or heard of since leaving Konoha– we lost her trace shortly after her departure."

Visible surprise was an emotion that held no place in a shinobi's realm of behaviour, least of all in T&I, and Ibiki was pleased to note that none of the ninja present in the room displayed any such reaction. But really, what could he expect from two ex-ROOT members and Shikaku's prodigious son. Shikamaru no doubt already knew, as advisor to the Rokudaime, but Ibiki doubted he was privy to all the gory details.

"I don't think anyone familiar enough with Orochimaru expected him to die so easily after all the trouble we've had with him in the past, so it was hardly surprising when one of my teams picked up a pattern of activity around one of Orochimaru's lesser known hideouts approximately three and a half years ago. The intel was a fluke on our behalf, and likely a result of misfortunate in one of Orochimaru's experiments at the time. We only caught a glimpse, but it was enough to confirm he is in fact still alive. He has been meticulous in his endeavours to evade detection since, and I estimate he has Karin back within his grasp to assist in their alleviation of our tails, among other undertakings I'm sure." Ibiki paused briefly as he eyed each of the men in the room.

"There has been no reported activity of his usual MO's and he has stayed scarce for the past three years. It seems he wishes to remain 'dead', and we have kept him that way for the sake of our village."

"Why?" Yamato's clear voice cut through the room's tension like a kunai. He even wasn't sure which part he wanted an answer to per say, but perhaps that was just the affect Orochimaru always had on him – an unsettled craving for closure.

"He's been a moot point." Tsunade was the only who answered him, voice firm but unmistakably tired in the face of discussing her former teammate. "He doesn't want to be found, and we don't particularly want anything to do with him. We've kept tabs on him throughout the years to the best of our ability, but for all intents and purposes he's been dead to us all. And I'd rather not be actively looking for enemies in our allies during times of peace."

"Ally?" It was Sai's blank inquiry that poked a hole in their Godaime's seeming slip of the tongue.

There was a heavy sigh from the lone woman in the room. "He helped in the war effort, did he not? Fought alongside us when he could've otherwise fought against, or not at all. I seem to recall us offering similar titles to other wayward teammates in recent years." Her tone was dry, bordering on bitter. All men present decided to move on from opening that particular can of slugs, least of all with their esteemed and highly volatile Hokage.

"Which brings us back to the need for discretion." Ibiki cut back to business, commanding the room once more "This mission is off the books. It doesn't exist because he doesn't exist. Just as the Rokudaime's current mission doesn't exist. In light of recent intel, Hokage-sama has deemed it a priority to gather more substantial evidence on this apparent weapon and seal from its apparent maker. And preferably before Team Seven do something drastic and irreversible."

"So then, who's your lead?" Shikamaru piped up from his corner of the room.

Ibiki smothered a smirk at the calculative gleam in the Nara's eye. The kid was always two steps ahead at any given time.

"Our 'lead' is also the reason we've been holding this delightful conversation in Ibiki's stuffy torture chamber of an office. No offense." Tsunade drawled.

"None taken Tsunade-sama." Ibiki's scars twisted and pulled with his feral smile. "If you would all follow me."

Ibiki tried not to take too much enjoyment in parading their band of high-clearance individuals through the backchannels of their base, hearing the muttered curse of Tsunade when they encountered a few cobwebs in the slightly less utilized tunnels. Instead he took the time to ponder just why Yamato seemed to be having trouble looking him in the eye lately. The man had been downright avoidant of him for months and he was starting to take it personally. Eh. He'd get it out of him, eventually. He had more than enough patience and creativity to make the Wood-user come clean.

"Well, here we are." He announced, coming to a stop in front of a darkened cell.

Yamato squinted his eyes against the low light to trace a reclined figure upon the cell cot. He did not have to wait very long to attempt to identify the shadow, as a voice cut cleanly through the stale air and muted room.

"It's about time you showed up. I was beginning to think you forgot about little old me."

