Chapter 50
Not that anyone's reading this (if you are, feel free to say something) but there are a couple of things to note here. One, fifty chapters! A milestone! Yaaaaay! Two, the latter half or so of this chapter is from new outline. As in, written this year!
I think I have the main outline 70-80% finished, but it's hard to know for sure until it's done. The actual written stuff is much less than that, though. Still, I think I may finish the main storyline this year.
Anyway, enjoy:
Naruto shifted his pack back up his shoulder and glanced back at the village gates. Killer Bee, Yamato, and Usagi stood just inside. Usagi saw him looking and offered an encouraging smile, ignoring as Bee enthusiastically rhymed at Yamato. Not wanting to get caught up in whatever it was, he turned back to say his goodbyes.
“Try not to get too bored when I'm gone,” he said, grinning at Sakura.
“Yeah, you just stay out of trouble.” She narrowed her eyes. “Don't start any international incidents.”
He spotted some movement behind Sakura and raised an eyebrow at her. To his surprise, she smiled at him and stepped aside, revealing Hinata. As Sakura backed off to give them some distance, Hinata's face burned dark red.
“G-good luck, Naruto-kun,” she said.
“Thanks.” He grinned. “And thanks for seeing me off. I bet I'll be especially glad you did by the time we start training. I dunno about that Bee guy...”
“Th-they say he's really strong.”
Naruto shrugged. “Yeah, I hope so. Doesn't make him any less weird, though. Still, I guess some of our best shinobi are pretty strange, too. I mean, look at Kakashi-sensei and Gai.”
Hinata smiled shyly, and he laughed.
“I'd better get going, though,” he said. “Take care of things while I'm gone.”
He stepped back and waved at her, then jogged over to join the others.
---
Sakura walked back to the hospital, her smile fading with every step. She had put on a good face for Naruto. Honestly, she was happy he had a chance to train with another jinchuriki, and she wanted to encourage Hinata. But their most recent failure with Sasuke felt like one too many.
Everyone else seemed to have something to keep them busy. Keep their mind off of things. Naruto and Yamato were going off with Bee. Sai and Kakashi had official duties to perform. Sumire still had all of her team, and was sure to be going off on missions with them. Things had slowed down at the hospital after the initial crush of patients and duties following the attack. Sakura would throw herself into her work, but there just wouldn't be that much to do. Maybe she could help the pharmacy organize their inventory.
Before she knew it, she was there. She did follow up visits on injuries that had mostly healed. She filled out paperwork. She cleaned. The day stretched out, and she fell into the rhythm.
“Sakura-san?”
At the sound of her name, she looked up from a chart. Lee stood at the doorway to the nurse's office. She blinked at him.
“What's the matter?” she asked. “Are you injured?”
“No, I am in fine, youthful form, Sakura-san!” He beamed at her. “I was wondering if you would like to join me for lunch?”
Her eyes had drifted back to the chart by the time he had asked the question. “Hm? Sure,” she said, her mind only catching up with her mouth once she had spoken. She sighed, though not loudly enough for him to hear.
“Where would you like to go?” he asked.
“I brought my lunch,” she said, reaching down under the desk for her bento. “But I guess we can go up to the commissary if you don't have anything.”
“Yoshi! I am sure the food will be excellent!”
Sakura knew better, but she smiled and let him believe whatever he wanted. She signed off on the chart, organized her desk, and they left. As they walked the hallways and up the stairs, she half listened as Lee enthused about his newest training, or something Gai had done, or her.
She felt so tired as his words washed over her. Their mission had only ended the day before, and she tried to explain away the exhaustion with that. Not that it was another failed attempt to bring Sasuke home, or that she had spent one third of her life chasing him around the continent, or that sometimes it felt like her entire life was in a holding pattern until she succeeded.
“-but it did not work, and so we ran around the perimeter of the village fifty times!” Lee finished his story, turning to look at her.
“That seems a little excessive,” she said.
“Oh, no! It was wonderful training! I feel invigorated just thinking about it!”
“You're really into your training,” she said, smiling though she didn't feel it.
“Of course! I must work twice as hard if I wish to be an amazing ninja!”
She nodded absently. “You're very strong.”
He grinned, blushing, and said something she didn't hear. Everyone's so strong, she thought. I'm falling behind again... What am I even doing? I haven't gotten any stronger, everyone's passing me by. In a few years, will they have left me behind completely? Will I still be where I am now?
“Sakura-san? You're not saying anything. Is that a yes?”
She shook her head, but the thoughts kept echoing through the back of her mind.
