A Stitch in Time

by anoceaninthesun

Kaguya was the greatest threat the world had ever known. Triumphing over her should have ushered in a new era for shinobi. And it did. Specifically for one Haruno Sakura. Time-travel and eventual polyamory romance. SakuraxKonoha Founders

74. Nascent

If anyone asked Sakura, she would have said it had all been too easy. Yes, they had found the shrine. Yes, they were allowed in without fuss, but that was sort of the problem. They shuffled into the innermost room, hovering near the back as the others there kneeled in supplication before the chunk of glowing rock raised above them.

"Don't be shy." A woman told them kindly. "We've all been chosen, haven't we? You can get closer."

Sakura glanced at Izuna, who tilted his head in a gesture she was sure only she could read. The two of them knelt in unison, joining the people circled around the meteorite in the middle.

"We, your chosen, thank you," An older man began, his voice warbled and reverent. "We draw power from you, granter of all our wishes, manifester of all our dreams." One by one, everyone reached out a hand to splay over the meteorite, its glow spilling out through their fingers and traveling up their arms.

The kunoichi hesitated, but a gentle nudge from her right drew her attention to the same one with the kind voice. "It's alright, he wants you to."

Sakura didn't want any part of whatever this was. It was beginning to feel more cultish by the second. But she also knew she couldn't just refuse. It would make the villagers suspicious, and given that they had their guards down, there was no better way to get the information they needed without obstructions.

"I…" A hand fell over hers, raising it up after intertwining their fingers. Izuna wasn't looking at her though, but giving a believably sheepish smile to the woman speaking encouragements.

"We're new at this, and a bit nervous, sorry." He laid both their hands on the pile already covering the meteorite, and Sakura felt the wisps of power radiating from it wrap around their joined fingers. To the average person, like the villagers all soaking in the energy, it must have felt extraordinary.

Though Sakura knew it was different for her. It was nothing but a pinprick compared to the rush of being in the Dragon State, the musubi flowing through her veins at all times. But the way Izuna's hand fit so snugly over hers, covering it almost completely? That was what heightened her senses, exhilaration climbing as she stared down at them.

When they met eyes, he gave her a small wink, just for her, and Sakura tried to hide her giddy answering smile. It felt strange and bittersweet to be in love again. If she had the time, maybe she would muse over her destiny to always lose her heart in doomed pursuits. This time her feelings were reciprocated at least on one, possibly two fronts, and it still didn't change the outcome. It couldn't happen.

"We are now all connected to you. The power of your blessing flows through us and strengthens our might." The old man hummed, and everyone else began chanting under their breath. Sakura had no clue what they were doing, so she dropped her head down and waited. It was over as abruptly as it started, everyone pulling their hands away from the meteorite, their faces glowing as if they had all been rejuvenated.

One by one they bowed to the hunk of rock as they passed it and then filed out of the room. Awkwardly, Sakura bowed too, Izuna giving a much more graceful bow immediately after.

"We're happy to have you here." The same auburn haired woman who had encouraged them several times descended on her in a warm hug. Sakura didn't even have time to process it before she had moved on to do the same to Izuna. "It's always lovely when more of us come over."

"Come…over?" Izuna repeated, politely pulling away. "You mean from beyond the…"

"The other side of the barrier, yes!" She squealed, her round face bright. "Only the chosen few are allowed entry here into paradise. You're here, so that must mean you were meant to be." That explained why they were so welcoming. To them, they all belonged to an elite and special club of hand-selected people. "Anyway, there's bound to be a big feast later this evening, for you and all our other new arrivals. We'll see you there, won't we?"

"We wouldn't miss it." She was getting her bearings, an understanding that they should act as enthusiastic to be there as everyone else was sinking in.

"Lovely," she praised. "Oh, call me Nodoka."

"I'm…Aya." Sakura gave the first name that popped into her head, hoping it didn't sound too unconvincing.

"And I'm Sho." Izuna introduced.

"It's nice to have you here, dears." Nodoka sounded so sincere, Sakura felt a little bad for lying to her. "We need more young people around. It keeps the energy up."

All of them stood on the stairs to the shrine, the pleasant sky overhead contributing to an idyllic scene as the village bustled around them.

"I hope it's not too bold, but I think you do a pretty good job of that already."

Nodoka appeared pleased by Izuna's comment, gesturing. "Oh please, I only do what I can. We've all been given such a wonderful blessing. It makes it hard not to be in a good mood. Anywho, I should be going. See you around!" She all but skipped off like a small child.

"So…" Izuna said when they were alone.

"So," Sakura parroted, carefully walking down the stairs.

"It's safe to say this is the liveliest plague-stricken town I've ever seen." he deadpanned.

"And the happiest." Sakura pointed out, watching the way a man threw candy to children in the streets, an ear to ear grin on his face. The children caught the colorful treats and crammed them into their mouths or their pockets. The whole thing was a little jarring. It was one thing when a place was peaceful and content, but another thing entirely when it felt like everyone was too lax. "Everyone here radiates an aura like…like all their dreams have come true."

Izuna huffed in realization. "Did you hear the old man? 'Granter of all our wishes? Manifester of all our dreams?' It sounds a little suspicious."

Nodoka had spoken about them all being chosen too. They all seemed to consider themselves acolytes to this…God of Stars. Although aside from the account of Miyazawa going crazy in the compound, none of the people around them were particularly threatening, and certainly not causing chaos.

That didn't mean they shouldn't investigate, in Sakura's opinion. 'For all we know, this Nesaku has them under mind-control. It's not genjutsu but something is definitely going on here.'

As if her point couldn't have possibly been more proven, Sakura watched in wide-eyed horror as a small boy, no older than five, toddled across the edge of a roof across the street. She wasn't even sure how he had climbed up until she saw the sturdy tree just beside it. No one was paying the boy any mind, but she rushed over, dodging someone merrily playing a flute and women holding flowers, opening her arms wide for him.

"Hey, it's okay! If you jump down I'll catch you." Given that she was a stranger, she offered him a friendly smile, hoping he'd just comply.

Instead, his round eyes stared at her skeptically as he leaned precariously over the roof. "But why?"

"You might get hurt," Izuna explained patiently, standing next to her now. "We don't want that. Are your parents arou—" The child didn't spare them anymore thought, turning to bolt to the other side of the roof before throwing himself from it with his eyes closed.

Sakura rushed to position herself under him, only to freeze in disbelief as feathery appendages exploded from his back.

They flapped clumsily a few times, and then the gray wings opened wide and the child was soaring high with a proud giggle, far, far up above. "…Granter of all our wishes." she whispered.

"You get used to it." The pinkette turned, finding a young man walking hand in hand with a woman. They briefly glanced up at the boy, who had become little more than a speck as he flew above the clouds, then strolled off with a shared laugh.

"Still don't seem real, huh?" Another man, dressed like he did intensive labor, walked by balancing a long stick with heavy pails hanging from either end and speaking to another man dressed similarly. "Remember when those two were older than us?" Sakura eyed them both, estimating they had to be in their forties at least.

The second man scoffed, pulling off his dusty cap to scratch his scalp.

"Remember when Michi-san was dead for the last five years?"

Sakura shared a long stare with Izuna, not needing words to know he had to be thinking roughly the same thing. That couple that had passed them couldn't have been much older than them, if not the same age, and both looked like living, breathing, ordinary people.

"Not no more!" He spun so fast to walk backwards, Sakura had to duck, as they carried on with their conversation like they didn't even see her. "They're popping up like daisies now."

"Mhm! Saw grizzly old Ken wished his wife back." His friend slapped his knee.

"Huh. I almost wish I'd wished his wife back." The man with the buckets grinned suggestively, and Sakura frowned as they departed.

Determined, she spun on her heel, almost ramming chin-first into Izuna. "So any wish for anyone?" she hissed, "That's his game."

Izuna glanced up, jaw tight. Sakura gaped as a large shadow fell over them, only to see a big, winged dog being ridden by a group of children having the time of their lives. "But wishes so powerful always come with a price, don't they?"

Sakura didn't answer him immediately, still a bit miffed by how chaotic things clearly were. Why could no child keep their feet on the ground around here? And where were the parents in all of it? Probably off having their wildest dreams fulfilled too. "They do when you're dealing with gods."

A man burst out of a house as they carefully walked the streets, vigilant for any strange happenings they could be caught in. He carried a fat, squealing pig under both arms, suddenly tossing it up into the air only for it too to sprout wings.

"Hah!" He jabbed a finger in the direction of a mean-faced man glowering out at him from the door to a saloon. "How's that?! You said you'd forgive my debt when pigs fly! Guess what's oinking up in the air now!" He doubled over on himself, laughing maniacally there in the street.

She and Izuna hurried around, the Uchiha whispering as he glanced back. "Still, I get the feeling it won't be so easy to convince anyone here. I'd say he's off to a good start with a high satisfaction rating."

