2

They were approaching the unguarded gates of Nagitsu. Being a crossroad for travelers, this village was generally peaceful, which was perfect to lie low for a while. It was located halfway through between Konoha and the Land of Rivers.

The meeting with the Godaime didn't go well, as one would have expected when Konoha was being taken for a fool. Nonetheless, the instructions didn't change. The Godaime's order was clear, they had to find a way to retrieve the child and bring him safely to Ginza. As for Sakura's hopes of being relieved of her duty for this mission, they had been destroyed by her stubborn and deluded sensei.

Sakura hadn't uttered a word to her teammate since his unforeseen outburst. He didn't deserve her attention. Nonetheless, someone had to act like a grownup, and she felt she needed to do something before they went past the gates. There might not be any other opportunity to be alone with him for a long while, if she didn't speak now.

"Sasuke-kun," she said firmly, as they passed through the entrance of the village, "I ignore what happened between you and Naruto, but the way you're treating me because of it isn't fair. As for your brother, I don't know what you're expecting from me..."

"Behave yourself, don't overcomplicate things, and do your duty."

She blinked, thinking he should probably follow his own advice, "You truly are the biggest prick I've ever met. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't let you rot in that cell back, then."

"You needed me, Sakura."

She hated that he was right.

As he opened the door, Itachi didn't expect to see his brother accompanied by his faulty female teammate. She shouldn't be here. His brother looked at him expectantly, while the kunoichi seemed more interested in observing her surroundings, marveling at the cerulean, clear sky.

"You're late, little brother," he murmured.

Sasuke snorted and headed straight for their captain, certainly bringing important news for the Godaime. They had been waiting for long enough. The road from Konoha to Nagitsu was quite short for shinobis, about a few hours of travel, whereas for civilians it easily took two days.

He waited for Haruno to enter, but she really seemed engrossed by her musing. His eyes lingered on her attire, on her pink hair tied into a bun above her head, and the locks of hair falling to each side of her face. When she got out of her reveries, her wide-opened eyes barely caught him staring. He looked away at once, and she nodded awkwardly before she finally entered inside. A high-pitched scream broke the silence, startling everyone nearby.

"What is she doing here!?"Lady Yashiro yelled, her finger pointing at the kunoichi like she was vermin that needed to be gotten rid of. "I thought you were sending her back!"

Sakura Haruno unexpectedly stood still while the woman kept screaming in her face. Their captain, who was busy reading the Hokage's note, glanced at them once, and went back to her note, somewhat annoyed by the scene, judging by the tension in her mouth.

"My baby got kidnapped because of her!" she continued. "She shouldn't be here! I don't want her around!"

Her tantrum lasted a few minutes, until Hyuuga finally decided to intervene, "We're sorting this situation out as we speak. You'll be pleased to learn that we're going to get your child back, Lady Yashiro, regardless of your... unreliable nature. While we organize what will come next, you should go back to your room."

This wasn't a suggestion, but the woman was too offended to understand nobody in their right mind would wish to be on Captain's Hyuuga bad ends.

"Are you even listening to—"

"Yes," she answered. "And I'll make sure she won't be around you this time."

Satisfied, Lady Yashiro just nodded and went back quietly into her room. Hyuuga turned around, her frowned eyebrows betraying her blank stare, "This is why you shouldn't befriend them, Haruno. She wouldn't have been able to blame anyone if you had done so, no matter who was responsible."

Haruno seemed strangely apathetic, "I understand."

"Come with me now."

They quickly disappeared through the door leading to the basement. This house was mostly used by Anbus for storing purposes. Most often for clothes and victuals. But it was also a good place to stop with prisoners.

"Where's Naruto?" a familiar voice asked behind him.

His little brother, somehow, always managed to surprise him. It was obvious that he had been lying about failing his Anbu training. After seeing with his own eyes how reckless his teammates were, there were no doubts left. His brother simply couldn't have failed the examination. His blond teammate, on the other hand, couldn't have possibly succeeded, which meant that, for a reason he couldn't pinpoint yet, Sasuke had decided to take the blame for him.

Sasuke was looking through the window's curtains, wearing his usual bored expression.

"Scouting outside. Do you wish to join him?" Itachi finally said, catching his brother's attention, who then looked at him with distrust.

He had noticed how his little brother had been looking around the house for his blond teammate. His father's reasoning was starting to make more and more sense. From the little he had seen from the well-known Team Seven, it was a wonder that they had managed to be successful against the snake, back during the Fourth shinobi war.