“Come on. Let's hurry up and eat,” she said, opening the commissary door for him.
He looked crestfallen, and wondered if he had been asking her out again, but didn't ask. She found them seats while he got an order of curry. She knew she should talk to someone. Get a little perspective, a little encouragement. But who would she talk to? Everyone else had their own lives going on, and it wasn't as though she liked to talk about it. Sometimes it felt as if voicing her thoughts made them more real.
Lee sat down across the table from her. She briefly considered spilling it all out for him, but immediately quashed that idea. She ate her bento and smiled and nodded as he told another training story.
---
“I don't know if I can let Root continue to exist,” Tsunade said, watching Sai over her steepled fingers. “Officially, it was disbanded a long time ago. Danzou ran it illegally for years, often using it to work against my goals for the village. You understand, don't you?”
Sai nodded, silent as his mind rolled her words back and forth. Root was everything. Or had been everything, for a long time. The Hokage's reasoning was sound. Root's reason for existing was gone. It had no justification. Still, the idea of it no longer existing hit him like a physical blow. Like being knocked down.
“Either way, I need to know all about it.” She closed her eyes, brows furrowed with what Sai guessed to be the beginnings of a headache. “Tell me everything, bring me all the paperwork, send the other members to see me. Everything.”
“I can't.”
She stopped slouching, sitting bolt upright. “What?”
He stuck out his tongue. For a moment, she shook with anger at the impertinence, until she looked closer and saw the seal.
“The hell?” she said aloud.
“I can't talk about Root. Not in any detail, at least. The seal seems to be weakening, but it is nevertheless still in place.”
Tsunade groaned. “At least bring me the paperwork.”
“We never kept any. It was a secret organization.”
“Bullshit. Even Orochimaru took notes.”
Sai opened his mouth, experimenting to see if he could speak on the subject. Nothing happened to stop him. “Danzou was the only one who knew every member or every mission. I believe he enjoyed having such an extreme degree of control over the group.”
“So you don't even have a member list.” Tsunade took a deep breath. “In that case, search out as many of the others as you can. Tell me whatever you can, and for the rest, see if you can find some kind of loophole for the damned seal.”
He bowed. “I will do my best.”
“Just... get to work already,” she said, putting her fingers to her temples.
Sai backed out of the room. In the antechamber, Shizune looked up from her own work, an eyebrow quirked. He smiled blandly, and left before she could ask any questions.
As he walked, he put aside his feelings. The mission did not care about how off-balance he felt. He could stop and examine why he felt so lost when the work was over. By then, he would have more information. The possibility of answer. Of insight.
Mentally, he made a list of every known member, every identity. It was a starting place. Yamato would be a logical starting place. They had worked together both inside and outside of Root, and he knew the man better than any of the others. Unfortunately, Yamato had left with Naruto for training. Perhaps he could work on some of the other leads before he returned.
The list of names felt long, though it was fewer than a dozen people to start with. Absently, Sai felt in a pouch for his ink bottle. He could stop for a moment. Draw. Balance, and then start anew with his work. The bottle felt light. He pulled it out, and saw it was nearly empty. A detour to the art supply store, then.
As he reached the shop door, it occurred to him to check his other supplies. He reached for another pouch, removing his sketchbook as he pushed the door open. The door closed behind him, and he hit an obstacle at such speed that he dropped everything. The ink bottle, thankfully, did not break, but bounced off his shoe and rolled away.
“Ow...”
Sai looked up. The obstacle had been a girl, knocked over by their collision. A kunoichi, to judge by her headband. At first, he took her for a newly minted genin, a full head shorter than him. She looked up, and he realized she was his age. He recognized her, in a vague sort of way, from around the village.
“Sorry,” he said, his expression unchanged.
“S'okay,” the girl said, pushing herself to her feet.
They both knelt down, and he saw that she, too, had dropped a sketchbook. It had fallen open, revealing a line drawing of a giant mushroom with pointed teeth attacking a city.
“You're pretty good,” she said, handing him his own sketchbook. It had opened during its own fall.
“Thank you,” he said, taking it and standing. “I like your mushroom.”
She grinned up at him, her items retrieved. “See you around,” she said, slipping past him to the door.
Sai bought a refill of ink and a new sketchbook and returned home. Later, when he opened his nearly full sketchbook, ready to add to it, a piece of paper slipped out and fluttered to the floor. He stooped to retrieve it. As he saw the drawing, a cat wearing a crown as it lounged atop a wall, he surprised himself by smiling.