There was a brief shimmer of light reflected off what appeared to be silver hair, as the form lazily shifted forward and up to approach the solid bars; all violet eyes and sharp teeth.

"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed.

"Interesting." Sai commented.

"You have got to be kidding me." Yamato nearly groaned.

"Sai, Yamato. Meet your new partner, Hozuki Suigetsu." Ibiki introduced with menacing glee he was sure they didn't miss. He was honest to Kami relieved he was getting to offload this punk, finally.

"I don't understand. Why him?" Yamato barely restrained his sense of exasperation. He had only met this particular delinquent a handful of times, and none of them left a pleasant aftertaste.

"Kabuto was busy." Tsunade said flippantly. "And far too loyal to Orochimaru to be of any real use. Luckily, Ibiki's men happened to pick up a stray last month. Or I suppose it would be more accurate to say that they caught this dog sniffing around where he doesn't belong." She reprimanded pointedly towards the smug looking inmate.

"No need to get your panties in a twist, Blondie." Suigetsu drawled casually, blatantly ignoring the strangled noises coming from his opposing shinobi at his degrading address of their leader. "As I've been saying to Scarface here for the past – " he paused, furrowing his brow, " – did you say I've been here a month? Holy shit. Time flies when you're being interrogated." He cackled.

"Anyways, I told ya already, and pale-eyes even confirmed it when she read my mind. It was just a stupid bet. 5000 ryo if I could break in and out of Konoha's T&I without getting caught. Guess I lost, huh? Although I think I should thank you for saving me from paying off my debt right away. I'm technically saving money being in here. Free board and food. Pretty sweet deal ya got going on here."

"Well, it seems we finally got some luck after all." Shikamaru smirked, absently stroking his facial hair.

"Which part of him is lucky exactly?" Yamato pinched the bridge of his nose. "Last I heard, he was not a tracker, or particularly loyal to our cause."

"He's not the tracker. He's the bait." Shikamaru supplied with growing appreciation for their plan. "Not bad, Hokage-sama."

"I guess my luck in gambling requires a more indirect approach." She shrugged in response, folding her arms across her ample bosom with a pleased smirk.

"Woah. Hold on there, sweet cheeks. Bait? No way. I ain't going near that scaly bastard again. And ain't no way is he going to care enough to come looking for me. Sorry sweetheart. Guess your luck is as bad as mine." Suigetsu grinned, holding up his manacled hands and giving Tsunade a lazy salute.

"I'm afraid I do not see how Suigetsu can lead us to Orochimaru under the time restraints and with little to no leads on his whereabouts." Sai interjected thoughtfully, eyeing the grinning Kiri-nin.

"Not Orochimaru. Karin." Shikamaru corrected, watching the slightest hint of muted shock ripple through their captive at the mention of the woman's name. Figures. "And it just so happens that Konoha has the last recorded details of Karin's whereabouts, isn't that right, Suigetsu?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe that ponytail of yours is on too tight, man. Better get that checked out." The silver-hair man snorted.

"You can stick with your bravado all you want, but not even you are stupid enough to attempt such a feat as infiltrating a T&I base without explicit and significant motivation. And I can think of only one reason you would come snooping in a place where your capture would mean your potential expiration. You were looking for her, weren't you?"

"What makes you think I would even want to see that loud cow again? It was a bet, nothing else. Call it boredom." The prisoner snapped at Shikamaru, his chains clanking with his harsh movement.

"Well Punk, be that as it may, we're offering you a deal. Agree to act as our homing beacon so to speak, and we'll find you your missing teammate." Ibiki interrupted with sadistic smile, "I'll even let you walk out of here with all your limbs attached."

"Nice try, Scarface. But we both know that if physical torture worked on me, you would've gladly done it a month ago." Suigetsu leered manically back. "I ain't doing you lot any favours. Besides, why would I leave when I have a perfectly good room here?"

