Chapter 59: Stealing back

Pale lavender eyes aimlessly scanned the greenery around him. Usually, when a mission was mislabeled, they ended up facing an exponentially higher risk; in this situation, however, they managed to finish a good week before schedule. If Neji's memory served correctly, Hinata-sama should have a lull between her own assignments right about now. After about a year of constant extra training that had ended up being expanded from pure combat into what he knew about cold reading and manipulation, the young girl was finally walking without looking as if she was scared of her own shadow.

At times, the young prodigy still found himself astounded at the decisions he'd taken.

Just as surprised as he was with the heiress' general advancement.

It took some time, but eventually, Neji could admit that what had been holding his cousin back was more a lack of confidence in herself than a lack of talent. Perhaps she couldn't take to their clan's techniques with the same speed the older teen did, but she was dedicated enough to learn it despite all difficulties. And her readings tended to be on point more often than not. A part of him half expected the girl to begin showing the distinct arrogance those within the main house wore as a cloak once her skill became more than just passable. That had yet to pass, however. The girl would still spend some of her time cooking and preparing poultices. Often she would also offer to brew tea for him as if most of her other direct family members wouldn't find that demeaning. For whatever reason, the girl was determined to make a change in their family's archaic traditions. A seemingly impossible task to take, considering Hiashi-sama still viewed her as unworthy. It was little else but an unachievable plan he'd placed himself behind as he decided to widen Hinata-sama's training range.

No...not truly as impossible.

The girl never actually caused any trouble, even if she'd failed to deliver great praise. As long as she could hold herself against Hanabi-sama, there would be no grounds upon which to replace her as the next head of their clan. Now that he thought about it...did the younger girl even want that position?

He hadn't been paying much attention as he and his teammates kept moving back to the village, his byakugan activated following the habit he'd developed after shinobis with the Taisho crest began to increase in their frequency. Lowering their guard whenever they were outside the village was not something any of them did anymore. It took some chakra, but as long as they kept their pace relatively fast, he shouldn't deplete his reserves of chakra. But even with as little attention as he'd been paying, there was no way not to notice it. The sudden increase of energy to the south, close to the village, but still outside its walls.

And no matter how little exposure he'd had to it, Neji knew that wasn't chakra.

Bright pink shone through the edge of his extended vision, his hand already motioning the rest of his team to follow while focusing on the place the energy was quickly fading from. The outlines of a complex settlement revealed themselves to his eyes. He'd heard of it before, of course, especially when he started researching the unassuming girl who'd been appointed his opponent during his first Chuunin exam; however, he'd never actually seen the ruins of what had once been the Higurashi compound for himself.

"Neji?"

Tenten stopped beside him as she noticed him landing on a branch. Lee followed suit.

"Someone is in the ruins of the Higurashi compound."

"You mean, Kagome-san?!" For once, he agreed with Lee's loud surprise.

"Should we attempt to check it out ourselves?" Tenten asked.

With Gai-sensei gone in a different assignment, it fell on to Neji to make the decisions as team leader. From what he could see, the only one within the ruins was Kagome herself. That alone raised questions. Because he could not really remember ever seeing her alone for more than a few minutes at a time within Konoha. Had Sasuke been close by, then a fight would be completely unavoidable, with only the Higurashi here, however...

"Let's go." His voice was clipped.

Ignoring the orders to keep away, his team moved into the ruins. At another time, the teen would've taken some time to observe what remained of one of their founder clans; as it was, his attention was only focused on the one figure that stood near the epicenter of the explosion. She was taller now, though not by a lot, and unlike the one time he'd seen her fight seriously, she wore her long midnight hair loose. But those eyes, those bright azure eyes that widened just the slightest bit as she stared at his team, were unmistakable. Right there, standing at the top of a broken stair that now led to more debris, was Higurashi Kagome.

"I see...I suppose I should better remember this..."

It lasted less than a heartbeat, but Kagome's stance had changed. Tense and ready for an attack, far more confident than the more relaxed and controlled posture she showed now. Still as good of an actress, had it not been for his byakugan, Neji wasn't sure he would've caught it.

"Kagome-san!"