---
Temari groaned, stretching her arms up over her head as they walked down the main street. Shikamaru watched her out of the corner of his eye as she arched her back. She caught his eye and grinned.
“Perv,” she said, taking her time with the stretch.
He shrugged. “Troublesome woman.”
Temari laughed, dropping her arms back down. “Admit it, you'll be bored while I'm gone.”
“Oh, I'm sure I'll have plenty of tiresome things to deal with right here.”
“Like what? We just had a huge victory. Everybody's resting on their laurels. Taking it easy. Hell, we just had a festival. Surely you can manage to keep out of trouble for a few weeks.”
His expression clouded over for a moment. She frowned.
“Hey. Whatever it is, it can't be that big a deal. Quit worrying about dumb things.” She leaned over and ruffled his ponytail. “Dum-dum.”
He leaned away, batting at her hand halfheartedly. “It's fine. It's not a big deal, just the usual annoying things.”
She smiled wickedly. “Aw. It almost sounds like you're going to miss me.”
“It's not about you.”
She faked a gasp. “I'm hurt.”
“Anyway, you'll be back in a few weeks, right? I mean, you're only going home because Usagi leaving gave you an excuse.”
“Stop trying to make it sound like we're as lazy as you are. Everyone's been losing steam, so the alliance talks were petering out anyway. This way, we're taking a break at a time that makes sense, and Kankuro and I get to see Gaara for a little while.”
“Give him our regards. Politely.”
“He's not that bad,” she said, scowling at him.
“Hey, we're still in official talks. Aren't you supposed to be playing up how powerful he is?”
“Don't get me wrong, he can still kick your ass. He's just diplomatic enough not to do it without good reason.”
“Good to know,” he said, as the village gates came into view. Kankuro was already there, waiting. “Hey. Before you go...”
They stopped, and she turned toward him. He dug around in a pouch, pulling out a small bag. He tossed it to her, and she caught it.
“A gift for the road. Candied chestnuts.”
“My favorite. How'd you know?” she said, smiling.
“I'm a ninja. We spy,” he said, shrugging.
“Pfft. Who told you to give me a present?”
“I don't know what you mean,” he lied. Ino had bothered him until he went out and bought them.
“Yeah, yeah. I'm off home. See you around,” she said, spinning on her heel and going to join her brother.
---
Tsunade slumped forward, resting her head on her desk. Shizune moved around her, sorting papers, tidying the office, and making tea.
“How am I going to make this work?” Tsunade groaned.
“We'll figure something out,” Shizune said, sounding unconcerned. “They'll all be back in a few weeks.”
“You don't know that,” Tsunade said, scowling. “Usagi's off supervising Naruto and Bee. Who knows how long that's going to take?”
“She left the rest of her staff here. They can handle things in her absence.”
“They're just kids.”
“They're the same age as the kid who saved us all,” Shizune countered. “And the Suna delegates aren't much older than them.”
“Will it hold?”
“Everyone's doing their best.”
“Are they? A lot of people seem reluctant to make any lasting agreements. I mean, our big scary common enemy is dead. They probably don't see the point. How do we make them realize?”
“We could try to make the alliance look more attractive,” said Shizune. “Play up all the benefits. All the things that will be easier once it's in place. Like trade, cooperative missions, things like that.”
“Inter-village marriages,” Tsunade said with a laugh.
“I did notice a lot of flirting at the festival,” Shizune admitted.
Tsunade sat up, eyebrows raised. “Flirting? Between members of different villages?”
“Among others, I saw Reikoku of the Snow going around with Iruka.”
“Poor bastard. Still...” Tsunade trailed off in thought.
She was silent for several minutes, until Shizune set a hot cup of tea in front of her. She nodded her thanks.
“Well, in the meantime, there's always the chuunin exams. We had to skip it this summer because of the attack, but we could try to convince everybody to go in together sponsoring one this winter.”
“They do love a chance to show off,” said Shizune.
“We'll need somebody to convince them, though. Make up a list of people to work on that.”
Shizune nodded, writing down a note for herself.
“And we should probably talk about promoting some of the chuunin we already have. Some of them made a pretty good showing during the battle, from what I hear.”
“Who would you suggest?”
---
Kiba awoke to a tapping at his bedroom window. He grumbled, turning over and half falling out of his bed, tangled in the blankets. Akamaru's ears perked up at the noise, but the dog made no move to sit up on the floor. Swearing under his breath, Kiba untangled himself and opened the window. He glared down at the bird perched there. When it didn't fly away, he noticed the message tied to its leg, and carefully undid it.