"We need to hunt him down fast ." Sakura clutched Izuna's arm and jerked him out of the way as a wooden tub sporting legs peeled down the street, water sloshing over the sides and a fearful, naked man peering behind him. A woman screamed obscenities, raising a rolling pin high above her head threateningly as she ran after them. "These are just frivolous wishes now, but how long before it escalates? Something catastrophic could happen."

"You know me," Izuna said, eyes softening. "Let me know what I can do and I'll back whatever plan you come up with."

Sakura stuffed in all her sappy feelings, nodding in approval. Wishes may have been coming true left and right, but still, some weren't going to happen even with a god's intervention.

---

The alcohol was far from the best she'd ever tasted, but at least they were open in the early afternoon. Ino downed the sake in front of her with a mild grimace, not because it was particularly strong, but because it wasn't particularly good.

As a small bonus, she was unlikely to become inebriated. Not from this . When she got her Chunin rank promotion her father had surprised her by allowing her a bottle of Senju honey wine he'd kept saved for a special occasion. With the clan gone the bottles weren't exactly easy to come by, and the seal had remained unbroken on it for over a generation.

But that was the good stuff.

Now all Ino could do was sit around sipping bitter, watery alcohol that couldn't compare and reminisce. Sai sat on the stool next to her at the bar, listening to the tavern owner ramble proudly about how they were drinking his vintage specialty.

Ino hid an eye roll in another swig from her glass. She could tell cheap quality sake when she had it. Even Lady Tsunade wouldn't be enjoying this. But it was the only tavern in town, and at least he was better looking than the last one in the last town. That poor unsuspecting man hadn't seen her mental assault coming at all.

Though she was careful not to leave him a vegetative, drooling mess after she extracted what information she needed. It wasn't like he was some enemy. And it wasn't like he had any real clue he'd been hit by her jutsu. But nonetheless, when she'd started at T&I Ibiki shared her father's secret journals with her, and he'd documented the ways he scrubbed a person's mind after rooting around in it. She sighed wistfully; even gone, he was still teaching her things.

"How's that possible?" Her brow raised, glancing down the bar to expect a problem, only to see the bartender eyeing Sai's empty glass in disbelief. "I serve customers that and it usually has steam coming out of their ears. But you didn't even blink!"

"I found it rather mild," Sai remarked, shrugging, "Then again my tolerance for discomfort is much higher than most."

"Is it now?" Tossing the rag he'd been using to wipe down the bar over his shoulder, he rushed back to examine his shelves, one hand on his hip and the other under his chin. "Let's see what we got that can make you squirm. Now I'm curious."

"It doesn't have to be particularly good. Your last drink wasn't." Sai said, watching him curiously. "But as long as it's at least strong—"

"Oi, Sai!" Ino huffed, "We're not here to run up a tab."

"Oh don't you worry, miss. So long as your friend here can hold his drink without flinching, every cup is on me. You have my word." He placed a hand over his heart and smiled charmingly. Yeah, Ino decided, watching in amusement as he set a fresh cup down in front of Sai and began to pour, he was cuter than the last bartender.

His sandy blonde hair fell in generous waves in front of his seafoam eyes, and his arms and shoulders weren't too bad either. Stepping back after pouring, he glanced her way, inclining his head in invitation. "You uh, interested in getting in on this too?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows and holding up a bottle. "I didn't mean to leave you out."

"Oh, I have no problem inserting myself into any situation that interests me." She assured him. If her tone got just a little saucy and her eyes were half-lidded then who was it hurting? Flirting was an art and she just so happened to be a master. "You boys play your games, have your fun."

His grin widened, though his ears were visibly pink. Adorable.

Ino had been thinking that maybe it was time for a change. Stop chasing the emotionally unavailable ones, the cold, dark and mysterious ones. The…she looked Sai up and down…blunt, oblivious and tactless ones.

Maybe what she needed was a sweet and simple one. Resting her cheek against the edge of her knuckles, she sighed as Sai downed cup after cup without pause. Sakura was off handling what was no doubt more exciting than this, a beautiful man that was head over heels for her at her side.

Having a little something to do wouldn't be bad.

It could have just been coincidence, or the whole wishes-are-coming-true thing happening around the mysterious god, but when a few boisterous newcomers came darting into the bar Ino took notice. She could always spot something juicy about to happen. "You're never gonna believe this!" One of the flailing young men said, running up to the bar and swinging himself onto a stool.

The bartender calmly pulled down a glass and tipped some alcohol into it, sliding it in front of him, nodding at the other men who slowly approached to sit down. "Oh?"

"Yeah! We were poking around near that gate, see? Still think it's total pig crap the guard won't let us have a peek inside. I mean how long have I known him? Since we were knee high! And we play cards all the time, so—"

"What the blabbermouth is trying to say," A second man with rust colored hair put an elbow up on the bar counter, sucking the end of a toothpick. "Something's going on over there. Loud boom, some sort of crash. Startled the guards too, I think. They were panicking…"

Ino's stool made an uncomfortably loud sound as it scraped across the floor when she stood. "A crash, huh? And you said it was near the gate?" The men eyed her strangely, as if they had only just taken notice of her being there. The blonde resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It figured. "Come on, Sai. Let's get moving."

"You're serious?" The man who had initially done the talking quirked a brow as Sai stood up, not even wobbling after all the alcohol he had consumed. "You're…you're really going down there just to—you're outsiders!"

"And we're also curious," Ino retorted, "so yes, we're going." She met eyes with the bartender, who seemed amused by the whole ordeal. Winking at him, she gave the small group her back, hair swishing as she walked confidently from the establishment with Sai at her heels.

That was that. When she set her mind to something it was happening. And she refused to sit around in a dusty old bar if something more interesting was afoot.

"What if they were mistaken?" Sai asked conversationally, matching her steps. "Everyone here seems slightly off-kilter at best. They worship a meteorite they think is a piece of star."

"It's something to do, isn't it?" Ino questioned rhetorically. "Don't tell me you're that broken up about not getting more free drinks."

Sai tilted his head, silent for a moment. "They weren't free. They cost me my pride to drink them with a straight face." So the cute bartender wasn't the best at making drinks. It wasn't a fatal character flaw or anything. There were probably plenty of redeeming qualities about him, like the view from behind when he bent down.

"Be that as it may," The Yamanaka cleared her throat, "I don't see why we should just be on standby while Sakura has all the fun, you know? We're both capable of handling one little investigation."

They just had to use a little discretion. True to what had been said in the bar, the guards around the gate were double or even triple what they had been before, and clearly worked up. "How about it Sai?" She whispered, ushering them both to hide in the shadows of a building. "Feel like using a little creativity to scope out the situation?"

Wordlessly, Sai pulled out one of his scrolls, drawing something deftly and then releasing it from the confines of the paper. Ino withheld a shrill sound as spiders skittered across the ground (one brushing over her foot), discreet as they made their way around the guards unnoticed. "It just had to be bugs, huh?"

"No." Sai returned to his sketching, and a large horned beetle took flight from thin air. "That was a bug. Those were arachnids."

The kunoichi scowled. The more one on one time she spent with him and his overly literal trying of her patience, the more she wondered what attracted her to him in the first place. How did Sakura put up with it? Then again, ole Forehead did try and warn her Sai might not be what she was expecting. Hot, yes. Frustratingly socially inept? Also yes.

The beetle landed on the tip of his finger, Sai studying its twitching wings with deep interest. "We can follow it." He said simply, watching the beetle fly away.

'Useful.' Ino mentally added. Sai could also be useful.

The pair allowed Sai's ink creation to lead them to the outskirts of the village, further off the path and into the deeper section of the surrounding forest. It was nothing as impressive as the woods surrounding Konoha, but Ino wasn't about to let her guard down. Especially not when Sai stopped moving just up ahead, frozen like he was troubled by what he saw. Impatient, Ino moved around him, faltering herself when she caught sight of the figure propped up against a cracked tree, wounded and pale.

"Come to save me?" The dragon goddess winced, holding a hand against her abdomen as she took them both in. "It certainly took you long enough." There was blood dripping down her chin, and her eyes looked tired. That definitely wasn't a good sign.

"What the hell?" Ino rushed to her side, falling on her knees and trying to apply the basic healing that she knew. "I thought you were supposed to be our backup."

Sai crouched on the goddess' other side, expression neutral. "This is what the book I'm reading would call a raw deal."

The celestial being sighed, "I was tossed, quite unceremoniously, out of that bubble." Mizuchi grunted, "And that won't work." she informed Ino, staring at the hand touching her in dull fascination.

"What do you mean, tossed out?" Ino removed her hand, frustrated that she couldn't even do that much. "Sakura and Izuna went in, didn't they?"

"If I'm correct, that's not only a barrier but a reality distortion space." The goddess explained, "For the time being it remains contained, but the more people inside, making wishes…the more it will eventually grow. Wishes are power."

"Power or not, we need to be able to throw them a lifeline if it's necessary," Ino insisted, "and if you can't help…"

"There's nothing that says something can't be done, given enough time." She and Sai snapped to attention, only to share a baffled stare as someone in a heavy iron helmet with a single eye hole emerged from the gloom and shadows of the trees. He hobbled along mostly silent on his one leg, using some sort of crutch.