"That is easily rectifiable, kid." Tsunade drawled. "Shikumaru, please alert the Mizukage we have picked up one of her stray shinobi. I wonder exactly what Mist do with their long-lost missing-nin upon return? I hear the bounty on your head has grown particularly lucrative as of late. Or maybe I'll just dump you at the border of Kumo and tell the Raikage that one of Sasuke's old Taka teammates is suddenly available for pseudo-revenge. I'm sure he'd be happy to see you."

Tsunade took great satisfaction in watching their prisoner scrunch his face in deliberation and grind his teeth in frustration. The kid wasn't a hard read. He wanted the deal, he just didn't want them to know how much he wanted it. For all this bloodthirst and deflection, he was still an open book when it came to teammates, apparently. Perhaps the kid had more in common with Konoha shinobi than he realised. Maybe that was why the Uchiha picked him all those years ago?

"Alright, alright! Ugh, geez if you're so desperate to find that oily-haired bastard, fine! I'll play along and get you to Karin. But after that I'm done. And I want full immunity from my most recent 'crimes against Konoha'. And also, give me 5000 ryo to cover my lost bet." Suigetsu demanded, turning to walk back to his cot and lounge back on it.

"I think you've mistaken yourself for someone in a position to make demands, Hozuki." Ibiki took a foreboding step towards their cocky inmate.

"Yes to the first, and no to the second. Don't get greedy, kid." Tsunade sanctioned. "Ibiki, get him what he needs and prep him for departure. We leave, yesterday."

Ibiki deliberately ignored Suigetsu's surprised yet smug face, and replied with a simple. "Very well."

"Nara you're taking point as tactician and relay officer. Figure out communication directives with Sai before departure." She ordered concisely, before making her way towards the exit. "Yamato, with me."

Swiftly retracing their steps back to Ibiki's office, Tsunade spoke gruffly to her shinobi. "Yamato. Keep an eye on him, I have no doubt he'll likely try to give you the slip, but I know you won't let him. As of this moment I don't care about his motivations, just make sure the end result aligns with our own."

"Of course."

Tsunade let a fond smile crack her hard façade for a moment. Yamato was one of her best and most reliable, and as much as she appreciated such a level-headed and selfless shinobi in her ranks, part of her wished she didn't have to put him in this position. She trusts him with her life, but unfortunately this time it isn't her life on the line. After a moment, she spoke in a softer tone.

"I know I'm asking a lot from you, and I'm sorry it has to be you that I send out for this mission, but Orochimaru's intel is crucial. I'm counting on you… my apprentice is counting on you."

Yamato grew quiet and furrowed his brows, wondering why the specific focus on his pink-haired kohai. "Sakura?" He ventured hesitantly.

There was a heavy sigh, and Tsunade came to slow stop in front of him. She turned to face him, her honey eyes boring into his own with great reluctance and severity. They stood, regarding each other in the small, dark passageway; a Hokage and her shinobi.

"She will be attempting to unlock the seal with her Byakugou. It's a gamble and dangerous. This seal of Orochimaru's will likely drain her of all her chakra, if not her life, if things go south. I need to know what Orochimaru hid behind that seal, and if it's worth risking Sakura like this. If there is a way around all this."

Tsunade's own contemplative silence was mirrored by Yamato. After a moment, Tsunade spoke in a hardened murmur. "Orochimaru is Konoha's responsibility… my responsibility, and I've let this all go on long enough. And it's our children who are paying the price."

"Sakura is strong, Lady Tsunade. And Kakashi-senpai won't let anything happen to her. Nor will Naruto… Sasuke too." Yamato added after a brief pause. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and hoped his words were taken in comfort for both their growing apprehension for his wayward team.

"I know that, she's my apprentice after all. But even if she does succeed, they are still in enemy territory, in competition for this alleged weapon. And despite how much confidence I have in my student, they will be working a man down trying to high-tail it out of here, with the added bonus of having a painted target on their backs." She griped, absent-mindedly flexing her fingers in a violent itch.

"Sai and I won't let them face that alone."