“Shit.” He ran a hand over his face. “Get up, Akamaru. We've got a mission.”
The massive dog stood, shaking itself, as Kiba rummaged around the room, grabbing items and shoving them into a rucksack. Within five minutes, they were both out the door, walking through the streets of the village in the predawn light. At that hour, everything was quiet, deserted. Until Kiba spotted the others, gathered under a streetlight. He sped up to meet them.
“What's the deal?” he asked, stepping into the circle of light.
He looked around at the group. Sakura, who had sent the note, Shikamaru, and Sasaeko. The latter two blinked sleep out of their eyes. Sakura looked like she hadn't been to bed at all.
“Suigetsu's been spotted nearby,” she said.
“Suigetsu?” asked Shikamaru.
“The guy who had been seen with Sasuke,” she clarified, impatient. “The latest report had his name, finally. Anyway, he's in the country. Someone in a village to the south saw him last night. I got the message right before I called you all out. Let's get going.”
“What's the plan?” Kiba asked as they walked.
“Track him, catch him, question him,” Sakura said, handing him an old rag, pink with dried blood. “There might be some contamination to that, but it's all we've got that might smell like him. Do your best.”
Kiba nodded, taking a whiff before holding it out for Akamaru. They walked for hours, the sun rising as they went. They spoke little, saving their words for mission details. Sakura checked the map at least once an hour, and as they passed the village where the report had originated, she nodded to Kiba. He and Akamaru took the lead, casting about for any trace of the smell from the rag as they entered a forested area.
Miles past the village, he stopped, holding up a hand. The others paused, glancing around for some sign of what he had sensed. He motioned for them to spread out. They nodded. Sakura and Sasaeko took to the trees. Shikamaru disappeared into the underbrush. Kiba climbed atop Akamaru's back, and they took off, swift but silent.
Not far ahead, Kiba saw a man walking along an old deer path, just barely visible in the brush. He wore a massive sword strapped to his back, so big it seemed like he should be bowed under its weight. Kiba's eyes flicked over to the bushes. A shadow, half hidden by the light flickering through the leaves, stretched toward the man.
The man jumped back, pulling his sword from its straps in the same motion. The underbrush exploded, leaves and dirt clouding the sky as the blade skimmed through them. Shikamaru rolled away, crushing down bracken, the tip of the blade missing his face by inches.
Behind Suigetsu, Sakura dropped down from the trees. She brought her arm back, winding up, and delivered a powerful blow to his head. It exploded into water, reforming as soon as she had followed through, ending up in front of him.
“What the hell?” Shikamaru said, getting to his feet.
Suigetsu grinned, revealing sharply pointed teeth, like a shark's. “What, your reports didn't talk about that part?”
Kiba and Akamaru charged. Suigetsu didn't even bother to dodge. They hit him, and he splashed apart, showering Sakura and Shikamaru. As the droplets began running together, rebuilding Suigetsu's body, Shikamaru extended his shadow. It reached a large globule of water just as it was shaping itself into a leg. The rest of the body stopped, half-formed, and fell back. It splashed and reformed, leaving Suigetsu shorter by several inches. Shikamaru spun, using the shadow connection to toss the water leg out of reach, and released.
“Hey!” Suigetsu said, scowling. “I just got back to normal!”
He swung at Shikamaru again. Shikamaru jumped back, the blade catching him across the arm with a spray of blood. Sakura rushed forward, ducking into Suigetsu's reach. She punched the sword, chakra concentrated into her fist. It cracked, but didn't break.
A net of chakra threads dropped down on Shikamaru, pulling him up into the forest canopy with Sasaeko. She pulled him up onto her branch. He clutched his arm, blood seeping through his sleeve and between his fingers. Sasaeko struggled out of her outer jacket and pushed it against the wound, moving Shikamaru's hand to hold it in place while she tied the sleeves around his arm.
“Keep pressure here,” she said, her voice quiet. He could hear the sounds of battle below. “This should hold you until Sakura can take a look. Try not to fall.”
She offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Shikamaru thought she looked shaky. Without another word, she leapt. She landed in the branches of a nearby tree, shaking off a few leaves. She peered down on the fight. Sakura was fighting Suigetsu, aiming more of her punches at his sword. Even at this distance, Sasaeko could see where she had chipped off several pieces. Kiba and Akamaru had separated, flanking Suigetsu, harrying him to keep his full attention off of Sakura.