Sasuke remained quiet, like he knew anything he could say would be used against him. That was always the problem with family. They knew better, and tricks didn't work as well as with strangers.

"You must stay focused, Otouto."

The prisoner was a young man with short brown hair, not much older than she was. He had bright blue eyes that reminded her of Naruto. One of his arms lay awkwardly against his chest. Broken elbow. Sitting on the dusty floor, his white garment looked dirty. Some parts of his trousers were torn, revealing purple shades over his tanned and dirty skin. Several bruises and cuts. Both of his feet were hidden behind a linen fabric. There was, however, something odd that caught her eyes. A rope was tied around his left ankle, and the linen cloth underneath appeared to be filled with scarlet blood.

The patient isn't in a life-threatening situation.

"This is all your boyfriend's work," Captain Hyuuga said, pointing at their new guest.

She winced inwardly at her choice of word, but then, she realized something else that made her feel infinitely more content. The man got caught alive, which meant Naruto had willingly chosen not to kill him. Despite all the training he had been through, he was still being himself. He chose not to eliminate an enemy they knew nothing about.

Hyuuga leaned towards her. "Do your thing," she ordered. "I want him on his feet and able to walk. Don't fix him completely, though. I don't want to have to chase after him, we don't have time to waste..."

She nodded, refraining from asking more questions, especially about her teammate's whereabouts. Sakura felt the tension leave her when she heard the door close up. Following her captain's wishes, she brought back her focus on the wounded man, who had been watching them like a hawk. She couldn't see a killer in him, nor a bandit, but she knew not to judge too quickly, especially considering she almost got killed by one of his comrades.

"How long have you been bleeding?" she asked, as she crouched down in front of him.

"Why do you care?"

She snorted and tried to grab his arm, "Let me see."

He groaned, as the pain started flaring up in his limbs when her fingers touched his elbow, "Is it your way to torture people?"

"I don't torture people, I heal them," she revealed while positioning her hand on his forearm. She felt him tense even more. "Please relax."

"First the blond asshole breaks my bones, and now you want to fix me..." he mumbled, breathing loudly. "Honestly, doesn't it sound like a waste of energy? Or is it a way to show us you're all maniacs who enjoy inflicting pain on others?"

Contrary to her initial belief, his elbow appeared not to be broken but was instead simply dislocated, which would make her job way easier. It was a common procedure that even a non-experienced medic or someone unfamiliar with medical aid could perform. Nonetheless, she let a few amounts of chakra enter the area around his elbow, just in case there was something else she had missed.

"You should consider yourself lucky," she said, her gaze fixed on his arm. "I know another asshole who wouldn't have hesitated to kill you."

She held his elbow straight, rotated his hand, and made sure the palm was facing forward. Then, she slowly flexed his arm so that his wrist was directed to his shoulder. A sudden cracking sound signaled her that the procedure was over.

"Ah! It's well known that shinobis have no honor," he mocked. He started moving his arm like it was a brand-new tool. "Wait—it's already done? Incredible! I didn't feel a thing!"

"Don't move it like that," she warned, as her eyes shifted to the injured feet. "I always find it funny when people like you, who kidnaps children for a living, give lessons about honor."

He stopped moving his arm this time. "Don't speak of things you don't know anything about, Kunoichi!"

The mink's finally showing his true colors. She wasn't offended, considering she had no interest in listening to whatever reason had made his gang of rascals decides that going after a baby was the right thing to do. In fact, even trying to justify it would sound insane. She knew there was no way to discuss rationally with such people. Nonetheless, she wouldn't let her personal opinions interfere with her job, that was how medic-nins were supposed to be: detached and pragmatic.

She couldn't claim to have ever been able to act like one, as a matter of fact, she was probably at the very opposite end of what a medic-nin should be, which was yet another reason to remain in her holy and safe hospital, instead of wasting her time on the field treating a teenager, or rather a criminal kidnapping babies.

Under the linen cloth, she discovered he had a piece of metal stuck inside the flesh of his feet. A shuriken to be precise. Naruto really got him good. Whoever had decided not to remove it had been clever. Although she figured it had probably had something to do with not giving the prisoner the ability to escape, instead of injuring him further. In any case, the shuriken was stuck deeply enough to require medical assistance.

"Are you going to remove it or what?" the rascal whined, unable to stand the pain anymore. "Why are you looking at it like that? Is there something wrong? Please don't—don't tell me I won't ever be able to walk again. It just can't be—"

"Just calm down," she said. "How long have you been in here? And please don't ignore my question this time, unless you want to lose your feet."

