CHAPTER 10

Kizashi tried his best to ignore the feeling of longing prodding at his chest. He missed his precious daughter. It had been so long since the little girl had last ran towards him at full speed, jumping in his arms and laughing wholeheartedly. She had grown since, but to Kizashi Sakura would always be his baby girl.

Running away to the Land of Tea had been a direct hit to his gut at first, but as time passed the pink-haired man was getting used to travelling to remote places deeper in the forest. He had suffered a lot when things started deteriorating in Mebuki back in Konoha. Sakura would try her best to meet her mother's contradicting expectations, losing her cheerful nature bit by bit. All Kizashi had done was witness his family destroy each other, too afraid to trigger his wife's precarious health by upsetting her, opting for silence instead.

He had put his wife before his daughter. He had failed as a parent, as a father.

But Kizashi would do it all over again without hesitation.

Because his love for Mebuki was stronger than any other bond he had ever forged. He believed in her, he would follow her into the depth of hell if it meant protecting her from herself. He had seen Sakura grow, watched her bloom into a powerful individual that didn't need him. His daughter had raised herself, his wife never managed to. She desperately needed him. When Kizashi had first laid his eyes on her, he had made a promise to himself. He would never fail as a husband.

A fond smile touched Kizashi's lips as he gazed at the tensed back of Mebuki. She was walking ahead of him, huffing at some inconvenience as she usually did. She threw a haughty look at a particularly loud bird, spitting a string of lovely curses. Kizashi chuckled, picking up his pace to match his wife's. He missed Sakura a lot, but he knew she was doing well. His duty was to look after the one person who couldn't handle herself, so he redirected his undivided attention towards the love of his life.

The owner of the takeaway wasn't letting up.

"I won't talk to murderers."

Naruto had rushed to Sound's nearby town, dragging Kakashi and Hizoshi energetically, only to be met with a rude rebuttal.

"We just have a few questions about an attack that happened a couple of weeks ago…" Kakashi stated, trying his best to stay diplomatic and polite, grabbing the fuming blond by his neck to shut him up.

"Piss off."

The owner's tone was firm, irritating the Copy Ninja slightly, but he maintained his even voice. "Would you mind explaining at least why you're calling us 'murderers' ?"

The man spat at the three shinobi's feet.

"THAT'S IT," Naruto yelled and freed himself from his sensei's grip. He lunged towards the harsh man, ignoring Hizoshi's cry reminding him that ninjas weren't allowed to threaten civilians.

The Jinchuriki pinned his target to the ground, raising a shaking fist.

"Talk."

The man simply sneered, gazing at Naturo with a triumphant look.

Kakashi imperatively called his former student's name, knowing that despite it being the most effective manner, they couldn't just attack people like this.

When Naruto didn't budge, the silver haired man pulled him back forcefully, apologising to the takeaway's owner through gritted teeth.

"Murderers," said man muttered.

This particular lead wasn't getting them far, so the shinobi left him swear in peace, jumping on a tree branch, heading towards the town ahead of them.

Kakashi kept pondering on the word the man had repeated. The Sound village wasn't far, and their ninjas were definitely not known for abusing the civilians. Maybe this man had experienced something with ninjas, but Kakashi's gut was inclining towards another possibility.

Only their destination could confirm his concerns.

Naruto on the other hand had taken the insult to heart. He was shaken by such an accusation, and even though he understood why some might refer to ninjas as killers, he still couldn't get over the man's tone, the hatred in his eyes. Naruto had given his all to fight for peace, but it seemed people like the takeaway's owner couldn't see past the dead bodies piling on the shinobi's blood-stained hands.

For the first time, Naruto was confronted with the fact that he had killed people.

He compartmented his feelings and thoughts for later as they approached a grim-looking town, fifty huts scattered in a wide field encased by green hills. The inhabitants were nowhere to be seen, some clothes hanging between the houses and chickens running around being the only signs of life.

Just as Naruto was leaping towards the ground, followed by Kakashi, Hizoshi's hands shot out to grab their forearms. Both heads whipped his way as the Sound nin ushered them back, pulling them to a higher spot on top of a hill.

"This isn't a regular town… I've seen similar ones near the border. This is a rogue village."

Kakashi arched a surprised eyebrow. "Rogue ? You mean these people here are ninjas ?"

"Not exactly. They're civilians who fled their own country, picking up forbidden techniques along the way."

"How do you know ?" Naruto was narrowing his eyes at the houses before him, a new fire welling up inside his stomach.

