Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter Five: Directions and Discoveries
"Head southeast towards the city of Kahan. Follow the river that runs through the city going east…"
The directions Itachi gave her played in her head again and again. From leaving Hougyoku, reaching Kahan and the river was the first landmark. Everyone in the village knew about the city since they traded with them. It was much more industrial there, and Kahan purchased its rice from small villages like Hougyoku, while the villages bought things like batteries, fuel and other necessities to keep them from slipping back into an 'off the grid' type of town. What was normally a good three hour journey for civilians on foot, she cut down to one hour. It felt good to get out and stretch her legs and let the wind whip past her and the scents of the land fill her nose. She kept off the main path so she would not startle anyone, or draw suspicion more importantly. It was nostalgic to run through the trees, leaping from branch to branch. It was like riding a bike, once you learn you never forget. Being Sunday there were not too many people out and about. Weekends usually meant relaxing at home with your family in these parts. The road to Kahan was more of a merchant route, not a recreational one. Tomorrow would bring more traffic.
When the coverage of trees gave way and only open grassland presented itself, Sakura took to the main road at a more leisurely pace as she approached Kahan. She looked every part the civilian she was pretending to be. Entering the city was simple. Guards stood by but only observed the coming and goings of people, not really checking anything on the lazy weekend morning. Sakura had wanted to go around but decided not to in case she got spotted. Being slightly out of shape, it was nice to take a little breather. There wasn't much in the city that interested her, so she passed through until she came upon the river that pierced Kahan into two halves. It wasn't uncommon for people to walk alongside it for leisure or exercise, so when she took up pace at its banks no one thought twice of the pink haired woman. The river was named The Yojin. It would run east for many long miles.
"This will take up most of the journey… Follow the river until you cross from these lands into the next. It will be marked by the presence of a shrine by the water's edge that's guarded by two enormous statues in the likeness of dogs…"
Once she found more coverage, Sakura quickened her natural jog into a chakra powered sprint, and she streaked off once more. Countless miles she ran. Hours passed and the sun was already starting to dip lower towards the west, preparing to set in another handful of hours. All that was offered for a view were the trees blurring past her and the gleam of the water outside of their cover. Her legs were starting to feel tired and she cursed herself for slacking on staying in shape. Civilian life had made her soft. She pressed on.
The shrine she was familiar with. She'd seen it on her journey up into these lands a few years back, near the time she settled in Hougyoku. Just as Itachi said and as she remembered, the two beastly statues still stood watch over the old shrine. It was from here that the directions deviated from her knowledge of these parts.
"From the shrine, head south. Pass through a town called Yoen about an hour away. They see travelers regularly, so don't fret. Continue south another hour. When you come upon the next town, Sanka, do not enter it. It's filled with vagabonds and mercenaries. It's likely you'll be noticed."
She did not recognize the names of the two towns, but she headed south towards Yoen. Stopping to catch her breath an hour later, she perched in a tree and rested, stuffing another granola bar in her mouth. The sun was setting now. Sakura appreciated the coverage it would give her. From her bag she pulled a small map out and unfolded it across her lap. It took her a few moments to locate her current position. Exactly where she was at was hard to say, but she saw the mark that was the shrine by the Yojin, and south of many miles away Yoen, and then Sanka. If her small compass was right she was on the right path. Taking one last swig of water, she replaced her items in her bag and donned it before jetting off.
True to Itachi's words, Yoen was a bustling little city. Happy people came and went and she could hear music playing when she approached it. It was colorful and exciting. Sakura couldn't help but smile to herself at the spectacles. It seemed she came in the midst of a festival, for people were dancing in the streets and décor adorned the buildings and walkways. They wore costumes and masks and were drinking and laughing. Men cat called her way as she walked past. Women giggled when she grinned but did not acknowledge them, causing the men to call longingly after her in a playful manner. Vendors tried to sell her things, and at one point she did cave and purchase a small bite to eat. Her granola bars weren't doing it for her anymore and she craved something savory and more filling. She thought maybe on her way back she'd stay there.
Leaving Yoen, she was in a good mood. When she approached Sanka, she was on guard once more. It was the complete opposite of the previous, flamboyant city. Dreary and run down, she grimaced as she looked over and into the town from her vantage point in a tall tree. She was grateful Itachi warned her of the location. Even without his warning she knew she would not have gone inside. Her hackles rose from the aura emitting from it like a foul miasma. She could only imagine the havoc that her presence there would cause. Without a second glance she continued on her journey and to the end of it.
"From Sanka, head east once more. About half an hour from the city there is a large waterfall hidden deep within a forest. Go there, wait, and you'll see… Go in secrecy. Do not be seen. Do not be heard. Do not be sensed."