"I don't know… Maybe a day."

The lad was lucky. Without warning him, she held her feet in one hand and just pulled out the foreign object from his flesh in one go, which made him instantly curse. She then proceeded to heal him by injecting a green and warm chakra coming from her hands. It was somewhat frustrating to refrain herself from healing him completely, akin to asking an artist to voluntarily forget to fill up with colors a square of a painting. However, orders were orders.

The wound was closed up, at last. Still, the skin remained fragile enough, quick to tear apart if the rascal decided to run away from his captors. Fortunately for him, the healing process would continue naturally and allow him to run again. In time.

"It's done," she finally said, "but forget about running or fighting. Could damage your feet even more, so don't do it. Try getting up, please."

"I still can't feel my feet".

"Yeah... it's nothing to worry about. It'll get better in a few days." she heard a door being opened, "We have to go back on the road now."

The journey to Monokuri's hill would take five days, counting breaks and nights in between. Captain Hyuuga had, indeed, discovered the gang hunting children cared very much about its members, to such a degree that they had recovered the dead bodies of their mates as well as their wounded. She had then concluded they would also attempt anything to save the prisoner. A sensible theory. Her inquiries had then led her to believe they were temporarily hiding around the Monokuri's hill, located in the River Land near the Fire Land's border. The odds of retrieving the child were now higher.

Sakura was currently walking behind the gimpy prisoner, who she had found was named Ryuu.

"I feel like an old man, thanks to this stupid stick!"

"I can take it back, if you wish," she offered. "You won't need it for long anyway."

He stopped, and shook his head, "No. I'd rather keep the only weapon I've got. Besides, I still can't feel my feet, and we've been walking for hours already. I can't stand it anymore!"

"You're quite demanding for a prisoner, you know..."

From above, they looked like they were all alone inside this deep forest, lost travelers nobody would even find, but it was far from reality. About two kilometers ahead, Captain Hyuuga was leading the march with the civilians. As for Naruto and Sasuke, they were both traveling by themselves, on each side of the main group, far enough from them, but close enough to be able to react quickly if things were to turn dire. It was indeed a formation meant to ensure they wouldn't get caught off guard easily by a sudden assault. When it came to their non-official member, he had been chosen to close the march, likely playing the role of a deterrent, to prevent their guest from having silly ideas-although there was no way he could escape in his current state.

Speaking of their keeper, she felt he was getting closer and closer to them, which made her glanced behind her shoulder for a second. She then looked up at the darkening sky, "I think your prayers have been heard, Ryuu."

And indeed, not a minute later, the Uchiha announced they were stopping there for the night. They found a spot between trees and bushes, a few steps away from the main path, where they wouldn't stand out as much. Sakura started looking for rocks, without giving much thought to her prisoner. Once she had gathered what she needed, she noticed something odd. Ryuu was still standing, almost leaning against a tree, which didn't fit with his wish to rest his swollen feet. She dropped her rocks and branches and went after him. Tch! Not afraid to whine, but too pride to ask for help. He seemed annoyed at first, but let her help him sit.

Branches and rocks under her arms, she knelt on the ground, and started forming a small circle with the rocks. Her eyes shifted a mere instant to the Uchiha, wondering whether he would help her or keep ignoring her. It wasn't usually her task to take care of bonfires, it was more something Sasuke's thing, since lighting a fire was as easy as breathing for him. While she didn't know for sure what was his brother's elemental affinity, most Uchihas were fire users, so it seemed likely that he was one too. After her second attempt to spark a flame, it started to be clear he wouldn't assist her in any way. Maybe that was the way she was supposed to impress him. Lighting a fire could certainly be seen as the best achievement she had done throughout the mission. Still, she had a feeling that it would not be enough.

The sky was now dark enough to bring a cold breeze through the forest, Sakura was holding her knees while staring at the small bonfire she had finally made after seven attempts. Her hand reached for a small box inside her pocket, from which she took out a pill. Shinobis would sometimes hunt to get proper meals, but in some cases, depending on the time available and the level of threat, they would simply consume ninja pills, meant to give all the nutrients the body needed to function. Some called them magical pills, but there was certainly nothing magical about their taste. It was like water, tasteless, although, unlike water, it could calm the hunger for a while. She met Ryuu's eyes, and after pondering for a moment, she handed him a magical pill.

"What's this for?" he asked, looking at the pill in her hand.

"Aren't you hungry?"