"Lee-san," The girl's voice was soft as she spoke, a small smile on her face. "Tente-san and Neji-san too, it has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Kagome..." Neji raised his hand, stopping his hotheaded teammate from whatever youth-related speech he was about to launch on. "Is Uchiha not here?"

So far, the order was to keep an eye on the missing heirs and bring them back if they were to be encountered. Not executed or harmed, simply brought back to the village. Uzumaki Naruto's relationship with their new Hokage was apparently good enough that the woman had decided to defend them. No lethal harm was to come to them in the retrieval process.

He'd fought with the girl before, but even with Lee and Tente here, she wouldn't be an easy target to corral if she decided to run away. Something that was sure to happen if he let the taijutsu expert go forth with his eccentricities. The same uneasiness that the teen had felt a year ago came back with full force. The lingering doubt on whether they had indeed been tricked into following the snake Sannin. The details he'd received later from Shikamaru, he could confirm they both heard what Orochimaru planned to do with the Uchiha. For someone as determined and cautious as he'd judged the Higurashi heiress...it made no sense.

"He's training." Slightly, the girl pulled back the bag she'd was carrying. "I just had a bit of extra time."

"So you resort to stealing?" With a hand signal, his teammates got ready for a potential attack.

"Can it really be called stealing when I'm simply retrieving my family's legacy?" The girl shook her head. "I will say, however, my predecessor was quite hasty when she decided to anchor the barrier like that."

"That explosion..."

"It had to be your team, the one passing by," she muttered before continuing with a wry laugh. "But yes, trying to get my own scrolls out of the property was impossible unless I destroyed the barrier. I understand wanting to believe there would never be any reason for our family to leave Konoha...but there are so many reasons that could compel a clan to move their residence."

"Higurashi-san..." Tenten started; clearly, she wanted to try and talk things out. "I don't know what the exact situation is, but you can always come back."

"A kind offer, though it's not one I can accept." He felt himself tense as the girl took one step down the stairs. "You see, it's not like we're actually free to move around as we like. It took a long time to convince him to let us out of sight, and even then, whenever one of us goes out, the other has to remain by his side." He had Lee and Tenten cover a little more space when Kagome made it down the stairs. "It's his failsafe to make sure that we won't just vanish when we go out of that cursed place. I will not go anywhere without Sasuke, and neither will he move without me."

"We can get him back too!" Unsurprisingly, Lee's passion pushed him to try and convince her too. "If you give us the directions to his hideout, then a team...!"

Something didn't fit.

Neji had long stopped trying to deceive himself into thinking his readings were infallible, but still, there was something off between the words she was saying and what he knew about her. It may have been only a short single encounter, but the Hyuuga prodigy was convinced she'd allowed herself to show a different part of herself than the one most people praised. Why, though? He'd infuriated her during their fight, attacked the most vulnerable targets he could think of, and insulted her friends, so why show a side that she'd clearly taken great efforts to hide from everyone but her closest friends?

Those last words from their encounter came back to his mind.

Ah...so that was it.

"Do you really think you can pull it off?" The confusion she showed was probably genuine. "Do you honestly believe you can just use a Sannin?"

For once, he could see the girl's mask slipping, eyes widening for a fraction of a second before the girl started laughing softly. Head shaking, allowing midnight locks to wave around her. Clearly, the girl had grown quite confident within the year and a half spent away from the village.

"Oh dear, now where did you get that from?" she asked, laughing.

"You're too proud to submit to someone else's will."

"Proud?" There was quite a bit of amusement in her voice. "Now, that is a new one."

He didn't doubt it; the girl's reputation had been all but impeccable. With Uchiha Sasuke always by her side, no one would name her as the egoistic one of the pair. Especially when said pride was not so easy to see. It wasn't her bloodline nor her status Kagome took pride in, but instead (similar to his Neji himself); the thing she was proud of was her own abilities, one of which was clearly deception.

"Am I wrong?"

"I did say a little too much during that fight, didn't I?" It wasn't an acceptance, but it wasn't a denial either.

"Wait, what are you talking about?!" Lee may have been the one to question, but he could see Tenten felt just as confused.