"Who are–"

"Ippon-Datara, unwilling accomplice in all this, god of blacksmithing." Ippon-Datara held out a gloved hand in boredom. "Hand her over, and I'll take her somewhere to recover." Still wary, Ino helped Mizuchi up, where she wrapped her arm around the other god for support. "Let's go back to the forge—"

"That's it?" Ino already had a feeling she wouldn't like this god. Something about his aloof detachment reminded her of someone…someone who only did things when they absolutely had no other choice. "What about us?"

"What about you?" It was impossible to see his facial expression but he radiated boredom and weariness.

"We can't go back until we can get in there and help our friend," Surprisingly, it was Sai who spoke, but then if there was one thing the weirdo was, it was loyal to Sakura and Naruto.

"How is that my—" The first emotion besides boredom Ino had heard from him and it was exasperation. But Ino was used to annoying—Shikamaru called it bullying—men into compliance when that's what it took. She wasn't about to back down.

"Hitotsu," Mizuchi interrupted, "I'll open a portal. Take them to your forge. Surely a master blacksmith could make something capable of withstanding the distortion's assault. Something we could use to reach in for Sakura, provided we need to." True to her word, the goddess was already creating a portal, ready for them to enter the no doubt dank, gloomy forge that was supposed to be on the other side.

"I make no promises…" The god maneuvered his fellow deity toward the portal, supporting her weight and his own as he hobbled along. Ino smirked to herself, triumphant yet again.

Sakura most definitely was going to owe her one.

---

"I can't really tell if we're fashionably late or considerably early." Sakura eyed the banquet hall around them, which was notably bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside.

Actually, she would go as far as saying it was impossibly bigger on the inside. The ceiling of the room extended higher than some towers built to observe the stars, ornate gold light fixtures hanging far above, illuminating the room with the eerily enchanting glow of candles.

And the walls…the walls were so dark—black, in fact—while the long banquet tables were draped in satiny crimson tablecloths and the polished obsidian floors speckled with silver resembled a night sky.

It was something out of a dark fantasy, and Sakura felt her trepidation only rise as she slowly walked into the room and everyone turned simultaneously, their eyes gleaming and their smiles anticipatory.

Nodoka fluttered up to them, eyeing them up and down quickly. "You're right on time." she declared. "Come! Come, come!" Her arm wheeled forward, "Let me introduce you!" Quite a few faces they had seen around town were already gathered, most of them sitting at the tables while a few stood around.

"That's Muranaka." She pointed to a man sitting at the table and squirming rather uncomfortably, no doubt because of the woman with the rolling pin leering at him.

'He's the one with the bathtub,' Sakura had to say, she was glad he came clothed. "Between you and me, I'm quite surprised to see him here with his wife. He's a bit of a philanderer, and she's caught him a time or two." Nodoka confided softly.

"I uh…see." The pinkette replied lamely. If that was the case, he deserved a rolling pin upside the head.

"Ah, and there's young Tamotsu." She cooed, pointing at the little boy with wings who was energetically flapping them, nearly sending a polished porcelain tea set on the table toppling to the ground if not for the fast acting of a woman near him. "Excitable little thing."

Izuna made a noise, and Sakura peeked in his direction, finding him motioning with his eyes towards a sight she nearly missed. Nodoka was guiding them around the room without paying any mind to what was happening around them, but there was a mouse straining to sip from a sake cup, speaking to a squirrel with a ribbon around its neck. "I've told you," the mouse slurred, "I'm fiiine, fine as rain!"

"No, you're drunk, you silly ass." The squirrel tutted, her tail ruffled in agitation as she tried to lift a teacup. Finding minimal success, they watched as she finally lowered her face to the rim and began to lap up the liquid. "How much did you think it would take to become drunk at that size? Hah! Only a thimble!"

It wasn't that talking animals were any strange occurrence to anyone who was familiar with summoning animals. But they seemed like an old married couple in an oddly literal way.

"Don't mind them." Nodoka ushered Sakura forward. "They'll settle down, in time. You should have heard them before they turned into animals."

It was hard to tell whose facial expression was louder, hers or Izuna's. "You mean…" Izuna's eyes flicked down, finishing what he didn't say.

"It wasn't their choice," In Sakura's opinion, Nodoka's voice was entirely too cheerful to be delivering that kind of news. "We have to maintain order around here somehow ."

The muffled squeals of a man that was missing a mouth and kept running his hands over where it should have been, punctuated her point with pure absurdity. "Like that," she tilted her chin, perfectly calm as someone dragged the man away. "We can't take the power that's been bestowed on us for granted, or we might as well not have it at all. When you break a rule, a penalty is imposed. Someone else gets to decide your fate with their wish." Some people were so good at explaining their point, no matter what it was, no matter how dark, that it became chilling. Because it was so clear that they believed their words. This was a perfect instance, as Nodoka grabbed the edges of her yukata and stepped over some children finger painting on a scroll, with what the pinkette sincerely hoped was mashed berries, on the floor. Silently, Sakura did the same.

"Here we are!" Their gracious hostess pointed out two empty seats with a good view of the whole room. "Make yourselves comfortable, indulge in some fresh bread—I made that myself." She added proudly, "And the show will begin any minute."

"The show?" Anyone else might have mistaken Izuna's tone for a light inquiry as he pulled in his chair beside her, but Sakura knew him well enough to hear the edge of trepidation hidden there.

"Nothing special," Nodoka glanced over their heads at something on the other side of the room. "Just a little dinner theater performance to entertain us while we dine."

Petals rained down on their heads, Sakura brushing them out of her hair while Izuna removed one from between his lips, brow ticking up. Above them, the pig with wings from earlier had a basket it was clumsily balancing between its front hooves, pushing the roses out with its snout. "Oh no, no, no!" Nodoka tsked, placing a hand on her hips, red in the face. "It isn't time for the flowers yet!" She fussed, "and even if it were, they don't go here ." The pig squealed loudly, throwing in a few aggressive snorts.

"Don't give me that! You had one job for the whole night! Do it well or there'll be cured ham on the menu for breakfast tomorrow morning." Sakura watched the exchange, wide-eyed. Yes, she'd seen things. Enough things to make this feel relatively normal. But yet again it was just something about the fact that this was supposed to be a 'normal' setting without shinobi or gods (the influence of one notwithstanding), and it was growing more the opposite by the minute.

Seeming to realize she had an audience, Nodoka frowned. "Forgive me, I'll have to handle this. I'm in charge of making sure tonight goes off without a hitch. We'll talk later?"

Though Sakura had no objections, they would have fallen on deaf ears if she had. Nodoka was already rushing away with the chastised pig flying right behind her.

"If there are any decent gods left up there," Izuna said as soon as they were out of earshot, "I really hope we aren't served ham." He plucked the top off a silver tray in front of them, just as everyone else took their seats and settled down. Steaming roasted beef tantalized them, potatoes decorating it on all sides.

"This is…better." Izuna decided.

"Is it?" Sakura took a bread roll from the basket that had materialized in front of them, passing it to Izuna. "How sure are we that this isn't someone who took a penalty ?" She hissed only loud enough for him to hear. Never eat meat anywhere that turning a person into an animal was not only possible, but an acceptable form of corporal punishment. That was her new traveling rule.

Grimacing, Izuna dropped the lid, accepting the offer of warm bread instead. "Good point."

The room darkened, as if a giant's breath had snuffed all the candles out at once. Sakura couldn't say she was in the mood to close her eyes and pretend it was all just an innocent theater performance, what with everything wildly questionable she'd already witnessed.

But she was also sure she was in the minority along with Izuna, because everyone's excitement was palpable.

A watery stream of light pierced the veil of dark blanketing the room, and a hush stilled the anxious murmurs. An image, almost like a large screen projector from her own time, began to play with moving pictures in the traditional painting style. "Once upon a time," An operatic female voice sang. Sakura looked around, but couldn't spot who it was or where they were. The acoustics of the high ceilings made her singing fill up the whole room. "There was nothing here but dust…nothing here for us."

The blotch of ink shifted, scrawling itself out like one of Sai's drawings until it showed people kneeling on a barren field, bodies dejectedly staring at the ground. "Until the star that fell from the heavens changed us forever…"

The meteorite that had struck ages ago flashed, red and brilliant, a plume of clouds going up as it landed. When it cleared, the newly empowered ink people rose, and then they were flying around through the air, plowing fields, fighting off bears with raw strength. "We assumed life couldn't get better!" The singer belted out. "He proved us wrong. One by one, he called our names, and so we came…here. Granted of our wishes, bestower of blessings, heaven-sent! Heaven-sent!"

The people in the art passed through the barrier, while a figure in the clouds watched over them. "Now we can do the most amazing things! And we give him all our devotion. We sing his praise, because our days are filled with meaning and light."

'You say that until he comes to collect.' Sakura thought, nibbling at her bread.

"So please," Message aside, whoever was regaling them with this story truly was a wonderful singer, and she held the note for an impressive length of time. "Join us, come together and feast tonight, until morning's light!"