"I know you won't, Yamato. But they've got a head start on you." She gave him a meaningful look before straightening her spine and addressing him commandingly. "Your mission is to track down Orochimaru, gain the relevant information on the seal, then immediately leave to assist Team Seven in their extraction."

"Understood."

"Good. Report to directly to Shikamaru with updates. And bring your team home, Yamato."

"I will."

The four-man cell had been bounding trees for the better part of the day before darkness began to descend over the thinning terrain and their taciturn leader called for a halt. They set up camp in silence, easily falling back into a routine they hadn't operated in since being genin; with Sasuke catching some food, Naruto scrounging up some wood, Sakura fetching water, and Kakashi setting up camp and setting a perimeter.

It wasn't until they were gathered around their small fire, roasting their caught fish, and bundled closely together to ward off the persistent chill, that Naruto broke their peaceful silence.

"So Teme, what exactly can you tell us about this threat? Who exactly are we up against?" None of them had pressed for too many more details at the ramen stand, but curiosity had been gnawing at Naruto for hours, and he was ready to get some concrete answers.

Naruto watched Sasuke's shoulders tense, then drop with a quiet sigh as he gazed unseeing into the fire. From the corner of his eye, Naruto saw Kakashi and Sakura perk up from where they had been reading and meditating, respectively. They all sat in a small circle around the fire, with Sasuke at his left and Kakashi at his right.

"Not a lot." Sasuke replied, turning the spike of fish slowly over the flames. "They are not wholly connected or affiliated with one another through any particular belief or motivation aside from obtaining this 'weapon'. At first, I thought they were just a group of disorganised missing-nin attempting to use sheer numbers to overpower the seal, or at least compete against being the first to acquire it. Maybe rip it from the hands of the winner after they killed each other for it. But certain things don't add up."

Naruto tried to ignore Sasuke's blasé callousness. The bastard had been moody for days. "How so?"

"Well, before this 'cause', they were all small time. Essentially petty missing-nin; independent and nomadic. But now, they move in patterns and numbers. They cause a stir, big enough to gain attention, but small enough to avoid high priority listing in Shinobi villages. Then they gain more members, before attempting to break the seal once more; as though the key is purely in quantity." Sasuke furrowed his brow minutely. "It's like they're lining up for slaughter, and yet they grow in members… as do their skills. What started out as an assortment of Genin, Chunin and Jonin, have now exclusively become at least high-Chunin or Jonin level, not accounting for their loss in deaths."

Naruto felt himself whirl in shock. "How is that possible? You don't think the seal maybe gives back a little chakra to those around it from what it takes away from another in some way? Like some freaky siphon?"

Naruto saw the way Kakashi raised his eyebrows at him and Sakura send a small proud smile his way, and puffed his chest a little in their silent praise.

"I'm surprised you know what siphon means, Dobe." Sasuke snipped casually his way.

Of course, Teme had to ruin it. Naruto sniffed inwardly, matching Sasuke's deadpanned gaze with his own.

"It would be easier for that to be the case. But no, I've studied its patterns with my Sharingan as its been accessed. It only absorbs chakra, never releases any. There has to be another element to all this, but from what I've seen, there is no overarching leader calling the shots."

"Or seemingly handing out free jutsus' and chakra samples as a membership deal." Kakashi quipped thoughtfully from his place across the fire, having stowed his book away some time ago. "Curious. Not typical missing-nin behaviour to be joining clubs and sacrificing their lives for only a brief power-up. Too many strings attached to be a good deal, and they are the sort to be hardwired into only taking deals that benefit them before all else. Unless the deal is their ideal, but that doesn't seem to be the case here."

"You think they're being manipulated somehow?" Sakura inferred, tilting her head in silent appraisal to their ex-sensei.

Kakashi offered a small shrug from his place beside her. "It makes the most sense. Through a genjustu, or just plain good advertising, it's hard to say."

"Or it's something else entirely." Sasuke added forebodingly, his eyes flickering to each of them in the low light. A small silence settled upon them, with only the quiet sizzling of fish and crackling of fire filling the air.