He immediately took the pill. Although he didn't seem convinced, having seen her eat one had been enough to lower his mistrust, he then made himself more comfortable in an attempt to rest and finally closed his eyes. As she let her head rest against her knee, Sakura wondered how someone could fall asleep while being watched, only to realize she was being watched herself. It was baffling how one's presence could be so easily noticeable but also so quickly forgettable. Her guardian had his eyes fixed on her. Anyone would have looked away the minute they got caught. But this man didn't bulge.

What is his problem?

The truth was that she had never really thought much about her teammate's brother. She knew who he was and that he was considered a prodigy, a skilled shinobi, and thus one of the very best. But he also belonged to the nobility, being an Uchiha and, on top of that, the heir of his clan. He came from a different world, one she would never fully grasp. In truth, she wasn't so fond of her teammate's clan. Most of them behaved like they were better than anyone else, and that wasn't something she could stand behind.

Even her teammate behaved like an arrogant prick, but she liked to believe he didn't really mean it, that it was more something he did out of habit. He certainly dared not do it with her or Naruto. It tended to happen more with strangers, which made it easier to overlook. People born into the nobility, belonging to powerful clans, and being admired and feared by everyone made their arrogance more understandable. It didn't mean she would ever condone such behavior.

She knew the rational thing to do would be to look away, but for once, she didn't feel like playing the scared girl. If he's going to stare at me like a creep, I may as well do the same. And so she kept staring absent-mindedly, as if she was looking at a painting and trying to find its meaning. Unfortunately, she couldn't see well enough in the dark, and it was really likely that there wasn't anything to find to begin with.

Many thought Sasuke had similarities with snakes: cold, generally unfriendly, and emotionless. However, his true friends knew there was nothing emotionless about him. As a matter of fact, he had quite a temper and was rather susceptible. His brother, on the other hand, was taking the whole typical and phlegmatic posture Uchihas usually had to another level.

She was certain such traits couldn't only be explained by his upbringing though, otherwise, Sasuke wouldn't be so angry all the time – especially for stupid reasons, which was unusual for Uchihas. In his brother's case, it was probably more a combination of entering the Anbu at an early age, and thus taking assassination missions as a child – which was too young, even by shinobi's standards. But then, there was her masked sensei, a real anomaly, whose existence destroyed completely her theory. Even to this day, she couldn't believe he became chunin at the young age of six.

Studying the human mind would certainly never be her forte. She decided to finally break the spell by closing her eyes and seeking some sleep. After all, they were supposed to gain back some energy for the rest of their journey. Despite this, something was troubling her, something familiar that was reaching her senses, or rather someone.

"Sakura-chan!" a voice whispered behind her.

She winced as she felt a hand stroking her head. Notwithstanding her displeasure, she remained quiet, refusing to acknowledge his presence, until she heard something she would have never anticipated.

"Itachi-san," Naruto greeted, "I need to borrow her for a second."

What? Did he just call him—

She sighed as she stood up, crossing her arms on her chest. I guess I will never get to rest. Naruto then led her recalcitrant body towards an unknown path, between trees and bushes, far enough from the camp, but still close enough to be able to run back to it easily in case something happened.

"Hm, alright," Naruto forced her to face him. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

She let out a breath.

"Is it because of the kid?" he asked. "I know it wasn't supposed to go like that. But—no one expected such a welcoming party.Don't blame yourself for it, it wasn't your fau─"

"Naruto," she interrupted, "I can't fucking believe you lied to me!"

Caught off guard, he backed away from her, "Wh—what are you talking about, Sakura-chan!? You know I would never─"

"Don't," she hissed. " 'A formality! Just a formality, I promise!' You liar! Youfailed your final examination! That's a big difference, don't you think?"

"Sakura—"

She lifted her hand, "And do you know what's even better? From what I've gathered, it wasn't even your fault. It was...Sasuke's! Why didn't you just tell me the truth, Naruto?"

"Look— let me explain Sakura-chan," he said, reaching from her hands, "I didn't want to worry you, alright? We have another chance to prove our worth, and we won't fail anything this time. So, I...just didn't want to make a big deal out of it."

Sakura's eyes narrowed, "You're lying again! I can't believe it."

"No, I'm not! I'm telling the truth," he protested.

"And that must be why you and Sasuke don't talk to each other anymore, right?"

Naruto lifted his arms, "Mah, you know how moody he gets when—"

"No. It's more than that."