The picture cut out, and the lights flickered back on, everyone in the banquet hall applauding heartily. Sakura tentatively joined after glancing at Izuna, who shrugged and did the same. Whatever made them stand out less.

"Oh so wonderful," Nodoka's voice carried as she stood at the front of the room, glass in hand. "I think we all can agree that Yuka's voice is another heaven sent gift."

The statement received another round of applause, and even a few whistles. A willowy young woman in an ornate kimono drifted to Nodoka's side, bowing demurely.

"As she said, we're going to be feasting into the morning hours, so I hope everyone's put the children to bed." Her eyes flickered out at the sea of faces, probably noticing that some of those children were there. "Except the ones who are here." The crowd gave her some good-natured laughter. "A toast— to our most generous, loving god. He saw into our hearts and answered desires we hadn't even voiced yet. He crafted this paradise just for us. Tonight, we revel in his honor."

Again, Sakura felt compelled to play along, grabbing the glass closest to her on the left while Izuna plucked up the one on his right. "A toast!" Everyone had barely uttered the words before they were knocking back what Sakura only dared to sip. Alcohol, predictably, sweet and heady, but nothing like the unforgettable flavor of the Senju's honey wine.

"And with that," Nodoka's cheeks were flushed after that cup alone, "we eat!"

As if she had said the magic words, all the lids flew off the decorative silver trays, revealing a plentiful feast with every meat, mountains of rice, piles of steamed vegetables, and gooey desserts.

No one had any compunction about beginning to fill their plates. Any sort of neighborly camaraderie went out the window as they tore into the food like a pack of half-starved dogs.

Still, there was merriment, in the unusual way the villagers expressed it. Talking. Laughing. The drunk mouse on the table trying to steal someone's cup.

"You're not going to eat?" A woman sitting adjacent to them gave her empty plate an appraising look while she ladled rice pudding from her own into her mouth. "You'll get gaunt."

"Actually," Sakura prepared to formulate a polite reason why she wasn't eating, knowing the one about being too suspicious of all of them to think about food wasn't the best answer. "I've already had so many snacks—"

"You're from out of town, aren't you?" The man who had asked shoveled in anpan with both hands, hardly pausing to let one bite pass his lips before he had another, alternating flavors. "Neither of you are."

"Good eye." Izuna sipped from his glass calmly. "Yes we're…new here. Thank you for accepting us into your village."

"Nonsense," The woman with the pudding clucked. "You're here because you're supposed to be. Our god must have willed it. At least…" Sakura cringed as she motioned with the spoon absently and a glob of pudding splattered onto someone else's forehead. But the man kept eating, undeterred, his mustache twitching with every bite as if it had a life of its own. The pinkette sincerely hoped it didn't. She had almost hit her meter on disturbingly weird for one day. "I assume he must have."

"That being the case, we're all curious to hear more about you!" A teenage girl leaned into Izuna's personal space, her fingers sliding up his arm. She could tell the Uchiha was doing his best to be discreet in his discomfort with being touched, moving closer to her as a result, not that Sakura really minded. The girl, her hair looking like it had been rubbed vigorously by a balloon for how frizzy it was, didn't take the hint. Instead she abandoned her plate entirely, almost hugging poor Izuna's arm. "All the juicy bits please."

"There's really not too much to tell." Sakura fought the urge to pry the offending hand off Izuna's forearm as she spoke delicately. "We arrived not very long ago, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the star piece."

"Ah, our treasure." The pinkette did a double take at the squirrel who had crept over, her sights set on a plate of cookies crammed with walnuts. "Yes, that did always draw in a crowd."

"Not as much as a talking squirrel would, I bet." Two men snickered as they watched the squirrel root through the plate of cookies.

Hopefully those little paws were clean. 'Note to self, skip out on cookies.'

"Anyway, are you looking to settle down here, in Hoshigakure?" The woman who asked wore a very interested expression, and had three different kinds of meat on her plate and not much else. "It's a little place, I know, but you can always see the stars at night."

"No," Izuna had finally pulled his arm away from its captor. "We're just passing thro…"

"Of course they're looking to settle." The man with the possibly sentient mustache wiped his mouth with a napkin, his bald head shiny even with the hall's dim lighting as he nodded. "They're young, probably ready to start a life and family of their own together any day."

It wasn't the first time she had ever been mistaken for a couple with Izuna, or some of the other Founders, for that matter. But it was the first time since Sakura fully realized her feelings, and when she blushed it was one she already knew went all the way down to her neck. Izuna at leas looked just as embarrassed, the pink standing out noticeably on his pale skin.

"Oh, children love Hoshi." The woman sighed wistfully from over her pile of meat. Then she reached down and rubbed at a stomach Sakura saw was exceptionally round. She had to be pretty far along. "I'm looking forward to raising my little one here."

"It's not just a great place for that ." The man eating anpan with both hands interrupted, "Even if you'd like to just kick back and take it easy, away from all the hustle and bustle of those big villages, this is the place for you." He proceeded to take such a big bite of the anpan that the filling in the center flew onto the once clean tablecloth.

Someone sighed, and Sakura realized it was the same young girl who had been familiar with Izuna. She was gripping the table's edge tightly, her thin face dropped and worried. "When word gets out about what we can do, though…"

"Why do you think we're taking the precautions that we are?" The pregnant woman hissed. "This is for us, for future generations of this village." She laid a hand across her stomach. "But not for anyone else."

Sounds of a commotion rose even above the light chatter throughout the room. Glancing over, Sakura saw the same flying pig was still around and had accidentally dropped a drink in a glass over someone's head. The man flew from his seat, spewing a string of curses and removing what turned out to be a sopping wet hairpiece.

"You damn swine!" He flung the hair at the oinking pig. "Watch where the hell you're flying!"

But not even that commotion kept anyone's attention for long. Soon, while the pig taunted the man, wearing the hairpiece he had thrown at it and hovering just out of reach, everyone else got back to eating. Which meant that the conversation they had just been having.

"Out of curiosity," Izuna's voice drew all eyes to him. "What if someone wanted to leave? Would the…blessings follow them?"

"Leave?" The squirrel squawked, lowering the cookie she was gnawing on. "Leave? Why would anyone do that?"

'Starting with the fact that someone can impose a penalty like turning you into an animal for an undetermined amount of time?' Sakura rested her cheek against her hand, stirring a spoon through a cup of tea that hadn't been there before. Needless to say she wasn't going to drink it.

"No one leaves." Nodoka happened to have walked by at that very moment, glass in hand, eyes sweeping over all of them.

The pinkette couldn't help but notice how her words caused the rest of the townspeople around them to look away guiltily as if they had broken some sacred tenet. Murmurs of agreement first from one, then from all of them followed.

Pleased, Nodoka tipped her glass back and sipped. "The night's young," she told them, twirling in place. "We should really take this celebration to the next level, do some interpretive storytelling!"

Interpretive storytelling turned out to be each person taking turns giving their testimonial about the way their life had changed for the better since having their wish granted. They would demonstrate that very power, transforming themselves or their surroundings as they spoke enthusiastically.

Sakura waited until the others were fully engrossed in a little old woman speaking about how she had brought back all twenty-two of her formerly dead cats from over the years, and slipped out for a little fresh air.

---

The blast of chilly night air was so unexpected, Sakura felt her eyes watering. But she was inhaling greedily the next second, taking in the serenity of the streets in comparison to the banquet hall. The heavy wood doors swung open again, and she paused on the second stair, tossing a teasing smile over her shoulder. "You know just because I stepped out, you didn't have to. What if there's someone in there who wants you to make a toast or ask you for a dance?"

"Why do you think I followed you?" Izuna joined her on the stairs, offering his arm gallantly in a gesture clearly meant to be playful. Still, Sakura took it, her fingers tingling. "Plus, I thought you'd have figured it out by now. Uchiha are selective about what partners they dance with. Once we find the right one, that's it."

Sakura was suddenly taken back to that perfect night that already felt like so long ago, happy to live in delusion back then and dance in Izuna's arms like it was just a dance, like he was just a friend.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Sakura turned into him instead of releasing his arm. That would have been the smart thing, emotionally at least. Instead they stared at each other until their heartbeats almost synced and everything else faded. "Everyone's inside," Sakura said, pulling herself back from the brink of a mistake just in time. "While they're preoccupied, I want to poke around."

Izuna nodded seriously, but there was mirth and something else in his eyes. "Then I'll poke with you." They stepped back from each other, Sakura taking the time to turn away and compose herself. This man…being alone with this man might be the death of her. It was like he knew just enough to be cunning in that subtle way of his.

"Where should we start?" Sakura asked. "Based on what they were saying, I've got a theory I'd like to test."

"I trust your mind." Izuna peered out into the dark, then down at her. "If you think you've got an idea of where all the crazy meets into a single point, I'm all ears."

"Actually," Sakura tapped her chin, taking a running leap onto the nearest rooftop. "I'm pretty sure I do. Try and keep up!" She was off like a bolt, leaving Izuna sputtering on the ground as he sped after her.