It was with a harsh wind that Sakura next broke the silence, with a small shiver. "I don't like it. It has to be a pretty powerful 'something' to convince dangerous criminals to act in the service of another, with little to no gain. Usually there is at least some patriotism of ideals involved, but this just seems almost mindless. Especially over a theoretical prize, based off rumours... Just what the hell is behind that seal?" Her voice broke off into a contemplative murmur as she seemed to huddle in on herself. Against the wind or the topic of conversation, who could say.

"Have you been able to question any of them? Or track down a base of sorts?" Kakashi directed towards Sasuke, leaning forward to brace his forearms on his thighs.

"Yes and no." Sasuke sighed, as he began taking the fish off the fire and handing them to Sakura to divide and serve between the four of them.

"Even when questioned they are useless." Sasuke punctuated by tossing the spike back into the fire. "It's like each of them is convinced that breaking the seal and obtaining the weapon was their own idea and motivation. It's like they don't even recognise they are performing as part of an organisation in their efforts. And yet, I detected no genjustu when I interrogated them."

"Now that's creepy." Naruto shivered, receiving the fish and rice Kakashi had passed him.

"And the base?" Kakashi continued, taking his food from Sakura with a small smile.

"Like I said, they think they are operating independently, despite their behaviour being quite another. They don't have a base. They will have their own temporary camp or shelter, or lodging, but never a group base. Nothing to give concrete evidence on an organisation."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully, as he reclined back against the tree behind him. "So, it appears we're working with a Pied Piper and his mice."

He illustrated an eerie picture and Sakura scrunched her nose, and shook her head in aversion. "Except we don't even know what is triggering these missing-nin into mindlessly operating on behalf of their 'summoner', so to speak."

She gave an almost desperate look to Sasuke as she handed him his portion of food, as if pleading him disprove her unnerving assumption. Sasuke held her eyes for a moment, his fingers grazing hers as he took hold of the bowl. He didn't comment on that fact that she had yet to let go, and was instead just staring at him with her big green eyes. Sasuke found himself studying her face in detail, from the tips of her lashes, to the pink of her nose, and the gloss of her lips. He suddenly realised that this was the longest she devoted her attention to solely him in days. Perhaps he would've stayed in that moment with her longer if Naruto hadn't distracted her.

"But you can't just summon people! They're people! …Can you?"

Sasuke eyed Naruto with irritation, finally taking his food from Sakura as she twisted to look at their blond teammate. "People couldn't dimension-hop a couple years ago either. Yet, here I am."

"It could be any number of things, Naruto. Continued exposure to a specifically calibrated drug or chemical, a mind-control justu, a biological implantation of sorts?" Sakura ruminated, rattling off theories from the top of her head. "It's dangerous to assume we won't be effected by what these people seem to be confounded by. We can't rule anything out until we gain more evidence. Maybe I could analyse one of them? At this point, I'm hoping it's something chemical, because then I can treat it. But if not…" Sakura trailed off, biting her lip and looking despairingly at her lap.

Sensing her discomfort, Kakashi laid a warm hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze, before turning his attention to his dark-haired teammate. "Well, you sure know how to pick 'em, Sasuke. Consider my brain, teased."

Sasuke pointedly kept his eyes firmly on Kakashi's, not daring to trail the length of his arm to where it still lingered on Sakura's person.

"So, what do we do?" Naruto asked around a mouthful of food.

Sasuke gratefully cut his eyes back to the Dobe. "The plan hasn't changed. Whatever or whoever is operating the missing-nin is irrelevant for the time being. Our goal is to remove the root of this problem at its source. I anticipate that will keep our hands more than full."

"Or hand, in your case." The idiot snickered, grains of rice flying with his chuckle.

"Shush, Naruto." Sakura reprimanded.

"And you don't think we will be inciting the wrath of our mystery summoner by doing that?" Kakashi pointed out casually, half his food already gone in the blink of an eye. And his hand mercifully back to himself.