"It means they were never tricked by Orochimaru," This was a bet, he'd never seen her agitated, and he had no clue how she'd react to his words. "From the very beginning, they planned to con him. Not once did either of them ever intend to follow through with the deal they made with him. The whole thing was thought through as a way to get advanced training..."

"Wha..." There was as much surprise as even horror in Tenten's face. "You can't think that's going to work?!"

Maybe had he been with anyone else, they wouldn't have believed his words. His teammates trusted him enough to take him at his words. And he could see the girl realized that as well.

"But see...it's already working." Her smile remained the same as before. "Also, Orochimaru was once part of an organization that person now belongs to. There's no better source of information."

"And once he decides he wants to collect his part of the deal?" Trying to unsettle her would probably not work, but there was still a chance her stance could still crumble.

"Well...when that happens, we'll either take care of him or just run away."

She truly believed that.

He could see that even without needing to analyze her posture with his byakugan. But it wasn't pure arrogance; it was confidence. Higurashi Kagome honestly seemed to believe they could pull one over a Sannin. A part of him wondered if it was actually warranted.

"And after that?" Tenten was clearly not satisfied with her answers.

"After? Training is not our goal..." Her voice got duller. "Until that is done, we cannot turn back."

That answered the question...

This would have to turn into a fight. So far, trying to unsettle the Higurashi when talking about Sasuke or Orochimaru's goals, uncovering their plan hadn't worked either. He was running out of things to try before being forced to launch a preemptive strike. There was still one thing left...

"So, you just abandoned Naruto."

"That's not...!" Her words rushed out, much louder than any other time. Guilt dripped down her voice. "It wasn't like that! It's just...there wasn't any other way..."

Surprisingly, her mask completely fell...for it to affect her like this...she'd clearly been pushing it all down ever since they left. This guilt, at the very least, was real.

Her grip on the bag tightened, and her breathing was quickly becoming irregular, her gaze finally shifting from them as she looked down. The first time since the start of their encounter, her guard failed. Preferably, the idea was to get both missing shinobis with as few injuries as possible. As it was, however, that wasn't an option anymore. With a signal, Lee made his move. His speed almost made it seem like the taijutsu expert simply banished.

He should've been fast enough. He would've been fast enough for most other opponents to lose sight of him.

His byakugan allowed him to see it, though, the way the Higurashi girl moved, dodging his teammate's kick. Tenten's kunais were sent back with a single swipe of her arm. His own hit blocked with the blade of a short sword. She certainly hadn't grown any slower over the last year and a half. Her weapon repertoire also seemed to have increased. That plan of hers to get training was apparently paying off. Pulling back to avoid getting injured, Neji glared at the girl as she jumped away from Lee's next hit.

"Do you think you can get away from us so easily?"

"Oh, I think the only thing that could make things worse would be an Inuzuka on the team." Even as she said it, he noticed she was still breathing calmly. "But I am still faster."

"Kagome-san, just listen...!"

Unsurprisingly, she didn't bother to stop to listen to Lee.

Senbons came flying at him as her retreat was cut off by Tenten's explosive tags. Higurashi may be fast, and she was clearly strong but alone. Their coordinated attacks were enough to keep her in check. This was turning out just as annoying as their old match, with the girl dancing in between hits. There was no choreography for her to follow this time, however. That much he could tell from the number of movements she was forced to abort. In a battle of stamina, team Gai had the upper hand...so she'd have to do something and soon.

"Get back!"

There had barely been any warning, the shimmering pink energy that once blinded him exploded around the girl in an instant. Neji's hand somehow managed to grab the green spandex before Lee could crash against it. Tenten's weapons bounced back towards them.

"That is not chakra; it can be dangerous," Neji warned the exuberant teen.

He still remembered how much it hurt to be pierced by one of her reiki-charged needles. The Higurashi's bloodline had two sides to it; that was not something he'd quickly forget.

"I really didn't want to have to use this..." Three slips of paper appeared between her fingers with a single movement. "But Sasuke is waiting for me..."

It looked different from the ones she'd used during the Chuunin Exams. And it would seem like the difference in shape made a big difference. After all, there was just no way to compare the dozens of small butterflies with the three growling beasts staring at them from inside her barrier. The felines didn't move as if waiting for instructions.