Sasaeko took a deep breath and began lowering down more chakra threads, tiny things like spider silk, barely visible. Her breath caught as they made contact. With a motion of her hands, they constricted around Suigetsu, squeezing his arms to his body. His body softened, oozing around them. She tugged hard, trying to pull him out of balance. He stumbled, but didn't fall, and his arms came free.
He swung his sword at Kiba, forcing him back. A gap made, he flung himself through it. Sasaeko braced herself against the tree, but it was too much. The line pulled her off her feet. She let go as it flung her through the air, recovering barely in time to control her fall. She hit the bushes, barely missing a tree trunk that could have broken her bones.
Sakura jumped after Suigetsu, fist poised for another punch. He swung his sword, dropping it below her fist. Her punch went through his head, liquefying him as the tip of the blade scored against her other arm. The sword sucked the blood from her wound, chips and cracks refilling before her eyes. With a muttered curse, she leapt back, out of range. Suigetsu reformed his head.
“What I don't understand,” he said, getting to his feet, “is why you're going to so much trouble over someone like Sasuke.”
“Where is he?” Sakura asked, healing her cut with a medical jutsu, without even looking at it.
“I mean, he's a mess,” Suigetsu said, ignoring her question. “No good to anyone, no matter how he tries to hide it.”
“Sounds like you're not a fan,” Kiba said, moving to flank Suigetsu again. “How about you tell us where he is and we get out of your way?”
Suigetsu laughed. “Nice try, but I'm no snitch. Besides, I needed the exercise.”
“So happy to help,” Kiba said dryly.
Suigetsu's gaze flickered to his side. A few tiny chakra strings had attached to his legs, extending to the bushes. He grinned.
“Not a fast learner, eh?” he said, jerking his leg.
Instead of pulling Sasaeko out, he got a bush. Its roots had been cut, and it flew at him, hitting him in the head in an explosion of leaves. As he batted leaves away from his face, he caught another glimmer of motion and jumped away. The long, thin shadow that had been stretching toward him stopped, snapping back into a natural shape.
“Right. You're getting annoying,” he said, no longer smiling.
He ran forward, slicing at Sakura. She put up an arm, chakra concentrated into her hand, and caught the edge of the blade. It snapped. The lower half continued down, scoring a deep cut along her forearm. Suigetsu, now holding only two feet of sword, swore loudly. He swung again, low and wild, catching a glancing blow to her midsection. As she fell, clutching the cut, he grabbed the other half of his sword and ran off into the forest.
Kiba rushed over to Sakura. She was already healing, both hands emitting a medical jutsu. Sasaeko emerged from the bushes and joined them. Sakura, still working on her stomach, glanced back over her shoulder at where Suigetsu had left. She would need more time to heal herself, as well as Shikamaru. She couldn't send the others after Suigetsu alone. She closed her eyes in bitter resignation.
Sasaeko helped Shikamaru down from the tree. He had bled through her jacket, and looked pale and shaky. When Sakura saw him, she left off working on her arm, as it had stopped bleeding, to tend to him. They sat in the forest for another hour as she finished working on their cuts.
“Any other injuries?” she asked once she had finished. Truthfully, she could have done more. The cut on her arm was now just an angry pink scar, but she didn't have the energy reserves to heal it to nothing right now. It was a relief when Kiba and Sasaeko shook their heads.
“Well, that was a bust,” Kiba said, scowling. “Who the hell can just turn into water like that?”
Sakura stood, in spite of her growing exhaustion.
“Come on,” she said. “Let's go home. I'll need to update the file.”
Sasaeko helped Shikamaru to his feet. He still looked wobbly.
“Here,” she said, handing him some trail rations from her pack. “This should help you replenish your lost blood faster.”
He mumbled his thanks, and she dug out a second serving for Sakura. Sakura took it with a nod of thanks, but didn't eat it. They left, walking back out through the forest. Kiba rode on Akamaru's back again, and after some prodding, Shikamaru leaned against Sasaeko for support. Sakura walked in front, not listening to the idle conversations behind her.
Her mind kept going back to Suigetsu's words. A mess, he'd called Sasuke. No good to anyone. She thought of the Sasuke of her childhood, strong and stoic, and wondered what he meant. The reports suggested that Suigetsu had traveled with him for a while. About as long as she had been on a team with Sasuke herself.
Was it some kind of crack about his personality, she wondered. No, probably not. Suigetsu didn't seem like the type to care about that, as long as someone was strong. She tried to push the idea away, but it made a horrible sort of sense.
Sasuke had been weakened. Whatever he was doing out there, he was vulnerable.