"I'm sure it will, but that is why we will be discreet and long gone by the time it does. Maybe we can even use this coveted weapon against them?" Sasuke replied coolly.

"You know, it slightly puts my teeth on edge that you were going to attempt all this with such little back-up, Sasuke. I can't tell if the stress I'm feeling is from resulting paperwork this is going to create, or my own ex-sensei instincts going haywire."

"Well, when you figure it out, let me know." Sasuke sneered back, watching Kakashi warily as the older man didn't seem the slightest bit fazed by his abrasive attitude.

Sasuke was getting really tired of how suddenly involved Kakashi was being. He hadn't ridden him this hard since he was a genin, and all but tied him to a tree to make his point; force him to accept help and his bonds. Maybe it was old defence mechanisms coming back into play, or maybe it was the fact that he never accounted for him and Naruto in his plans like this, but it was setting him on edge as much as he was sure he was setting Kakashi off.

Naruto, sensing the tension once again bouncing off their self-appointed alpha teammates, made eye contact with Sakura for a moment before breaking the standoff. "Ne, don't worry Sensei, I'm sure it's just old age you're feeling."

"Second warning, Naruto." Sakura feigned a sigh, falling into her role of diverting the building pressure between their friends. Too much brooding was bad for the soul. Turning mischievous eyes to Kakashi, Sakura grinned mercilessly at her revered village leader. "Besides, I think all that worrying gives him a rather dignified look, don't you think? His dramatic hunching really brings out his eyes. Look, see! They match the grey of his hair."

She and Naruto shared a secret smile at the way Kakashi, leaned back into his slouch and Sasuke huffed into his food. Naruto gave her a small wink as he went about distracting Sasuke, as it fell to her to take Kakashi. A role she had grown most competent in.

It was always like a dance between the two them; a give and take of wit and comfort, and she slipped as easily into it as she did her combat gloves. And judging by the shift of fabric which indicated Kakashi's playful smirk, he felt similarly.

"Sakura-chan." Kakashi replied in turn, easily revelling in her proposed teasing. "Remind me to assign you to exclusive desk duty when we return. Seeing as you like my eyes so much, you can continue to be dazzled by them as we complete all the paperwork from this adventure, together. And it may take weeks, what with my poor work ethic and all. Lucky you, getting to be stuck with such a dignified looking man."

"Ne, Kakashi – " She pouted, ready to project in her typical brand of playful exasperation.

"Ah, ah. That's Rokudaime to you. Best get in the habit now, wouldn't want to make the others jealous." Kakashi corrected mockingly, ruffling her hair for added measure, perhaps taking a little vindication in mussing it up.

"Well that's just too bad for them, 'Kashi-kun." Sakura bat her perfect lashes at the man; an action that would've appeared entirely serene and innocent, if not for her dangerous smile and saccharine voice.

Perhaps it would've looked an intimate position to any stranger who happened upon them in that moment; what with the way they stared at each other with challenging fondness, but inches apart. Masculine hand threaded through pink tresses, and bright green eyes all but shining at the man in question. But Sakura had never stopped to question how it might appear to anyone unfamiliar with their familiarity. Never even spared Sasuke a thought. And perhaps that was why Sasuke snapped the way he did.

"Sakura, eat your food. We can't afford you starving yourself and being too weak to be useful."

It was only with Sasuke's irate command that Sakura startled out of her conversation with Kakashi. Turning to frown at him, she distantly registered the feel of Kakashi's hand smoothing down her hair as he withdrew his hand. Sasuke met her frown with a harsh glare of his own.

Twisting her lips in annoyance at his chastising tone and biting her tongue at his rude remark, she replied sarcastically. "Yes, Uchiha-Taichou-Sir. I wouldn't want to be a burden to you."

She heard Naruto muffle a nervous laugh, and could imagine Kakashi raising his brow at her, but she only had eyes for her vexing raven-haired teammate as he scoffed at her.

"Don't be annoying."

Sakura felt her eye twitch. "Excuse me?"