"Neji...that does not look like a summon." The weapon's expert comment was far less calm than she probably wanted it to be.

"It's not..."

"For what it's worth..." Her face was entirely composed once more. "I am glad the surgery was successful, Lee-san...and that you survived that chase, Neji-san...but I really need to go. Sasuke will get worried otherwise."

"Can you break that barrier?" Lee looked at him.

"...I doubt it."

If it was that easy to break off, the Higurashi girl wouldn't have used it in the first place.

With a shake of her head, Kagome caressed the side of one of the beasts with her free hand. "Don't let anyone follow me."

In a blink, all three beasts launched towards them, passing the barrier without breaking it and leaving only the girl within for only a second. Chakra helped him move away from the teeth of the not-summons at the same time Higurashi Kagome flickered out of his field of view. His back rested against Tenten's as Lee jumped back after attempting to kick the feline that had stopped him from giving chase.

"Any ideas on how do we deal with this?"

"There is nothing that can't be beaten if we persist!" Lee's optimism obviously wasn't shared by anyone else.

Reiki was definitely not chakra, he scoffed, watching the beasts rounding them. The pink energy flowed like a chakra network would any living being. But they were paper; that was all they originally were. There hadn't been a big explosion like with the barrier.

"Lee's right. They'll run out of energy sooner or later."

Eventually, Sasuke supposed, you can get used to anything.

Once, the smell of blood had bothered him, forcing him to reign back painful and confusing memories. Now...well, it still wasn't a pleasant smell, but even the large amount of the crimson liquid that adorned the floor barely made him want to grimace. Not many of his opponents would cross the gates of the training ring still breathing; even less would make it through the night. Not a word of complaint would leave either of the men watching from the railings. His temper was holding on by a thread, and they were very much aware of it. It was their doing, after all.

The light pulse of reiki he could feel coming from the black, little ladybug hidden within his clothes was all that kept him from snapping at his teacher. It was a way to cheat from their stupid attempts to try and make the gap of time he and Kagome could stand being separated longer. If she focused, the girl could feel him through the shikigami he'd taken to keep with him at all hours, and the Uchiha could reassure himself by sensing the unique feeling reiki gave off.

There was a point to the whole thing, he knew. If they had to move together would delay them quite a bit once they were out of here. No, trying to move fast meant they had to be able to be separated for at least a little while. It took over a month for him to finally budge and agree with Kagome and start spending longer than necessary when completing their missions. It didn't help to make things any more palatable, though Sasuke supposed it did help him act less proficient. Being underestimated wasn't something he enjoyed, but he could acknowledge its usefulness. As far as they knew, their names had yet to be passed out to hunter nins' list, after all.

Pushing out his thoughts, he gave a lazy swipe to get rid of the blood staining his sword when he noticed.

The Uchiha wasn't chakra sensitive, but still, he felt her first.

The soft brush of reiki lightly washed over him with familiarity, her way to announce her return to him. It was such a light pulse; even with his sharingan activated, Sasuke could barely notice. Neither Orochimaru nor Kabuto caught it.

She rushed into the training room, not stopping to address any of their instructors.

Instead, Kagome simply jumped off the railing, not pausing until her arms circled him with enough strength to be almost painful. Carefully, he breathed in the scent of her, tension melting away at her presence by his side once more. His right hand settled on the low of her back, a welcoming gesture, a possessive one. One with just as much force in his grip as her own. Crimson eyes snapped up in a silent warning; these little shows of affection were as genuine as they were useful. A reminder to their teachers that touching the Higurashi heiress was not something that would be forgiven. If the way the girl leaned in to brush her lips against his made them think they were too wrapped in each other to plot against them, well, that was their own fault.

"I'm back."

The smile on her face was soft as she looked at him, turning into a more sly, dark turn when she turned back to look at those on top of the stairs.

"That's some stellar time, Kagome-chan." Orochimaru's voice grated on his ears.

"I'm inclined to believe some of the rumors were exaggerating." With a careless gesture, the girl simply threw the stolen scroll she'd retrieved at the snake Sannin. "I shall take the praise, however, Orochimaru-sama."