She found the forest and she heard said waterfall before she saw it. It roared powerfully and was magnificent to behold once in view. The trees broke open into a vast clearing before a sheer cliffside that stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions. A large pool of water was within the expanse from the fall, creating a small lake. Moonlight shone beautifully down upon the rippling surface and it was all very serene. But that was all that was there.
"See what?" she breathed out to herself from the edge of the forest, not daring to leave the shadows just yet. There was nothing at all. Just the water and the rocks and the trees and the occasional bird squawking or owl hooting. Sakura wanted to laugh at how stupid she felt but refrained. She recalled he had told her to wait, so she waited. Just what was she waiting for? Maybe there was something Itachi forgot to tell her after she got to the waterfall. But he had specifically told her to find the fall within the forest and then wait and see. Not look about the area for any more clues. She wasn't supposed to be seen.
This is ridiculous… Why did I even come? Stupid girl.
Berating herself she sighed and prepared for the trip back. She had waited, and waited, and waited. Only a few hours passed but it felt like forever. As fate would have it, though, something caught her eye and her senses flared as she registered the presence of chakra that was not her own. She tensed, breath caught in her throat. Straining her eyes, she could just make out figures coming from the north, following the bottom of the cliff. They ran atop the water and towards the rushing fall, not at all hesitant to approach.
Is this it?! Is this what I was waiting for?!
Although she could not see them clearly because of the lack of light, by the chakra use she knew they were shinobi. That was obvious. As she watched, the group of five people disappeared behind the waterfall and were gone from view.
Behind the fall? Is this what Itachi wanted to show me? Am I supposed to go inside?
Curiosity begged her to follow, but she hesitated. Five against one were decent odds for a ninja of her caliber, but she would bet good money that there were more ninja behind the fall. There must be a cave, a secret hideaway. Cursing to herself, Sakura couldn't just leave without snooping about. Reconnaissance wasn't her forte, but she was still a shinobi and she could harbor stealth when she so desired. With a few hand seals and a curl of smoke she made for possible disaster.
Getting behind the waterfall was easier than she anticipated. The pounding water would have crushed her if not for a recess that was carved into the side, allowing for people to more easily enter. She barely even got wet, just misted. Still, the alcove she entered into was damp and the thundering water echoed off the rock and right into her ears, deafening her. With her hearing compromised, she strained her other senses. Her eyes peered into the darkness but didn't really see anything. The space was large, but not exceedingly so. And the five ninja were nowhere to be seen. She could sense traces of their chakra so she knew she wasn't crazy.
Cautiously she entered deeper into the alcove, her gloved hands feeling alongside the slick walls. She wanted to use chakra to keep her feet stable on the slippery rock beneath her but dared not to. The idea of lighting her hand with chakra in order to see better was thrown out the window, too. She wouldn't give up, though. They came in here and she knew they had not left.
As she inched further along the wall, she realized then that the rock suddenly ended and doubled back upon itself. Was this it? With her other arm stretched out she reached with the tips of her fingers opposite the wall but felt nothing. Chancing a side step, then another, she felt more damp rock as she came into contact with another wall and she grinned. It was a tunnel.
Here we go, she thought to herself and she carefully made her way inside. Eventually the roaring lessened until she could hear other small things, like the drips of water echoing in the rocky passageway and the barest hint of her own footsteps. She drew on all of her skills in stealth as she moved. If only she had night vision she mused to herself and not for the first time. As if hearing that thought, light slowly began to trickle into the tunnel. Very faint, so she could just make out the contours of the walls about her. It was an unnatural blue color, and it cast the rocks in a strange glow. As she went further in the chakra of others' grew stronger. Also, she could just faintly hear sounds of movement, and possibly voices. It was hard to say how far or close they were due to the way the sound waves could bounce around, throwing it off. She relied more on her sense of their presence than her hearing.
Minute by agonizing minute the light grew in intensity until the cobalt glow allowed her to see her surroundings much better. Eventually crates and barrels began to appear down the path, and she used them to her advantage, hiding behind each one and scurrying to the next. The voices grew louder, but she still could not make out the words. The presence of people and chakra was almost tangible, though. She was close. The tunnel gave way some minutes later, ending at the opening of a large room. From behind a stack of wooden crates she peeked. It wasn't a very big room, and directly across the space the tunnel continued once more. Lanterns were lit, burning the same unnatural blue color. Sakura was thankful it wasn't very bright beyond a few feet radius, just enough so she could see from her position but not risk being seen in turn. She shielded her chakra, just letting out enough so as to not create a void where she stood. The voices were audible now. People were present. Her senses flared as theirs unknowingly brushed against hers.