"Tch. You heard me." The last Uchiha grunted, rolling his eyes at her.

"Oh I heard you, I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into by speaking to me like that, uncalled for." She challenged, consciously controlling the surge of chakra that begged to release itself upon his person, lest she break another bowl. What the hell has gotten into him?

"If you aren't going to take this mission seriously, then don't bother coming, Sakura." Sasuke snarked at her, not even having the decency to look her in the eye as he blatantly insulted her.

In a rush of anger, Sakura shot to her feet, cracking the bowl of food she still clutched in her hand. "How dare you Sasuke – "

It was Kakashi's hand suddenly on her shoulder and Naruto's voice cutting over hers that made her stop in her tracks, and instead seethe in quiet anger as she watched Sasuke completely ignore her.

"Oi Sasuke! Don't be a dick to Sakura-chan like that. What the hell is wrong with you?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Ignore him, Sakura." Kakashi whispered quietly to her, letting his solid touch ground her. "We're all a little stressed and wound up. I'm sure Sasuke didn't mean it."

Taking a deep calming breath, Sakura look up at her silver-haired companion who stood composed at her right, not even flinching at the fury in the green of her eyes. Although, what would she expect from the eternally unruffled Copy-Nin. He's seen her at her worst plenty of times before, and yet he always stood by her. When he wasn't running from the bill, that is. She grudgingly felt herself calm under his presence, and let some of the tension drain from her body. It just wasn't worth it. Sasuke always says hurtful things when he wants to, it's just who he is. Don't let him get to you, damnit. He speaks in actions, not words. You have nothing to prove to him.

Noticing her retreating anger, Kakashi just gave her a small eye crinkle, before nodding to her forgotten food, in invitation. "Don't let it get too cold."

Forcibly unclenching her jaw, Sakura emphatically picked up her bowl and marched over to sit directly between Naruto and Kakashi, not even sparing her third teammate a glance. If he was going to be childish and cranky, well, two could play at that game.

Sakura ate every scrap of her food, down to the last grain of rice. Handing her empty bowl passive-aggressively to Sasuke, she then leapt into the trees to take first watch. Huddling in on herself in an effort to keep warm against the cool night air, Sakura let a sad chuckle escape her pink lips in exasperation of herself. "I'm such an idiot." She murmured into her arms.

There she sat, and mentally recited every disease she could think of; Meningitis, Diphtheria, Tuberculosis, Leptospirosis, Botulism… anything to distract herself from how easy it was for Sasuke to hurt her, again.

Harsh winds blew fiercely through the midnight sky, whistling past the crevasse of their cave, and making their fire dance to stay alive.

Two figures rested sporadically across the smooth surface of rock, shadows and light flickering over their features, as a third entered; the click of her boots echoing throughout the space.

"So, it seems our darling Icarus has finally wondered himself close to our sun again. And he brought some guests with him, if reports are to be believed. Very valuable guests." A burgundy-haired woman purred, absently stroking the hilt of her katana, as she strode through their cave.

Dark green eyes assessed her, as the woman languidly laid herself across an outstretch of rock. "Ara, tomorrow take a small squad and determine the validity of our intel. Do not engage, and do not be seen." The man's long black hair sheened under the wavering light with his curt order.

"With pleasure." Came the woman's sinful hum.

"Hansai, ensure your pets are prepared. Go collect more if you need, but be discreet." The man continued, directing his attention to the last figure happily dancing a live lizard over the fire with his chakra strings.

"Hai, Yukine! And what will you be doing?" A tan, sandy-haired man giggled manically.

"I shall inform him."

A/N: Annnd we're back! Sorry for the delay, life and such. Bit of a longer chapter than usual to make up for it though! Yamato and Sai get their own little adventure, and we get to meet some of our mysterious anti-heroes! Everyone seems to be feeling the tension as of late (especially Cagey-Sasuke), so we'll see how that all pans out for our favourite foursome. Hope everyone is staying happy and healthy! Would always love to hear your thoughts! :)