"Was this all for today?"

"We can deal with the review later." Orochimaru smiled at them, clearly pleased with what he saw. His grip tightened. "Unless Kagome-chan needs to be checked?"

"Not a scratch."

"Ah, before you leave, Kagome-chan, what about those hunters?" The lazy way the man asked his question irked him.

The last couple of times, he'd gotten rewarded with an outside mission. He'd been followed for a decent distance before being attacked. Nothing too particularly worrying since none of his attackers were good enough to be considered a threat, but it was annoying. At first, they'd thought that maybe, Konoha had finally gotten tired and placed a bounty on their heads, but none of them wore the village's symbol anywhere. In fact, it looked like they were random chuunin or low-grade rogue jounin and worked as little more than mercenaries. Which brought another question.

Where did the bounty on his head come from?

They'd all expected Kagome to get some of her own, that was the nature of her bloodline, but so far, the girl hadn't been targeted or watched the same way as him. So it wasn't Konoha, and it wasn't his brother either. It wouldn't make sense. They'd never worked outside the village except for that one time in Wave, and he'd made no enemies there. Kagome had made sure to smooth things over for him with anyone from Konoha who could've hated him enough to go around orders. Not even Orochimaru seemed to know who and why someone was trying to hunt them.

"Nothing happened." Like they needed to deal with another problem. "There were no interferences with the mission at all."

"I see..."

"Well, that was all you wanted," Sasuke snapped before making his way out of the corpse-filled room.

Slender fingers gripped his own, unbothered by the still-warm crimson that tainted it. He supposed it made sense; after all, out of the two of them, Kagome was the one who dealt with the liquid more often. Her so-called medical training was relentless with its practical lessons; it wasn't unusual for her to need a shower before continuing their day.

Quiet blanketed the halls as the girl walked closer to him, not bothering to break the silence. Paranoia made it almost impossible for them to speak in the open; a good part of their plans relied on keeping their goals hidden, after all. It was almost ironic how silence seemed to follow them around, even after getting out of the abandoned remains of the Uchiha compound.

As soon as the sound of the door locking behind them, warm arms wrapped around him; her hold was entirely different from the way she'd done in front of the others; the kind of cold, calculated movements she used when being seen banished in a heartbeat. Whenever they were alone inside their room, those gestures won back the sort of innocence she used to always display. Even then, this excitement as she jumped at him wasn't a common thing. In a way, it almost reminded him of the pure joy she used to have back when they were kids, laughing and joking around with Itachi or Naruto on their training grounds.

"Found something interesting?" he asked with a laugh.

"You can definitely say that. I actually had to leave some stuff behind a different sort of barrier." Taking out a storage scroll, she jumped into the bed. "It seems some of them are also coded; most of what I could read was either medical jutsus or somewhat recent reports. I couldn't find the key for it, but it may be somewhere in here.

"I will say, though, my predecessor was quite conceited." A bit of smoke came out as she took a big bag out of the storage scroll, clearly looking out for something specific. "Placing a barrier to stop anyone, even her successor, from getting any of the inner rooms documents out...I had to waste three Shikigamis trying to get away from Neji and his team."

"...what?"

"Apparently, when I'm inside such a concentrated reiki barrier feeling anything outside it, and the explosion breaking it caught their attention." She was almost elbow-deep inside the bag, ignoring the tension in his voice. "...Neji kind of figured it out, our plan...well, part of it anyway. It wouldn't matter if they were to tell someone else we aren't planning on mindlessly going along with Orochimaru's plan. After all, they still think we're the motivation behind it all is going after Itachi."

The teen sighed; Kagome could say the most worrying things in the calmest tone of voice. It made him want to pull his hair out sometimes. Shaking his head, the Uchiha made his way to the bed, watching as the girl unsealed parchment after parchment. Silent amusement welled inside him; these days, it was odd seeing her be genuinely excited about anything.

"Not like we'll change our plan, even if they knew." Carefully, Sasuke sat next to him.

"The fewer obstacles we have, the better."