"It's a shame we couldn't persuade them," a male voice commented, sounding tired and bored. She heard clacking sounds, but she couldn't place what they were at first before a second, deeper voice spoke.
"You've already said that… You're move." Sakura then recognized the familiar ticks of shogi pieces being slapped down onto a board.
"I know, I know. I'm just sayin'… they would've been a nice addition, you know?" another piece was moved.
"Stop complaining," the deeper voice retorted, sounding annoyed. "We can't win every battle. Besides, there are others, stronger, more valuable… You're move."
"I just wanna impress the Boss. I'm sick of being treated like scum. It's time we move up the ladder, Isano, dontchya think?" She heard an impatient sigh in response, as if he had heard this story a million times before.
"Of course I do, Juunan," was the monotone reply. There was a 'tch' of annoyance in return.
"Yea, yea… you always say that, but it's been more than a year and we're still Hakumei's dogs." Sakura's eyes widened at that comment.
Hakumei. Itachi wasn't lying after all. She made herself pay close attention to the conversation, hoping to glean more information.
"You're too impatient, Junnan," the one called Isano finally admitted to his partner. "Good things come to those who wait."
"Good things come to those who persevere and take it!" was Juunan's reply. "We just need one big ticket ninja to bump us up the food chain." Isano sighed again.
"Look what happened to the other group, the one that tried to take on the Uchiha." Sakura tensed at the name and held her breath. "Thirty against one. Thirty! Six squads, Juunan. And only three of those thirty survived. They were all powerful, too. Feared. And Itachi took down almost all of them all alone." Not without suffering the consequences, Sakura added silently to herself. "We're not that strong, let's face it." Iasno was much more realistic than his idealistic friend. "I'm sick of being spat upon, too, but for now we just gotta suck it up. Life is good: we have money, food, shelter, protection… Don't be too greedy, Juunan. It will get you killed like the others."
There was no response from the other man. In the reprieve, Sakura couldn't help but marvel at the figures. Thirty powerful shinobi against one? Sakura couldn't help but admire Itachi's prowess. It must've been one hell of a fight.
"They were reckless," Juunan finally spoke up. "I mean, come on. I want a big ticket, but Uchiha Itachi? I wouldn't be that stupid, Isano. He's a legend." That's for sure, Sakura mused in her mind. "If we had even, say, four squads, I'm sure we could take someone strong…" The man listed off a few names of people Sakura didn't recognize, but one name stood out like a slap to her face: "Or Haruno Sakura. We could use a medic with her skills!" Her heart skipped a beat.
"You're shooting for the stars," Isano replied, sounding bemused at his friend. "We'd have to have at least five or six squads to take any of them on. Especially Haruno. She was trained by the Sannin Tsunade, who, need I remind you, was also the fifth Hokage and the granddaughter of the Senju clan's Hashirama, the first Hokage. She killed Sasori of the Red Sand. There's a chance that she's surpassed her teacher by now. She's just as dangerous as Uchiha Itachi." Sakura couldn't help but be somewhat shocked that these men thought she was so dangerous to say that she was on par with the Uchiha genius. Though the thought made her want to laugh, it worked well in her favor, and at the same time was a double-edged sword. On one hand they revered her and would hopefully leave her be. On the other hand, if they regarded her so highly, they would send out large forces to hunt her down. She was strong, but not Itachi strong. And Itachi… they would send even more after him, now. Funny how she was suddenly worried for his well-being when she hadn't been too long ago.
"I know the story," Juunan retorted, sounding frustrated. "You don't have to shoot down all of my dreams, Isano. You're such a wet blanket." The other man only chuckled, and then the two continued to talk about the most recent women they had bedded. Sakura had heard enough. Her heart was beginning to race. She needed to get back to Hougyoku, back to Itachi. She needed more answers.
Carefully she backtracked down the tunnel until the two voices were muted again. With a hand seal and a cloud of smoke, she was gone. Back outside from where she sat in her tree, never having left, Sakura replayed the conversation in her head that her clone had eavesdropped upon, her expression growing grim.
Sakura made it to Sanka quickly and headed north to Yoen. She was tired and her feet and legs were sore from her hard run. She wanted to go on through the night, but she was too exhausted to entertain the idea. If on the off chance something happened, she needed to be rested. But it was hard knowing she'd have to wait to get more answers. She had so many questions to ask, so many things she needed to know.
She had seen, and she believed.
She didn't want it to be true, but there was no denying it. Hakumei was real and they were indeed looking for her.
So, even though she wanted to continue, she stayed the night in Yoen to rest her aching limbs. It felt safe enough. When she returned it was after midnight but the festival was still going on. If she stayed and left early and ran hard, she'd make it back by the evening; that was reasonable timing. Now that had slowed back down to a walk, fatigue washed over her. Again she cursed herself for letting herself get so rusty. Feeling starved from the day's events she purchased herself another meal from a vendor and sought out a small, cheap inn to stay at for the night.