I think I have the main outline 70-80% finished, but it's hard to know for sure until it's done. The actual written stuff is much less than that, though. Still, I think I may finish the main storyline this year.
Anyway, enjoy:
Naruto shifted his pack back up his shoulder and glanced back at the village gates. Killer Bee, Yamato, and Usagi stood just inside. Usagi saw him looking and offered an encouraging smile, ignoring as Bee enthusiastically rhymed at Yamato. Not wanting to get caught up in whatever it was, he turned back to say his goodbyes.
“Try not to get too bored when I'm gone,” he said, grinning at Sakura.
“Yeah, you just stay out of trouble.” She narrowed her eyes. “Don't start any international incidents.”
He spotted some movement behind Sakura and raised an eyebrow at her. To his surprise, she smiled at him and stepped aside, revealing Hinata. As Sakura backed off to give them some distance, Hinata's face burned dark red.
“G-good luck, Naruto-kun,” she said.
“Thanks.” He grinned. “And thanks for seeing me off. I bet I'll be especially glad you did by the time we start training. I dunno about that Bee guy...”
“Th-they say he's really strong.”
Naruto shrugged. “Yeah, I hope so. Doesn't make him any less weird, though. Still, I guess some of our best shinobi are pretty strange, too. I mean, look at Kakashi-sensei and Gai.”
Hinata smiled shyly, and he laughed.
“I'd better get going, though,” he said. “Take care of things while I'm gone.”
He stepped back and waved at her, then jogged over to join the others.
---
Sakura walked back to the hospital, her smile fading with every step. She had put on a good face for Naruto. Honestly, she was happy he had a chance to train with another jinchuriki, and she wanted to encourage Hinata. But their most recent failure with Sasuke felt like one too many.
Everyone else seemed to have something to keep them busy. Keep their mind off of things. Naruto and Yamato were going off with Bee. Sai and Kakashi had official duties to perform. Sumire still had all of her team, and was sure to be going off on missions with them. Things had slowed down at the hospital after the initial crush of patients and duties following the attack. Sakura would throw herself into her work, but there just wouldn't be that much to do. Maybe she could help the pharmacy organize their inventory.
Before she knew it, she was there. She did follow up visits on injuries that had mostly healed. She filled out paperwork. She cleaned. The day stretched out, and she fell into the rhythm.
“Sakura-san?”
At the sound of her name, she looked up from a chart. Lee stood at the doorway to the nurse's office. She blinked at him.
“What's the matter?” she asked. “Are you injured?”
“No, I am in fine, youthful form, Sakura-san!” He beamed at her. “I was wondering if you would like to join me for lunch?”
Her eyes had drifted back to the chart by the time he had asked the question. “Hm? Sure,” she said, her mind only catching up with her mouth once she had spoken. She sighed, though not loudly enough for him to hear.
“Where would you like to go?” he asked.
“I brought my lunch,” she said, reaching down under the desk for her bento. “But I guess we can go up to the commissary if you don't have anything.”
“Yoshi! I am sure the food will be excellent!”
Sakura knew better, but she smiled and let him believe whatever he wanted. She signed off on the chart, organized her desk, and they left. As they walked the hallways and up the stairs, she half listened as Lee enthused about his newest training, or something Gai had done, or her.
She felt so tired as his words washed over her. Their mission had only ended the day before, and she tried to explain away the exhaustion with that. Not that it was another failed attempt to bring Sasuke home, or that she had spent one third of her life chasing him around the continent, or that sometimes it felt like her entire life was in a holding pattern until she succeeded.
“-but it did not work, and so we ran around the perimeter of the village fifty times!” Lee finished his story, turning to look at her.
“That seems a little excessive,” she said.
“Oh, no! It was wonderful training! I feel invigorated just thinking about it!”
“You're really into your training,” she said, smiling though she didn't feel it.
“Of course! I must work twice as hard if I wish to be an amazing ninja!”
She nodded absently. “You're very strong.”
He grinned, blushing, and said something she didn't hear. Everyone's so strong, she thought. I'm falling behind again... What am I even doing? I haven't gotten any stronger, everyone's passing me by. In a few years, will they have left me behind completely? Will I still be where I am now?
“Sakura-san? You're not saying anything. Is that a yes?”
She shook her head, but the thoughts kept echoing through the back of her mind.
“Come on. Let's hurry up and eat,” she said, opening the commissary door for him.
He looked crestfallen, and wondered if he had been asking her out again, but didn't ask. She found them seats while he got an order of curry. She knew she should talk to someone. Get a little perspective, a little encouragement. But who would she talk to? Everyone else had their own lives going on, and it wasn't as though she liked to talk about it. Sometimes it felt as if voicing her thoughts made them more real.