Subterfuge and this level of planning wasn't his way of doing things, but he couldn't deny that the girl tended to be right when it came to these sorts of situations. Not one day after their arrival, Orochimaru tried to begin with his manipulations, constantly dropping hints about former interactions with his brother. And since he'd regulated the bits of information on both Itachi and Akatsuki he gave them. Probably as a way to try and tie them up, making sure the flames of their hatred remained hot enough to stop them from thinking clearly, just as Kagome predicted. Pity that the target of all that hatred was not the same anymore.

"Here it is!"

Genuine excitement radiated from her as she pushed a hastily open scroll in front of him. Not sure what he was looking at, Sasuke started skimming through the document only for his hands to take it from her in a hurry.

"It's not finished," the girl said while he scanned the text. "I assume whichever matriarch was working on it passed before she could finish, and whoever succeeded her didn't care to complete it...but I can do it. I know I can."

There were few but precious differences between modifying an existing jutsu like he'd done a couple of times and creating an entirely new one, regardless of the type of technique. Even a simple modification could have terrible consequences if one wasn't careful, but the kind of risks that came with creating a new jutsu was exponentially higher. That's why there were so many shinobis more than content with just keep learning old techniques. But the kind of cost failing while working with what he was reading right now...

"Can this even be done?"

"It might be...tricky, but I should still be able to do it." Determination was evident in her voice; there would be no way to make her budge. "Most of the complex part of this has already been done. In a way, it's fine-tuning."

"...but?"

"But...I'll need Kabuto for it."

He didn't bother to contain his groan. Kagome knew him far too well to know he was absolutely irritated at the news.

The gap between the two of them and Orochimaru was steadily getting closer, and lately, they'd started making preparations to get away from this place. By himself, Sasuke wasn't confident he could come up on top, which was why they'd been planning on working together to get rid of the man. Between them, it shouldn't take too much; after all, the snake Sannin's ego kept the man blind to the fact that neither of them was dancing to his tune. Convinced he had them trapped, he simply kept trying to get Sasuke to become stronger in anticipation of stealing his body.

Like that would ever happen.

Now, it was clear their plans would have to be moved back. Thin fingers trailed Sasuke's own in an attempt to soothe his annoyance.

"How long will it take?"

He couldn't deny her this.

Not just because this could affect their class, but also because he could see her desire to try and do this. All this time, the Higurashi endured this place for him and him alone. He was the one who didn't want to try and orchestrate something with the Taishos who (irritating as they were) would likely be a safer, more comfortable option. If she needed to stay here longer to complete whatever it was she wished to do, then he'd bite his tongue and bear it.

"At least a couple of extra months..." The girl leaned in closer, voice more contemplative while she looked back to the scroll on his hands. "But I'll definitely have it finished before our time limit."

"I know you will," his expression softened. "Since it's you."

Kagome huffed, an amused look on her eyes as she began to place the scrolls back into their seals. Nothing was safe in this place, so reading the texts would need to wait until they were out of here; it was something they'd discussed before. And yet, there was that slightly more relaxed look to her that sent him back to easier days.

Soon.

He reminded himself once more.

Delayed or not, soon enough, they'd be out of here. If things went according to plan, then actively looking for Itachi would become their priority soon enough, and once that was done, they would finally get rid of the bastards that had played with all of them. After that was done...after, they could just live. He had all but pulled her along with him, so he supposed it would only be fair to let her decide what she wanted to do. If it could bring back the easy smiles that had once been a common sight, then Sasuke didn't quite care how they went about it.

"Do you need me to take anything with me for my next mission?"

"Oh, right, I'll need to write a note or two." Already, he could see her planning what she'd send to the few people she'd managed to lure into becoming the base of her information network. "You can just give the second to one of my shikigamis; I'll make sure they deliver that one. But I need you to get to the first one, make it feel more personal."

"Just give them to me before I leave." Thanks to Orochimaru's stupid rules, he'd have to play messenger once more. "Have you gotten anything new?"

"Some rumors here and there," Kagome said, quickly writing the notes she wanted to send. "I'll have to think about how to get someone inside the village to get some proper info on the council."

There was definitely something wrong with him.

It was a contradiction, in a way.