"Talk about an unfair advantage!" He had to raise his voice as they picked up their pace and the wind rushed into their ears. "A head start, really?"

"Really," she confirmed, whipping some of the hair in her eyes away. "You caught up fast, didn't you?" The kunoichi stopped long enough to get a sense of her surroundings, staring up at the clear sky. "Have you noticed that while there's some sort of barrier that repels anything that touches it from the outside, from in here you can't see anything? It doesn't look like the town's been literally split in half."

Izuna took in the sky too. "It's strange. You'd assume that's just an illusion or a recreation made by someone's wish, but…"

"But…" Sakura took a deep breath. "What if it's a little more than that?" The pinch of pain when she bit her thumb was minimal, golden light washing over the roof tiles as a furry figure appeared in its center.

"Sakura?" Natsume crawled closer. "Oh," Upon spotting Izuna he made a beeline for the Uchiha, circling him a few times like an unsure dog.

The shinobi kept perfectly still, waiting patiently for the mujina to be done. "He's…your summon?"

"Natsume the mujina." Sakura explained, watching Natsume cling to Izuna's leg as he took a long sniff.

"Smells kind of like volcanic rock, citrus and noble intentions. Not bad as far as these things go."

She wasn't sure she thought the Uchiha smelled like any of those things, but then mujina had a peculiar way of describing people, so it was probably best to let it be.

Izuna crouched down so the curious mujina was closer to his face, which could have been very dangerous if it were one of her more aggressive summons. "I wasn't even aware that noble intentions had a smell."

"Oh sure," The mujina rested his front paws on Izuna's knee as he squinted at him from over the end of a quivering nose. "It's just that the smell does tend to be pretty enticing, so a lot of yokai would gobble up people like that. Personally, I have to say it varies for me. Human flesh tends to be a bit chewy, so—"

"Natsume." Sakura cleared her throat, instantly grabbing the yokai's attention before he could really get off track. "I summoned you because I need your nose."

Natsume's face brightened, his bushy tail fluffing out as he danced from side to side, his claws clicking on the roof. "A new scent? Put me on it!"

"That's the thing," Sakura frowned, realizing that even with Natsume's help, he couldn't work a miracle if all she had was a vague idea to go on. "I wish I could tell you exactly what it is, or give you something to scent first, but all I know is it'd smell like magic and…"

"Everything around here smells like magic," he informed them. "Nope, wait…" The yokai scented the soft breeze that tickled their faces. "And stardust."

Sakura was fascinated that his sense of smell was always slightly more keen than she assumed it to be, but given the mujina were beings of magic themselves, it really shouldn't be any surprise. "This place is affected by Nesaku's wish-granting. We just don't know how he's doing it, or…where to find him."

"The God of Stars, eh?" Natsume put his nose down, snuffling hard, his head whipping in one direction, then the other. "Guess that explains the stardust. The magical aftereffect of granted wishes always smells like stardust."

"Hm…do you think you could take us to where the trail ends, then? That could be a better way to go about it than my first idea." Sakura began thinking aloud, already adjusting her theory ever so slightly.

Natsume was only too happy to oblige, bounding off with pep in his step. The little guy loved following a scent, ironically more doggedly persistent than any ninken she had ever seen. Once he was on a trail, he'd follow it to the ends of the earth.

Fortunately they only had to follow it to the edge of town, where Natsume's stubby legs finally took a break as he looked at her expectantly.

"So this is as far as it goes, huh?" Izuna mused, approaching the edge of the steep plummet that led to the ravine. Sakura watched with building anxiety in her gut, despite knowing he wasn't careless enough to fall in.

"Wait, maybe we—" The Uchiha kicked a stone, and the momentum should have sent it tumbling over the edge. Instead they all watched the miracle of it bouncing back as if stopped by an invisible wall.

Gasping, Sakura approached the ravine too, her hands flying up to feel at the air. There was definitely something solid, which prompted her to try a chakra-laced punch. It bounced off harmlessly. In fact, her wrist sort of hurt from the blowback. "W-What's going on? Is this the barrier we could see from outside?"

Natsume backed away, running headlong into the barrier and rolling back with a yelp. "Resistant to mujina force too." He groaned.

Izuna smoothed a palm over the wall before pulling it away. Stepping far enough back to give himself space, his hands began forming signs Sakura had become more than familiar with, a powerful Katon jutsu blowing past his lips, the fire starting to make her sweat from so close. He kept it up, a bright stream hitting the wall for a solid five minutes before the flames dissipated, only embers puffing out of his mouth. "That should have done..something." He panted, face perturbed when he realized it hadn't done anything.

"Gods are usually immune to anything powered by chakra because they predate it." Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm guessing that applies to something one clearly constructed."

"Still," Natsume kept his nose down, walking in a line along the barrier. "I can smell the outside, past this. There might be a chink somewhere."

"Like a trap door, maybe?" Izuna guessed, turning back to face the town. Even from a distance it had the same eerie peace. Lights twinkled near the banquet hall, and Sakura had to guess the festivities were still going strong.

Why wouldn't they be? No one else thought anything was wrong with the way they were living. Then again, who would turn an unlimited amount of wishes and endless good fortune? Only people like them, who had the experiences to know not to trust it.

Sakura was confident she and Izuna were thinking along the same line. "We should attack it from there, then. Find the fault line."

Natsume stilled very suddenly, the hair along his spine rising as a menacing growl worked its way out of his muzzle. He sprang in front of Sakura protectively. "Someone else is nearby, and they smell like trou—"

Alarmed, the kunoichi watched the mujina's body wink out of existence in a wave of white static. "Natsume?" Was it just another mujina trick? A bad feeling told her the answer. "Natsume!" Someone's killing intent washed over her, and she looked to Izuna, eyes wide.

"I feel it to—"

Sakura gaped as he disappeared the same way Natsume had.

"What the hell is going on?" The town's structure was swallowed up in the same way, as if a slate had been wiped clean. Sakura already knew what was coming before it came. Already knew she wouldn't be able to run fast enough to escape it as she became vaguely aware of disappearing too.

---

Typically, she'd be working alone on these kinds of operations, though she understood Hashirama's insistence that it should be done by small teams of three. The bloodline hunters' increased activity around Fire Country meant there was a need for additional vigilance.

Following the meeting among the Hokage and the village's various clans, they had decided to establish patrol routes until the situation was resolved. And it wasn't that she minded, truly.

Having others to watch her back was never unwelcome. It was more so that Toka was used to silence on missions such as these. Not out of necessity, but the dignity and importance of such assignments seemed to keep things grounded in it.

That wasn't the case this time, where the whistling to her left could be heard loud and clear. Naoko's lungs were impressive, the sound she made easy to hear even over the rush of wind in their ears. And when she happened to catch Toka's eyes, she stopped long enough to grin. "Not a bad view, hm?"

Toka wouldn't have called the monotonous background of the forest exciting, but she supposed the Uchiha had a way of looking at things that she didn't. That was at least until she saw the way her dark eyes honed in on a point up ahead, where the third member of their team dashed after a beetle he seemed to have no trouble spotting. Just as Naoko had no trouble keeping her eyes stuck to his backside. If she weren't so used to the wily woman's antics she might blush. "What are the odds, the three of us together again? We haven't had a chance to catch up since Sakura's birthday."

Toka supposed she was meant to humor her by taking the bait, so she gave the Uchiha her attention in place of Tomoya, who was fully preoccupied. "You requested the Hokage assign the three of us this patrol route, or did you already forget?"

"Hm…" She appeared to be thinking it over. "Can I be blamed if the two of you make such lovely company? Honestly, I'd lose my mind if I were paired with anyone else, especially some stiff from my own clan. Did you know that—"

Toka was grateful she had the presence of mind to keep her attention on Tomoya's movements as much as Naoko's prattling, otherwise she may have run into him when he stopped abruptly.

Their talkative comrade, however, wasn't so observant, and her next bounce had her closing the distance between the Aburame's position and her own rather fast.

In a show of extraordinary footwork and deft coordination, Tomoya spun to catch her before they could collide, keeping his balance even with the sudden weight of an adult woman in his arms.

"My hero," Naoko ran a finger absently across his cheek, and Toka watched her touch blaze a trail of scarlet on his skin. He released her soon enough, shyly retreating into his mop of hair.

The poor man had no idea how Naoko liked to play. The brief time he had spent around her during that festival wasn't nearly enough to get used to her forwardness, with or without the shameless flirting involved.

For someone as graceful and observant as Naoko to not pay attention to where they were going when they were tree-hopping so swiftly and so high seemed unlikely at best. Though no one could ever accuse the woman of not going for what she wanted.

"It's…it's here." Tomoya said above a whisper, tilting his head down where the trio could observe an innocuous clearing. Naoko was the first to reach the ground, already poking around the area by the time Toka's feet touched solid earth.