Sleep came more soundly than she thought it would with the commotion outside the building lasting well into the wee hours of the night and with the impending threat of Hakumei now firmly in her consciousness. Her requested wake-up call came in the form of loud rapping on her door and loud voice.
"This is your wake-up call!" they addressed through the door and Sakura's eyes flashed open and she started. She called out her acknowledgement and the tenant carried on. This meant it was seven. She needed to leave right away. There was a shower but she didn't bother with it in her haste. She only rinsed off her face with a quick splash of water to wake herself up more.
"I need some coffee," she mumbled to herself as she tied her boots back onto her feet. The habit she had cultivated since moving north was one thing she could make time for. Wandering through the city, her eyes jumped from building to building. People were cleaning up the chaos of the day before, trash that had littered the street, bottles of alcohol and the like. They didn't bother taking down any of the decorations and she wondered if the festival would continue again that night or if they simply left it up for fun. Finally she found herself a small café and she sat at a table, sipping at the remainder of the sweet, caffeinated drink and finishing her breakfast as she stared out the large glass windows. Someone approached her and she didn't notice them there until they spoke, too engrossed in her thoughts.
"Hello there, is this seat taken?" The smooth voice caused Sakura to whip her head about and up to look upon a man who was probably a few years her senior. Immediately she noted that he was very handsome and pleasing to look at, like a lovely piece of art. Dark hair, light eyes, perfect smile. She blinked at him.
"Erm…" The man sat down across from her without permission.
"I've never seen you around here before? Are you new to Yoen?" Those eyes, like cut topaz the color of clear skies, watched her intently. Sakura felt more annoyed than flustered at his presence. She had meant to leave soon and had no time to indulge sultry men and their inquiries.
"Oh, yes. I'm just passing through. I'm on my way to visit my friend." Sakura said they lived in a city not far from here that she had seen on her map. Forcing a smile, she continued. "I'm really in a hurry, actually. I should be leaving." The man pouted. Something about the way he watched her unnerved her, like she was a challenge he needed to conquer.
"What a shame. It would have been nice to get to know someone as beautiful as yourself. You remind me of a sakura blossom," he said, obviously because of the color of her hair and eyes. But that comment set her even more on edge. She hid it artfully, though. Smiling prettily and appearing abashed, she rose from her chair.
"Maybe next time." The man smiled and agreed. She felt his eyes on her the entire trip to the door and even as she exited the café. Something felt off about him. Her intuition screamed at her to get as far away as possible. Maybe she was just paranoid from the night before. Maybe the poor guy really was just some average fellow, a rather handsome one, and his comment had just been a coincidence.
She couldn't take that risk.
Once outside Yoen, Sakura ran hard. The hairs on the back of her neck were on end as her senses were on high alert. About fifteen minutes away from the city, she realized she was being followed. Her intuition had been right. She cursed to herself and pressed on harder, but her pursuers were quick on their feet, surprisingly so. Jumping down into a small clearing, not a second later she was surrounded by five shinobi. They were dressed darkly and their faces were hidden by masks. Her thoughts jumped quickly to the night before inside the caverns behind the waterfall, to Yuunan and Isano's conversation. Thirty ninjas had attacked Itachi. Six squads. That meant five per squad. This had to be one of the said squads belonging to the organization. She had no idea how to recognize Hakumei, but she wasn't daft. There was no other conclusion.
"Ah, my little Sakura," came a smooth voice she recognized as being the handsome fellow from the café. It echoed in a pleasant, though dangerous manner, off of the porcelain mask he sported. "We just want to talk. That's all." Sakura highly doubted that. Her read on their chakra was that they were not very strong. Fast, but not strong. If she had to guess they were scouts. Recon nin. Scouring the lands at their master's whims. Looking to recruit those they knew they could without force, subdue those they knew that they could capture, or return hastily to fetch reinforcements so they had a chance against their target. If Isano had revered her so much, why were only five shinobi there to take her on? Was that simply Isano's own opinion? Had they seen her and didn't want to pass up the chance of possibly recruiting or capturing her? They would be sorry that they didn't think along the same lines as Isano. Rusty she may be, she was still dangerous.
"No?" he inquired when she remained quiet, her guard up and her fists clenched. "Then you give us no choice." With a deft signal from his fingers, the group came towards her all at once. Sakura tensed and readied herself for the battle. Fear slipped away as adrenaline coursed through her veins and chakra surged through their pathways to gather in her limbs as she prepared to defend herself.