He would never deny the way he missed her old joyous smiles, how he cherished the way those azure eyes used to shine when entirely unburdened. And yet, when he saw those same eyes freeze over, the way hatred took over her posture and her movements became controlled had to be one of the most enticing sights he'd ever seen. Idly, he wondered what Itachi would think of him...

His brother had done all that to try and keep them safe and unknowing of their family's corruption. Yet here they both were, hands bloodied and sinking deeper into the abyss. Would he be appalled at what they'd become?

Shaking those thoughts away took less effort than it should be.

Neither of them thought it likely the older Uchiha had all of the information; they could get him to see their side of the story. To see just how corrupt and the danger Konoha represented to them. And if the raw information wasn't enough...well, Kagome knew how to make others see the exact picture she wanted them to observe. Of all the parts of their plan he felt uncertain about, it was only this he was sure of. Dark eyes focused once more on the young heiress while she finished penning whatever instructions she needed. There it was again, that look that told him her thoughts were back into the depths of hatred that had been born after finding out the village's betrayal.

Long fingers wrapped around Kagome's wrist, his left hand carefully moved the pieces of parchment before pulling her towards him.

Lately, there was a little less surprise in her eyes when it was him who decided to initiate physical contact between them. As always, satisfaction rose inside him at how she followed through with his movements and got closer to him. Letting him push down to the mattress, answering his kiss with the same kind of urgency and hunger he felt.

Kagome was his.

Here, in Konoha, with the Taishos, it didn't matter. That was the one fact that would always remain true. Call it possession, obsession, or love; it didn't matter. To them, it was all the same. Because this, this was theirs, this bond that had persisted through it all.

Whenever she was asked why she chose to apprentice in something like medical ninjutsu, Haruno Sakuraalways smiled while spouting some nonsense about realizing that this was where her skills could be better utilized. It couldn't be helped. They wouldn't understand why despite the year and a half that had already passed, the pinkette still loved Uchiha Sasuke.

Even Ino had given up on persisting her feelings towards the raven-haired teen.

The last time she'd brought up how Higurashi had to be involved in the whole Orochimaru situation, the blonde simply sighed and shook her head. Her once friend-turned-rival-turned...friend? bought the same story the rest of the village did. The one where it was Sasuke who'd lost it and kidnapped the young heiress. It always took some effort to keep from scoffing. They hadn't seen the distaste in the Higurashi's eyes during their preliminary match nor felt the weight behind those kicks. No, the oh-so pacifist Kagome-chan was not an innocent little girl; there was so much malice in her actions.

Since no one would hear, Sakura simply gave a generic response every time the topic came up.

So far, the only person who knew her real motivation was Tsunade-sama herself. Her relatively new teacher had seen her passion when it came to bringing Sasuke-kun and agreed to take her in as an apprentice. Because of course she was passionate, already she'd made a mistake in the past. Trusting Naruto, of all people, would be able to bring the Uchiha back had been nothing but folly. Perhaps he wasn't as useless as he was back in the academy, but the prankster was nowhere near the two heirs he was supposed to bring back. This time, Sakura would take matters into her own hands and be the one to finally bring things back to how they were supposed to be. Of course, for that to happen, she had to be strong in the first place.

No, no...that wasn't true.

Ignoring the sweat that fell down her chin, the pinkette forced back those doubts with more effort than she'd like to admit and focused on the injured fish in front of her.

This was training and medical training at that. The slightest distraction could affect the healing, and the Godaime's eyes were locked on her. Strict didn't even begin to describe just how much scrutiny the woman placed her under. Unless Sakura met her teacher's high standards, no new jutsus would be taught. Relying on her memory, the teen guided her chakra through the animal's gaping wound. First, she needed to focus on its vital organs.

"Good." Her teacher's approval made her let out a sigh. "This is some nice progress."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

Despite the praise, Sakura managed to catch a small flicker in her teacher's eyes. The woman was still analyzing the healed fish on the table. Probably wondering how much faster Higurashi would be at this. No, that made no sense. The Hokage herself had acknowledged Sakura's talents, and she'd just passed her chuunin exams alongside her old team. All while being civilian raised. There were plenty of reasons to be proud of herself. And yet, Higurashi had been lauded as a prodigy after that first exam, and her kekkei genkai was more than compatible with medical ninjutsu.