"They're not half bad at covering their tracks," She mused. "But not half bad really only means they're not entirely good. If you know what to look for." Squatting, Naoko brushed a pale hand over some scattered leaves on the ground. "See these? There aren't any trees that match the type they could have come from in this clearing." The Uchiha delicately plucked it up, showing it to them. Toka noticed instantly that she was right. There weren't any of that species of chestnut tree to be found. Though there had been some about a half mile back.

"My guess is they wrapped the bottom of their shoes in layers of leaves to avoid leaving tracks." Naoko dropped the leaf and began to walk in a slow circle, paying attention to the ground. "It's smart. They also had to be moving everyone in a single file line and avoiding thick brush that could slow them down, snag the wheels of a wagon, or be disturbed by their tromping through the area."

Toka crouched too, finding the ground was indeed unnaturally smooth, as if someone had gone to great lengths to keep it that way. "Your keen observations are impressive. Are all the Uchiha this skilled at tracking?"

The other kunoichi didn't miss a thing, and when she got serious about it, it was almost eerie.

"A fair few are talented at this sort of thing," Naoko admitted, her eyes glinting. "But why talk about them?" She dropped back down, closer to Toka than necessary, laying a hand casually close to where hers rested on the undisturbed ground. When she leaned in so near that the Senju could count her individual eyelashes, her pulse skipped. " I'm here and more than happy to lap up your…praise."

'Calm your mind, Toka.' she scolded. 'She doesn't mean it. She never does.' Naoko simply enjoyed seeing people flustered, because she had that power, because she could. Reading further into it than that could be dangerous, and ultimately strain a somewhat unconventional friendship that she had nonetheless come to care a lot about.

"I found another cl—" Tomoya, who had wandered off, was back. He stopped short, and Toka could only imagine the way his eyes took in what he was seeing, what he thought was going on. "…ue. Another clue. Well. My partners found it. Interesting fact: the species commonly thought of as the tentomushi, or ladybug, is thought to ward off evil spirits and is a symbol of protection to…" Catching himself, the Aburame ran a hand down his face. "What I mean is that I've found something interesting." he clarified.

They followed Tomoya to a place where the ground sloped unnaturally, well concealed in a tangle of otherwise ordinary and dense bushes. Too dense, and too ordinary.

Naoko tapped the heel of her foot against the ground, cocking her head. "Let's see, how about a little Doton?" As she wove through the hand signs for her jutsu, Toka waited with trepidation. She thought of Reira, ever inquisitive, and the looming threat these bloodline hunters posed.

Snatching up children and disappearing without a trace after nearly two decades of their activities in Fire Country dying down. Now, they had grown bold, practically on their doorstep. She really did have a vested interest in keeping not just her niece, but other children safe.

The ground lifted, yawning open to reveal what turned out to be something like a trap door large and wide enough to fit some considerable bulk through.

Toka eyed it with scrutiny. "Is that…?"

Tomoya got low to the ground, placing his hand on top of the earth and staying silent for a long moment. "The bugs underground are agitated."

"I did just dig them up." Naoko replied. "Give them my apologies if I interrupted anything."

"No." The Aburame insisted, "It's more than that. Too much unnatural disturbance underground the past few weeks…"

Here she found herself growing more curious. It was well known that the Aburame clan had a special relationship with bugs, that they could command them. But Tomoya seemed to be able to do more than that, and she was fascinated. Reira raved about how incredible the abilities of her friend Chisato were, now she wondered about the elder sibling. "Do you…speak to the insects?"

Tomoya glanced at her before looking down again. "Insects communicate much differently than humans…through signals, pheromones, wing vibrations…but I've taught myself to read them, and perhaps because of being a human hive, I do have a clearer sense of what some species are 'talking' about."

"So that's a yes." Naoko confirmed, crouching and then resting her hands on her knees. "What are they saying?"

Despite their close proximity, this time Tomoya didn't blush. "Trespassers have been digging deep underground for a long time. They wake the insects, disturb their habitats." he translated.

"Digging?" Toka repeated. "Like a bunker?"

"More like tunnels." he murmured. "The lights placed throughout the tunnels have also disturbed their normal cycles. They're willing to show us if it means we do something about it."

"Hmm…I think this is worth reporting to the Hokage before we proceed." The Uchiha concluded, standing and then brushing her palms together. "As long as we have you, Tomoya-kun, we can always find our way back."

She bumped his shoulder, smiling in praise.

Tomoya took one look at it and then turned away bashfully. Ah, there was the dynamic Toka had expected. "Of course."

"For today we've done good work, and covered a lot of ground." Toka said, "We can make camp for the evening. Unless you'd both prefer to make for the village through the night?" They had been sent to inspect and patrol the southern-most border, while other teams handled the rest of the Fire Country's parameter. It had been several days between the traveling and patrolling, and making it back in one night was doable depending on their pace, but Toka suspected they were all tired.

"A good rest feels well earned." Naoko stretched her arms high as she walked past. "I saw an area a little ways back that would make a good campground. And I'm no Madara, but I'm sure I could hunt us something as well as any menfolk."

"Any objections?" She asked Tomoya, who shrugged, shaking his head.

"I'm fine with returning to the area later. My bugs will guide us whenever you're ready. But…could I make a request?"

She and Naoko exchanged looks, silently urging him to go on. "Is there any way we could search for edible fruit? It…um…it makes my bugs happy to…"

"Oh you're so adorable," Naoko cooed, stretching her arms out as if beckoning him in for a hug and wiggling her fingers. "We couldn't have found this lead without them. The little darlings have been invaluable, so they can have whatever they like."

Toka nodded. "Agreed."

To her surprise, Tomoya pushed his hair and shades from his face, giving them an unobstructed view of his grateful eyes. "You're both so kind to me, to us. Not many outside my clan try to understand…"

In the way Naoko often did when she sensed someone needed genuine comfort from her, her face softened as she laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, rubbing it briefly. "They're a part of you, aren't they? What else is there to understand."

There was so much surety and sweetness in her voice that Tomoya's mouth dropped open, his eyes going wide before he was gracing her with a sweet smile of his own.

Toka couldn't explain the way her heartbeat quickened momentarily, so instead of getting caught staring at their shining faces, she made herself busy looking for some wood they could use for a fire.

---

It would have been easier if she had let the house get a little dirty, she thought. Then, at least there would be something to clean to keep her hands busy. Instead, Yurine found herself flitting around her kitchen, arranging and rearranging her tray of snacks.

Wondering if they would arrive while the tea was still on. Halfway through peeking out the window near the front door and wiping her clammy palms down her legs, Yurine pressed a palm to her forehead. Something had to be wrong with her. It was just a lunch!

A lunch that wasn't even anything special, or intimate. She would be joined by Goemon and his siblings.

Not that she wasn't looking forward to seeing the kids. She'd grown pretty fond of them since they came to the village. But it made the reason behind her nervousness even more baffling to her. At least Kureno wasn't around to witness it…

'It's not like this was a spontaneous decision. You thought about this.' Yurine tried to coach herself in the hopes of it alleviating some of her butterflies. 'You know him now. He knows you. And the children are wonderful!' She only realized she had been pacing when she stopped. 'So why…'

Three cheerful knocks on the door and the kunoichi was stumbling over her own feet to go and answer it.

Kureno would have said it was just like her to mentally count down before opening the door, so she didn't seem too eager. She cracked it open enough to pop her head out, smile dropping in confusion at the expression on Tomoharu's face. His sister Saya was quick to brush him aside, throwing her arms around Yurine in a happy hug. "Guess what? Guess what?"

"What?" Yurine laughed, still confused. "Come in and tell me." Tomoharu hugged her legs before shuffling by her, and Saya bounced in after. Yurine didn't want to close the door, waiting for Goemon's impressive figure to appear any minute, but when he didn't round the corner right away she decided to get the kids settled in with a snack. Maybe what Saya wanted to explain had something to do with where he was.

The children helped themselves gratefully once Yurine told them there was plenty. She made them matcha tea and watched them scarf down the cookies she had worked so hard on. Cookies weren't difficult but they were when one happened to keep daydreaming and burning them.

"What is it you wanted to tell me, Saya?" Yurine asked after fixing her own tea. "Is it…about Goemon? Is he…still coming?" Did she sound flustered, or too hopeful? Luckily children weren't able to read her as easily as her friends.

"Oh, him? Nii-san's fine." Saya brushed some crumbs from her mouth, then dove back into another cookie. "He just got slowed down,"

"Oh?" Yurine leaned in, interested.

"We were in the woods…" Tomo's shy voice began. "Nii-san was showing us how to check traps."

"Yep!" Saya chimed in, reaching for her third cookie. She had tried very little tea yet, and Yurine didn't know if she should be proud her treats were so well received or concerned she might choke. "But Nii-san said there's a right way and a wrong way to make a trap. The only right way isn't cruel, so the animal doesn't suffer." She sounded like she was repeating what she had been told in verbatim, so Yurine nodded.

"I agree," she said.