"Sakura-chan! Come on! I didn't lie to you!" he insisted, "I just— I just couldn't help but remember the way we left each other one year ago. You weren't exactly supportive of my choice to join the Anbu...and now, with what happened, I didn't want to give you any reason to say you were right all along."

"Baka! I don't care anymore!" she answered, rising her voice from indignation. "It doesn't matter. I got over it. What path you choose is only your own. Not mine. It's not for me to decide what you should do or not. But lying to me, Naruto, please don't do it ever again. I see that neither you nor Sasuke want to talk about whatever happened during your training, and that's fine. You don't have to tell me everything. But you can't keep going like this! Something's wrong with Sasuke, and you must do something to fix it! You know better than anybody else how he gets when he shuts himself off from everybody. It's a disaster waiting to happen..."

"I know," he sighed. "But really, I swear it, it's all my fault. Not his."

"I overheard a conversation between him and his brother the other day, and I'm positive he said something about Sasuke failing. Not you."

"It's a failure for both of us," he whispered, looking sideways. "Look. I'll find a way to make things right, I promise."

"All right," she said, her arms still crossed on her chest. "But I'll beat you up, if you lie to me again." Being too tired to resist, she let Naruto lunched at her and crushed her body tightly into his arms

"I can't stand you being angry with me, Sakura-chan," he murmured into her ears.

"I know," she said, as she let her arms rest on his back, "but that's your punishment for being a jerk."

The area was becoming more and more familiar as they went through a large clearing in which the dense green grass could finally be touched by the sunlight. Far ahead, a trail of smoke could be seen reaching up to the sky and at its root, there was a roof made of dark wood. A carved animal figure could be seen on its top, which gave Sakura enough hints to finally be able to link a name to this place. Okojo Inn.

She wasn't quite sure what kind of establishment it was, but she was certain she had stopped in this Inn in the past. In fact, she remembered that there was also a village nearby. She spotted a sign that said: Aitari Village, adding to her theory.

This must be where we're headed.

"I need a drink, Sakura-san."

Hearing her name made her stop in her tracks, her eyes scrutinized her nosy captive, "So, you weren't asleep, last night."

"I was trying to," he explained. He showed her his palms. "Do you think it's easy to sleep while being watched?"

She chuckled. What a minx! That was something she definitely couldn't argue with. Nonetheless, the familiarity between them would soon become an issue, if she didn't put an end to it. She needed to be on her best behavior after her monumental failure. "Ryuu, don't use my name ever again. We're not...friends."

"You can use my name, but I can't use yours... Don't you think that's a bit unfair?"

He had a point. Again.

She sighed, "Unfair? Maybe you should've thought of it before starting a career as a child abductor."

This seemed to do the trick, although the man rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the path. Their small argument had unfortunately made the distance between them and their guard shorter, enough to make Sakura urge her pace. As they approached the Inn, there were met by several white goats, bleating loudly around them.

She could now see clearly the roof and the small carved animal that she hadn't been able to identify from afar. It turned out to be some sort of fox, she couldn't tell which specie exactly, in any case, it was a nice-looking carving that reminded her of the ones she used to collect as a child.

"Go away!" Ryuu yelled, as two goats started to chew on his clothes.

Sakura reached for her belt, and grasped her flask, which, without any surprise, happened to be empty. The village should not be that far from their current position, but it was too late. She was already starting to imagine how some water would ease her dry throat right now.

"Do you have one?" she asked.

"You took all my stuff away, remember?"

"I don't—"

"Not you. The tall kunoichi with black hair and white eyes."

"It doesn't matter," she said, heading towards the stairs. "Don't move."

"It's not like I can go anywhere with them."

The goats certainly seemed to have taken a liking to him—there were four of them now. Sakura chuckled and headed towards the small stairs leading to the Inn's entrance. As her feet hit the first step, she suddenly remembered something—or rather someone. How could I possibly forget about him? she thought. She turned around and looked ahead in the direction they came from. As expected, their keeper was there, slowly making his way towards them. When he got close enough, she let out a short breath, gathered her courage and took the first step.

"This is Okojo's Inn! I need to—I'll just go refill my bottle with some water," she explained, searching for his eyes, but he kept ignoring her. "I won't be long."

Itachi stopped in front of her and just looked up at the Inn towering over them. As she observed him study the place, she thought of Sasuke's outburst, and how much he seemed to care about his brother's opinion. Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to break the ice.