Lee sat down across the table from her. She briefly considered spilling it all out for him, but immediately quashed that idea. She ate her bento and smiled and nodded as he told another training story.
---
“I don't know if I can let Root continue to exist,” Tsunade said, watching Sai over her steepled fingers. “Officially, it was disbanded a long time ago. Danzou ran it illegally for years, often using it to work against my goals for the village. You understand, don't you?”
Sai nodded, silent as his mind rolled her words back and forth. Root was everything. Or had been everything, for a long time. The Hokage's reasoning was sound. Root's reason for existing was gone. It had no justification. Still, the idea of it no longer existing hit him like a physical blow. Like being knocked down.
“Either way, I need to know all about it.” She closed her eyes, brows furrowed with what Sai guessed to be the beginnings of a headache. “Tell me everything, bring me all the paperwork, send the other members to see me. Everything.”
“I can't.”
She stopped slouching, sitting bolt upright. “What?”
He stuck out his tongue. For a moment, she shook with anger at the impertinence, until she looked closer and saw the seal.
“The hell?” she said aloud.
“I can't talk about Root. Not in any detail, at least. The seal seems to be weakening, but it is nevertheless still in place.”
Tsunade groaned. “At least bring me the paperwork.”
“We never kept any. It was a secret organization.”
“Bullshit. Even Orochimaru took notes.”
Sai opened his mouth, experimenting to see if he could speak on the subject. Nothing happened to stop him. “Danzou was the only one who knew every member or every mission. I believe he enjoyed having such an extreme degree of control over the group.”
“So you don't even have a member list.” Tsunade took a deep breath. “In that case, search out as many of the others as you can. Tell me whatever you can, and for the rest, see if you can find some kind of loophole for the damned seal.”
He bowed. “I will do my best.”
“Just... get to work already,” she said, putting her fingers to her temples.
Sai backed out of the room. In the antechamber, Shizune looked up from her own work, an eyebrow quirked. He smiled blandly, and left before she could ask any questions.
As he walked, he put aside his feelings. The mission did not care about how off-balance he felt. He could stop and examine why he felt so lost when the work was over. By then, he would have more information. The possibility of answer. Of insight.
Mentally, he made a list of every known member, every identity. It was a starting place. Yamato would be a logical starting place. They had worked together both inside and outside of Root, and he knew the man better than any of the others. Unfortunately, Yamato had left with Naruto for training. Perhaps he could work on some of the other leads before he returned.
The list of names felt long, though it was fewer than a dozen people to start with. Absently, Sai felt in a pouch for his ink bottle. He could stop for a moment. Draw. Balance, and then start anew with his work. The bottle felt light. He pulled it out, and saw it was nearly empty. A detour to the art supply store, then.
As he reached the shop door, it occurred to him to check his other supplies. He reached for another pouch, removing his sketchbook as he pushed the door open. The door closed behind him, and he hit an obstacle at such speed that he dropped everything. The ink bottle, thankfully, did not break, but bounced off his shoe and rolled away.
“Ow...”
Sai looked up. The obstacle had been a girl, knocked over by their collision. A kunoichi, to judge by her headband. At first, he took her for a newly minted genin, a full head shorter than him. She looked up, and he realized she was his age. He recognized her, in a vague sort of way, from around the village.
“Sorry,” he said, his expression unchanged.
“S'okay,” the girl said, pushing herself to her feet.
They both knelt down, and he saw that she, too, had dropped a sketchbook. It had fallen open, revealing a line drawing of a giant mushroom with pointed teeth attacking a city.
“You're pretty good,” she said, handing him his own sketchbook. It had opened during its own fall.
“Thank you,” he said, taking it and standing. “I like your mushroom.”
She grinned up at him, her items retrieved. “See you around,” she said, slipping past him to the door.
Sai bought a refill of ink and a new sketchbook and returned home. Later, when he opened his nearly full sketchbook, ready to add to it, a piece of paper slipped out and fluttered to the floor. He stooped to retrieve it. As he saw the drawing, a cat wearing a crown as it lounged atop a wall, he surprised himself by smiling.
---
Temari groaned, stretching her arms up over her head as they walked down the main street. Shikamaru watched her out of the corner of his eye as she arched her back. She caught his eye and grinned.
“Perv,” she said, taking her time with the stretch.
He shrugged. “Troublesome woman.”