"When we were in the woods, we heard a lot of noise, and—" Saya began to growl and snarl, baring her teeth at her little brother. "Hey!" He shoved her shoulder, pouting. "Let me tell it…" Tomoharu wasn't often an assertive boy, but Yurine had noticed him coming out of his shell little by little at the academy. Standing up to his sister was probably a byproduct of him finding his voice.

Perhaps responding to his command, Saya quieted, and Tomoharu resumed talking. "We heard a noise, loud and scary. Nii-san told us stay away 'cause it could be bad. Animals are mean when they get hurt." He swung his feet, munching his cookie as he recounted the story.

Yurine could admit to herself that one of the things she had always admired about Goemon was his commitment to the two children he had taken in. He really did try his best to do right by them, even when he played the part of a charming but flippant wanderer so well.

And he wasn't wrong to warn them off; wild animals were dangerous under the best circumstances when humans were in their territory, never mind if one was injured. "I hope you listened…"

Saya immediately trying not to make eye contact told her all she needed to know. "We waited…for a while…" she hedged.

Yurine set her cup aside with a sigh. "And?"

"We followed nii-san…" Tomo's head dropped, his little shoulders tense as if he was anticipating her disappointment.

"That's when—" Saya's excitement was drowned out by the knock at the door. Yurine stilled, then rose when she heard the deep voice.

"Anybody home? Sorry, I don't want to walk right in unannounced. It wouldn't be very polite."

Yurine opened the door all the way, huffing as she prepared to scold him just a little. "It wouldn't be unannounced when I was waiting for y…what…what is that?!"

In response to her grimace, Goemon grinned down at her wolfishly, which happened to be the exact thing he appeared to be carrying over his shoulders.

"I couldn't just leave the poor girl," he explained. The poor girl in question looked to be a fully grown mountain wolf that could easily take down an unsuspecting cow in its prime. Its ears were back, and its eyes were almost shut so it was hard to tell their color. She was mostly white as freshly fallen snow, except for the gray mask on her face and the darker fur on her paws. "Do you mind if I come in, make use of some supplies, Lady Yurine?"

Tall as he was, he had no trouble peering over the top of her head, squinting at her house. She flushed, wondering if she'd cleaned enough. It was unlikely that she missed anything, but maybe he was…

"Huh…yes, come in. You can't keep standing out there. What would my neighbors think?" That a giant of a man with an enormous wolf on his back was at her doorstep, most likely. And in their defense…it was a fair thought.

"So you're saving her?!" Yurine heard Saya ask as she went in search of some blankets or something soft he could lay the wolf down on.

Halfway through rummaging in a trunk where they stored old clothes and bedding she had been considering repurposing somehow, Yurine thought about what wild antics that man was liable to involve her in if he kept coming around.

The very first time she invited him—and the kids!—for lunch and he brought along an injured wolf fresh from the wild? Who did that? Well, she snapped the trunk shut with extra force, evidently one Goemon Hatake.

When she returned to her houseguests, she found that none of them had left the front room. Goemon was on the floor, legs folded with the wolf's head in his lap as she panted heavily.

Saya was stroking it between the ears while Tomo sat quietly on his older brother's other side and observed. "I…found this." Yurine offered up the old blanket awkwardly, ignoring his warm, grateful smile as she brought it to him. He reached for it, preparing to move the wolf's head, but the Yuhi shook her head. "Here, let me…"

She might as well, she supposed. He had his hands full and all. Unfolding the blanket, Yurine fluffed it out before she laid it down, getting on her hands and knees to smooth it and then scooting back so Goemon could deposit the wolf. She flinched, getting a glimpse of the massive animal's teeth, but for the time being, she didn't seem inclined to attack. The woman attributed that to the arrow lodged in its side, between its ribs.

"How did this," she motioned at the wolf, "happen? I mean, you just found a wolf, decided you should bring it back into the village and try to save it?"

"You sound like you disapprove," he noted, "but don't worry milady, I know what I'm doing. When I was a boy I saved a wild forest creature a time or two, nursed it back to health until they could be released."

She rolled her eyes, "Of course you did…"

"Although I'll admit rescuing a chipmunk or even a young badger wasn't the same." Still, he had the same unruffled attitude as always about it. Was the man ever not cavalier? Given her penchant for…hysterics, her mind supplied helpfully, dramatics. No, those were terms Kureno would use, which meant they were wrong. But given her penchant for overthinking and anxiety, secretly, she was maybe a little jealous. "As for how this happened, someone's a terrible shot, or just plain mean."

Yurine had to admit, she'd never spared much thought to the animals fending for themselves in the forest, hunting or being hunted, but seeing the wolf up close, clearly uncomfortable and trying to remain perfectly still, she felt pity. "Can you help her?"

Goemon was silent as he laid a hand on the wolf's neck. The animal didn't bother lifting her head up much, but she shifted her eye toward him. Yurine was afraid this might be when she snapped, but instead she chuffed quietly and closed her eyes. "It depends on what you have around…do you mind if I impose on you a little longer?"

Considering lunch was already disrupted, and the wolf was here and in need of saving, Yurine hardly felt she was in a position to say no. "Tell me what you need."

As he rattled off his list, Yurine mentally cataloged exactly where that was in the house. When she got up to grab it all, dashing around as she went, it kind of felt like being a little girl again, racing Kureno to do an errand for their parents first and receive the praise that came with it.

Their mother and father really had them well trained, in hindsight. They were fighting to do chores or errands… But having to live with those being the only memories she had left of them, she didn't think she'd change it for anything.

If only they could see her now…

Hopefully they would be proud of the people she and Kureno had become. Sighing, Yurine took what she had gathered in a basket for convenient carrying back to the front room, halting as she took in Goemon and the children, right where she'd left them, all petting and consoling the wolf. It was…far from domestic, wasn't it? Yet it warmed her heart in a way she couldn't put her finger on.

The man who got under her defenses in spite of her best efforts to keep them up also saved her from having to spiral and overthink it. His eyes found hers, grateful, and she hurried closer and laid everything down. "Alright." Determined, she settled closer to the wild animal than she would normally be comfortable sitting. "I'm no medic, but my hands are steady." Yurine fought the urge to wring said hands together. "I hope that'll be good enough."

"Try to have the faith that I do in you, milady, and everything's bound to work out."

Yurine shook her head, reaching for the heaviest roll of bandaging first. "Forget faith, having some of your confidence would be nice." She handed him the pair of scissors in the basket, figuring he might need those first. Goemon accepted them with an appreciative hum, able to snip right through the shaft so that only a small portion was left protruding from the wound. "That…looks painful." The fact that the wolf had remained so still and calm up until that moment, she put down to the fact that she was too injured and weak to do much. "And it might be in there deep. How're you going to get it?"

Goemon twirled a kunai around his index finger. "Very, very carefully."

Yurine gasped, realization dawning. "You're not seriously thinking of…she's not sedated!"

"It's not ideal by any means," Goemon rubbed a hand over the scruff on his jaw, "but time is of the essence. You won't hurt me girl, will you?" He cooed. The wolf raised her head and gave him a long, owlish blink before snorting through her nose. "It would be handy if one of us knew that flashy jutsu, eh?"

"Like Sakura-sensei teaches?" Yurine's eyes widened at Tomoharu's innocent question. The boy seemed none the wiser about the idea he had just sparked, fiddling with the edge of the blanket under the wolf.

"Medical jutsu!" She exclaimed. "It really would be easier if Sakura were here." Somehow, her friend always seemed to have the right solution at the right time for the right situation. She, on the other hand, was never half as well-prepared. 'Then again, I've…I've been present at almost every lesson she's taught at the academy so far. Maybe I could—no, no!'

"You look like you've got an idea," Goemon's voice was the only reason Yurine realized she had been pre-panicking, biting down on her lip as she thought furiously. Even with three pairs of eyes trained on her, she hesitated over telling them what was on her mind.

On the one hand, she might be able to prove very useful in this situation, inferior as her help would be to a real medic's who was trained for this. But there was also a high chance of her making the situation so much worse.

She had seen what happened when too much chakra was forced into a wound too quickly—it had the likelihood of metastasizing the cells, and that wasn't pretty. The wolf remained laying quietly, her breathing still heavy and her eyes closed. There was a certain sorrow to seeing such a powerful beast in such a pitiful state. Swiping her tongue over her abused bottom lip, Yurine cleared her throat. "Well…I was just thinking…maybe I could…help heal…her?" There was a pregnant pause, but no one immediately laughed or brushed her off, which was encouraging at least.

"I didn't know you had any knowledge about medicine." The Hatake's eyebrow arched, "Mighty impressive."

Already embarrassed, the kunoichi held up a hand before he could start singing her praises. "Don't be so quick to assume it is. I've just…all I've ever done is watch. Sakura was teaching some of the kids, and I was in the room, and I—I guess I'm saying I can do it. In theory. But I don't even know if I have the aptitude, and messing something like this up…"

"C'mon, please?" Saya grabbed her arm, scooting closer just to give her a cute face that went straight to her heart. "You at least gotta try! …Right?"

Yurine let a hesitant hand extend toward the wolf, pulling it away at the last second. "I could really do more harm than good if I get it wrong."