"We should be able to pass to the next level." Typical of Tsunade-sama to jump from praising her to pushing her into the next task. "You'll need to do more reading." With a wave of her hand, the blonde woman pointed to a stack of books on her desk. "Have those finished by next week. Also, did you memorize this week's list?

"Yes!"

"Alright, let's hear it, then," she prompted her.

With a deep breath, the pinkette began reciting the list of poisons and antidotes that had been this week's assignment. This was perhaps the one part of the training Sakura was the most invested in (other than the non-medical part Tsunade-sama began to teach her recently). The sting of that battle still made her blood boil. Sure, she'd been weak back then, and that wasn't something she could deny even in her mind, but it didn't make using poison any better. A coward's tactic, that's what poison was. And yet, as a coward and injured, Higurashi Kagome still won.

Next time Sakura had to face her, she would be prepared. If Higurashi wanted to bring her down next time, the rogue heiress would have to put in more effort. A single needle wouldn't bring Tsunade-sama's apprentice down.

Never again.

"Nice, you're advancing faster than I'd projected." It was praise, Sakura reminded herself, not subtle mockery. "Take the afternoon; we start early again tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, sensei."

Walking out the Hokage tower, the young girl played with the ends of her long pink strands. She hadn't had too much free time lately, to the point that Sakura wasn't sure what to do with it. Visiting Ino was a bittersweet experience nowadays, and focused on her studies as the pinkette hadn't really reconnected with any of her former classmates. Maybe she could go and see Anju-chan or Hojo-kun were free. They didn't go on team missions that often anymore, but she had nothing to lose. Also, Hojo-kun's family had been dedicated to medical ninjutsu for generations; maybe she could get some new information from there...

Lost in her thoughts, the girl failed to notice her surroundings until she felt the hit of another body crashing against her. A soft gasp accompanied it.

"Hey, watch it."

"A-ah, Sakura-san..." the voice that reached her was far shyer than she expected.

"For two people to crash into one another, none of them could be paying any attention." A shiver went down her spine as she recognized the couple of Hyuugas in front of her.

"Ah...ahahahaha, yeah. You're right, sorry about that, Hinata-chan." The apology felt bitter in her mouth as she stepped back.

The pinkette still couldn't get used to the sight of the Hyuuga genius calmly walking side by side with the introverted heiress. Not after witnessing the disdain and hatred with which the older boy had basically tried to kill his cousin. Somehow, though, this was becoming an increasingly common sight, the two of them hanging out in the market as if there was never a time when Neji was willing to murder the young girl during the preliminary round.

In fact, Sakura wouldn't be surprised if the genius had helped Hinata to train for the last chuunin exams.

"I-it's okay. It was just an accident." Now that Sakura thought about it, the girl's stuttering was less noticeable lately. "O-oh, were you coming from the Hokage tower?"

Despite his clam reply, the Hyuuga genius still scoffed as he passed her. Didn't even try to hide it.

"A-ah, Neji-niisan!" Hinata offered her a nervous smile. "Sorry, Sakura-san, h-have a nice day."

Before she realized it, her hands were already clenched into fists. This was just the way the old clans treated everyone who didn't share their pedigree. Even Hinata's shy persona couldn't hide how the heiress still looked down on her. It reminded her of Higurashi, all kind smiles and soft words until the time came to stab someone in the back. Talented or not, the entitlement was the exact same. Yet, Sasuke only ever looked at her.

Esteemed class or not, the Uchiha had always kept to himself and let his own talent speak for him instead of banking on his bloodline. A prodigy in his own right. He would acknowledge her, Sasuke knew. Once she had a chance to show him how far she'd come, the Uchiha heir would open his eyes to reality and come back with her...he had to.

A/N: Happy New Years!

And here's the first new chapter of the year. I won't be going into too much detail of what happens during the time gap but some things are still needed to be set up and those happen through this all. Honestly it feels like nothing really happens in canon during two years and a half, but here is part of what helps the story to branch off.

As always, thank you guys so much for reading and any and all reviews/criticisms/comments are greatly appreciated.