"They way they build the huts, and the absence of children running around. The huts are easy to take down and rebuild if needed, the materials are cheap and they can be found anywhere. As for the children, the rogue towns usually don't have any. Some forbidden jutsus rob humans of their reproductive ability, and most of the civilians are men."

Kakashi had never heard of such towns, now observing the one before him much more warily. "Why do they leave ?" This part was bothering him.

"It can be government-related, but most of the time…" Hizoshi's voice trailed off, gulping down his worry to confirm Kakashi's worst doubts.

"…It's because they want revenge."

Sasuke had been travelling for two days, reaching the Land of Tea in no time, but without spotting a single trace left behind by the Harunos. Either they were very good, or Sasuke was going in a completely wrong direction. But the Uchiha heir was rarely wrong, and when he was the raven-haired man did everything to turn back the situation and prove that he was, in fact, right.

Sasuke didn't care about why Mebuki and Kizashi deserted the village, or why they were so against Sakura becoming a ninja. It wasn't his business. The only thing worth his attention was the fact that his teammate had been repeatedly hurt by the couple, to a point of no return, the teammate whose heart accepted the biggest mistakes, the teammate who forgave without malice, the teammate who forgave him.

Nobody deserved to live, but Sakura didn't deserve to die.

A dark chuckle hummed from the deepest part of Sasuke's throat, a dry and low sound reverberating through the silent forest. It was a good thing he was persistent and saw everything to the end. Sasuke never did anything particular for Sakura, even though she had given him her heart and soul. This time, it was his turn to shine. He cringed at the thought.

Haruno Kizashi had been spotted in Sound a week before Sakura arrived in the neighbouring town that had requested her help, and Mebuki was last seen there two days before. Thanks to the ANBU tracking squad, the couple was confirmed to be heading to the Land of Tea shortly after, but the protocol dictating that groundless tailing was not exactly permitted, and with the Council breathing down Tsunade's neck, the ANBU were ordered to return.

Sasuke was therefore chasing down two people with barely any proof, in a country they had possibly already left, following invisible remains, fuelled by anger, a dying girl's memory and a hunch.

So far so good.

Just as he was considering activating his Sharingan (Sasuke normally didn't turn it on for lowlifes), the Uchiha heard a loud and guilty crack.

Something, or someone, had stepped on a branch.

Sasuke wasn't the type to hide his chakra, preferring to ambush quickly when given the chance. If the unknown presence was a ninja, they would already have sensed him anyway, and if it was just a civilian, then the murderous intent rolling off him in waves was enough to paralyse them in terror.

Sensing no chakra signature, the crouched Uchiha activated his Sharingan, pinpointing his opponent.

He slightly jolted when his red eye found the intruder, currently eating grass, oblivious to the threat looming over its horns.

Sasuke sighed and relaxed his fighting stance enough to still be alert, checking the surrounding area to make sure he wasn't missing anything.

His sight landed on smoke.

Maybe the deer had startled him, but it had also found exactly what Sasuke was looking for.

A human trail.

Right behind the peaceful animal laid the vestiges of a man-made fire, hastily put out not long ago as the ashes were still burning with a thin string of smoke.

It could have been anyone's doing for whatever reason, but something tangible led Sasuke to believe it was a precise person's handiwork.

His nose had caught an imperceptible whiff, a smell he knew very well.

Sakura's shampoo.

Sasuke didn't believe in coincidences. He had Mebuki to thank for bothering to wash her hair with a specific shampoo even on the run, apparently.

2 hours earlier

"Kizashi, are you done ?" Mebuki groaned, exasperated by her husband's antics.

"Almost. You can begin packing, and we'll leave as soon as I'm finished, honey." His tone was soothing, like always. Mebuki didn't know if she liked or disliked it. But that wasn't the problem at hand.

"I've done that thirty minutes ago. Why do you always take so much time to wash ?" She wasn't that impatient, she was genuinely curious.

"Pink hair is precious, dear. I can't let it all go to waste. I know how much you like my hair. This shampoo is vital for my scalp." He teased, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Well, it's true, but you're taking ages… can't you just use plant juice ? Look at my hair, it's effective." Now she really was getting irritated. And flustered.

"No," her husband finally stepped out of the makeshift shower he had created with a tree branch and his water flask. "My hair is special, and so must be the shampoo." It was half true, but in their current situation Kizashi would never admit to his wife that the scent of the product brought him a little closer to his daughter.

"Now let's go. You didn't take the fire out yet ?"