Still, she hesitated, deeply believing something was seriously off with him. His disinclination to look at her when they spoke and the way he refused to acknowledge her were rather off-putting. He was a man of few words, but when he spoke, he never addressed her directly. Even Sai, the most constipated man she had ever known, though he had made great improvements since then, had never behaved in such a manner. Somehow, she doubted the outcome would be the same with Sasuke's brother. But she had to try something.

It's now or never.

"I could fill up yours too, if you wish."

She wasn't sure he had heard her for a second, seeing as he seemed more interested in observing the carved animal sitting on the inn's roof—not that she could blame him, the well-crafted carving was a sight to behold. When she noticed his hand sliding toward the inner pocket of his vest, she knew she had won. He released an almost empty flask from a scroll and extended it toward her.

Sakura grabbed his bottle with too much eagerness, her fingers wrapping themselves around it firmly, but as she tried to bring the flask towards her, she was met with resistance. There were no more distractions then, no wood sculpture to observe, but her. Having no way to make this situation less awkward, she just stared back at him, at his deep onyx eyes, feeling a strange jolt of energy run through her body. Troubled, she smiled awkwardly. "I'll be... I'll be right back, it should only take a few minutes. I promise."

The bottle fell into her hand, at last. Sakura wasted no more time and almost ran up the stairs, like she was trying to escape from great danger. She pushed the door of Okojo's Inn open, discovering the place was anything but deserted. There were a group of people resting at a table, an old man drinking at the counter, and some men settled at the back., all enjoying themselves quietly inside this rather traditional-looking inn.

Sakura walked towards the counter and discovered an outstanding shelf of alcoholic beverages. She recognized several brands, coming from the best breweries in the country, such as a particularly refined one that had an aftertaste of cherry. She could almost taste it on her tongue. But then her eyes fell on a rarity, the slightly tainted orange bottle gave it away. It was a well sought-after sake from a county in the Rice Country, made by a master brewer, and one that was usually difficult to acquire. Some people claimed that one taste could turn any nightmare into the most delicious dream.

"I got it from a lost traveler," the tenant said with a raspy voice. "He couldn't handle it anymore. The lost soul even told me the bottle was cursed and had made his life a nightmare. So, he decided to give it up to me. Foolishly, I thought it would make me rich. Alas, nobody wanted to taste it. Most people just stare at it for a while, and then they never come back. Maybe it's really cursed."

"Why not destroy it?"

"And lose a year's worth of wages? No way," she laughed. "Would you like a taste?"

"No!" Sakura gasped. She remembered her purpose here, and handed out the empty bottles. "I actually need these refilled with water, please."

The tenant looked unconvinced, "That's it?"

"Yes, please."

She grabbed the bottles, "You know, there are two kinds of people who come to my Inn," she turned the faucet on, "the ones that set themselves up to my tables and order food, and the ones who come to my counter to stare at my beverages like they've just found the meaning of life."

"I'm just impressed by your collection, ma'am."

"I have no doubts about that," she put the filled bottles on the counter.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing," she smiled, "if anything, your comrade has paid enough to compensate for it."

"My comrade?"

"A tall lady with white eyes, accompanied by two fancy folks."

It somehow comforted her to learn she was not the only person whose unique characteristics made her stand out. Hyuugas had such peculiar eyes that nobody could mistake them for civilians. Still, she wasn't under the impression they were in any way shamed for it, certainly not in the way people saw her as exotic.

Sakura thanked the tenant, but as she grabbed back the bottles, she suddenly felt the woman's fingers close around her wrist. "Careful young woman," she whispered, "one of my clients, who I suspect is more than a civilian, has been observing you during our whole conversation. I know his kind. Up to no good, I tell you!"

"I—thanks," she murmured, without being the least surprised. She had seen way too much already—too much to worry about one weirdo or some enemy holding grudges against Konoha. She walked back to the door, ignoring the fact that the guy was now standing up and staring at her like he was having an existential crisis.

Those eyes...

She went swiftly past him and stepped through the door, determined to ignore this potentially troublesome situation. Once outside, Sakura let out a breath of relief, feeling the tension in her muscles disappear. The borrowed bottle found its way back to its owner, a little too forcefully, as her hand pushed the flask against the quiet Uchiha. She then strode towards Ryuu, while shooing the goats away. 'Forward,' she ordered Ryuu.

"Alright, alright. What about my drink?"

"Here. Take it."

Giving a last glance behind herself, Sakura distinguished a shadowy figure standing still by the inn's stairs. Her eyes shifted, landing on another shadow moving slowly on the ground towards her. It seemed she'd never be able to escape them.