"You could also do a world of great if you get it right." Goemon encouraged, "This is where that faith comes in."

Taking a deep breath, she thought about what her friend would do if she were present, and she knew there was only one option. 'Sakura would help. She wouldn't hide behind excuses before she even tried.' The never-say-die tenacity was one of the things she admired most in her friend, one of the qualities she always wished she could emulate. But that couldn't happen if it didn't start somewhere.

Steadying her nerves and her hands, Yurine carefully recalled the exact order Sakura had done the steps in. Once she was sure she had them right, she gave Goemon a thumbs up. "Alright. You're going to get the arrow out now, right? So I'll try and keep her numbed." Every second her heartbeat sounded louder and louder, almost obnoxious. Yurine did her best to concentrate, to focus on not screwing it up. Her hands briefly flickered green, and then the light was gone and she was twisting her lips in frustration. 'Sakura always said you couldn't force it. I just need to take my mind to a calmer state. One I can focus in. Relax, Yurine. Relaaax.' Instead of trying to shove her chakra out hastily, she deep a few seconds of deep breathing, picturing the trail to a meadow she used to walk with her family as a child. Basking in the peace of the memory, Yurine found it easier to sync her heartbeat to the steadiness of her singular focus and not the erratic thoughts bouncing through her head. "Do it," she whispered. "I think it's working."

Goemon stared down at her glowing hands briefly, but he already had his kunai aimed and ready.

Although she was a career kunoichi, Yurine found herself turning away from the sight of him slicing into the wolf's side, just enough to wiggle a pair of clamps Kureno had bought for a house project he never finished into the wound.

The sounds of the wolf whining softly and the squelch of flesh being moved around kept her half-occupied, the rest of her attention on maintaining concentration. "I've got it," Goemon's excitement made her heart a little giddy. "I'm pulling it free now."

Still, Yurine kept to her task, only stopping when she heard Saya's loud sigh of relief. "That's it? She'll be okay now?"

Yurine lifted her head from the furry side she'd been blankly staring at, finding Goemon's weary face lifting with a gentle smile as he studied the bloody arrowhead between his fingers. "She's still going to need to be patched up. We need to be sure this doesn't get infected."

"Aww," Tomoharu leaned forward on his knees, hand dropping to the wolf's head again. "I thought we saved her…"

"We will," Yurine found herself promising, ignoring the way her arms felt like jelly from the minimal amount of medical jutsu she had performed. How did Sakura do it? That had lasted all of five minutes once she got the hang of it, and yet she was so tired, she could have slept the rest of the day away. It just showed how incredible med nins were to train themselves to perform miracles. "Why don't you two go and get cleaned up. We can still have lunch."

"Good, cause I'm starving ." Saya complained, climbing to her feet.

Yurine was a little surprised when her brother hit her arm, "You didn't do anything to be starving."

"Neither did you," she challenged as the siblings went off, bickering their way back to the kitchen.

Feeling the weight of a heavy stare on her, the kunoichi squirmed, cheeks flushed. "We did it. Mostly."

Goemon's eyes twinkled as he took out a needle and thread. It was all she had but it would do in a pinch, hopefully. "That was incredible to witness."

"Please." She couldn't take his reverent stare much longer. "I know a little less medical jutsu than an academy student. It's hardly anything to get a big head about."

His handiwork was deft, but she should have known it would be. The man struck her as the kind of person naturally good at almost everything. It really wasn't fair. Yurine watched him thread flesh closed little by little, until he tilted his head so he could look at her and still see what he was doing. "Medical jutsu you tried out for the first time, and performed successfully in an urgent situation." Snipping the thread with scissors, he put the tools aside. "It's nothing to scoff at either."

Some of the tension eased from her as she realized what he was doing, rolling her eyes. "You're not going to let it go until I take the compliment, are you?"

That roguish grin she had grown accustomed to graced his face, accentuated by the stubble and fangs, as always. "You're starting to know me pretty well. But there's another side to that…"

"What is it?" Yurine busied herself cleaning up the supplies, asking herself if they should be having lunch with a wolf resting in the next room. Goemon reached over, lightly knocking her chin with his knuckles.

"I'm getting to know you pretty well too," he winked, and from so close Yurine could feel her head filling up with his scent, outdoorsy with a hint of a subtle sweetness. There and then, she decided maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

---

A gentle touch skimmed over her face, causing her to turn her head. "…Sakura, are you there?" Waking up was like trying to stand without being able to find the proper footing.

It reminded her of when she was small, no more than two or three, and would run into the sheets her mother had hanging from the clothes line, pulling them down on top of herself.

Sometimes, when they were feeling mischievous, her mother and father would each grab an end with her in the middle and bounce her into the air as she tried to escape, until it became clear it was a game.

Once her mind cleared, Sakura could recall that she had been with Izuna, staring into the strange void and considering jumping. They had been, they were…

"Ah!" Sitting up, startled, she turned to find the very man she was thinking about perched on the side of her bed, smiling gently. "Izuna?"

She could lower her heart rate, seeing him there, fine and attentive. "Welcome back."

The kunoichi clutched the sheets, dropping them and then repeating several times before looking his way expectantly. "This is a bed. Where are we?" As hard as she strained to remember, Sakura was at a loss.

"Apparently, on the other side of the gate," he shifted his position, bringing his feet up so he could sit cross-legged as he talked to her. "I woke up first, in some alleyway… you were lying beside me, out cold. I couldn't get you to wake up no matter what I did." His brow furrowed, "You had me worried." Yes, Sakura recalled feeling worried, and shocked, and—what else?

"So you brought me here? Is this an inn?" It was a nondescript room, nothing noteworthy. A desk, a bed, a tray of tea on a table, curtains drawn over a window, a faintly sweet scent slipping underneath the closed door. Somehow, Sakura had the vaguest sense she had been here before, though that could have been due to the room itself. It was so unremarkable that it could have been the kind of room found just about anywhere.

"It's…sort of complicated." Izuna pursed his lips thoughtfully, "This is Hiyo-san's house. That's who found us and took us in. She's a resident of the village. Everyone's been rather generous, actually. Excited, I guess you could say. Anyway, I didn't do much investigating, just a quick look around. I'm willing to bet everyone who hasn't been on the other side of the gate is here. And I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but I also didn't want to leave you alone for too long."

Sakura was overcome with the urge to reach out and grab his fingers. It had never occurred to her just how much comfort she got by being in Izuna's presence.

At least not the kind of comfort she was soaking up right now. He had always been a good friend to her, always kind and steadying, but that was before she fully realized that being with him made her heart explode like a firework and turned her knees weak.

Flashes of her dream returned as she looked into his patient eyes, and her gut swirled with forbidden sensation, a tingling that made her shift uncomfortably. All of it had felt so real, and even now she could still taste those lips and feel the heat generated by their bodies being pressed closer than close. "Dependable as always," Sakura hurried to distract from the warmth rising in her cheeks. "What did you see out there?"

"It's more about what I didn't see that's bothering me…" Izuna rubbed his hands across his upper thighs, his face shifting into pensivity. "Was I the only one who was expecting…chaos? We followed this lead all the way here, and from what Mizuchi told us and what we heard about Miyazawa…"

Sakura shifted closer to him until they were sitting side by side. "It's so normal it's suspicious."

"But now that you're awake, maybe we can get to the bottom of what's really happening. I'm sure everything is not what it seems."

Sakura had no doubts he was correct. A wish granting god residing somewhere in the village was in itself an abnormality. There was a chance the divine being was lying low for whatever reason, but something, somewhere had to be a clue. "Where are we starting?"

"What was the one thing we didn't have access to before?"

"The shrine!" Sakura jumped up, Izuna following.

"The shrine." he confirmed.

The locals of Hoshigakure, or the village that would become Hoshigakure, thought it was a " fallen star", but the meteorite and the powers it granted were unique and mysterious even in a world full of shinobi with awesome might.

Izuna wasn't wrong that it was the obvious place to begin, and if the villagers were being oddly friendly, then hopefully it would be simple. They would say they wanted to pay their respects, get in and out. Although a tight feeling in her chest warned Sakura not to assume it would be that simple.

When they stepped out onto the streets, a flash of dizziness struck her so suddenly that she was falling faster than she could catch herself. Only Izuna's fast reflexes kept her from taking an embarrassing spill. "Are you okay?" He asked, alarmed.

Sakura took a look around at the unassuming streets with its unassuming people, blinking to combat the headache that was forming at the base of her skull. "Did we…go anywhere else yesterday?"

Izuna kept a steadying arm around her as they walked. "What do you mean? We were here. In Hoshigakure. Then we investigated and woke up here." The last word he whispered.

Sakura had always prided herself on her memory. It played a significant role in her progressing through her training under Tsunade as quickly as she did. It felt odd to be scatterbrained, but there was no other way to describe the fact that she swore she had forgotten something. And while she wanted to believe trying the shrine would alleviate some of that, a deeper part of her knew no true answers would be there. How she knew was the the bigger question.