Temari laughed, dropping her arms back down. “Admit it, you'll be bored while I'm gone.”
“Oh, I'm sure I'll have plenty of tiresome things to deal with right here.”
“Like what? We just had a huge victory. Everybody's resting on their laurels. Taking it easy. Hell, we just had a festival. Surely you can manage to keep out of trouble for a few weeks.”
His expression clouded over for a moment. She frowned.
“Hey. Whatever it is, it can't be that big a deal. Quit worrying about dumb things.” She leaned over and ruffled his ponytail. “Dum-dum.”
He leaned away, batting at her hand halfheartedly. “It's fine. It's not a big deal, just the usual annoying things.”
She smiled wickedly. “Aw. It almost sounds like you're going to miss me.”
“It's not about you.”
She faked a gasp. “I'm hurt.”
“Anyway, you'll be back in a few weeks, right? I mean, you're only going home because Usagi leaving gave you an excuse.”
“Stop trying to make it sound like we're as lazy as you are. Everyone's been losing steam, so the alliance talks were petering out anyway. This way, we're taking a break at a time that makes sense, and Kankuro and I get to see Gaara for a little while.”
“Give him our regards. Politely.”
“He's not that bad,” she said, scowling at him.
“Hey, we're still in official talks. Aren't you supposed to be playing up how powerful he is?”
“Don't get me wrong, he can still kick your ass. He's just diplomatic enough not to do it without good reason.”
“Good to know,” he said, as the village gates came into view. Kankuro was already there, waiting. “Hey. Before you go...”
They stopped, and she turned toward him. He dug around in a pouch, pulling out a small bag. He tossed it to her, and she caught it.
“A gift for the road. Candied chestnuts.”
“My favorite. How'd you know?” she said, smiling.
“I'm a ninja. We spy,” he said, shrugging.
“Pfft. Who told you to give me a present?”
“I don't know what you mean,” he lied. Ino had bothered him until he went out and bought them.
“Yeah, yeah. I'm off home. See you around,” she said, spinning on her heel and going to join her brother.
---
Tsunade slumped forward, resting her head on her desk. Shizune moved around her, sorting papers, tidying the office, and making tea.
“How am I going to make this work?” Tsunade groaned.
“We'll figure something out,” Shizune said, sounding unconcerned. “They'll all be back in a few weeks.”
“You don't know that,” Tsunade said, scowling. “Usagi's off supervising Naruto and Bee. Who knows how long that's going to take?”
“She left the rest of her staff here. They can handle things in her absence.”
“They're just kids.”
“They're the same age as the kid who saved us all,” Shizune countered. “And the Suna delegates aren't much older than them.”
“Will it hold?”
“Everyone's doing their best.”
“Are they? A lot of people seem reluctant to make any lasting agreements. I mean, our big scary common enemy is dead. They probably don't see the point. How do we make them realize?”
“We could try to make the alliance look more attractive,” said Shizune. “Play up all the benefits. All the things that will be easier once it's in place. Like trade, cooperative missions, things like that.”
“Inter-village marriages,” Tsunade said with a laugh.
“I did notice a lot of flirting at the festival,” Shizune admitted.
Tsunade sat up, eyebrows raised. “Flirting? Between members of different villages?”
“Among others, I saw Reikoku of the Snow going around with Iruka.”
“Poor bastard. Still...” Tsunade trailed off in thought.
She was silent for several minutes, until Shizune set a hot cup of tea in front of her. She nodded her thanks.
“Well, in the meantime, there's always the chuunin exams. We had to skip it this summer because of the attack, but we could try to convince everybody to go in together sponsoring one this winter.”
“They do love a chance to show off,” said Shizune.
“We'll need somebody to convince them, though. Make up a list of people to work on that.”
Shizune nodded, writing down a note for herself.
“And we should probably talk about promoting some of the chuunin we already have. Some of them made a pretty good showing during the battle, from what I hear.”
“Who would you suggest?”
---
Kiba awoke to a tapping at his bedroom window. He grumbled, turning over and half falling out of his bed, tangled in the blankets. Akamaru's ears perked up at the noise, but the dog made no move to sit up on the floor. Swearing under his breath, Kiba untangled himself and opened the window. He glared down at the bird perched there. When it didn't fly away, he noticed the message tied to its leg, and carefully undid it.
“Shit.” He ran a hand over his face. “Get up, Akamaru. We've got a mission.”
The massive dog stood, shaking itself, as Kiba rummaged around the room, grabbing items and shoving them into a rucksack. Within five minutes, they were both out the door, walking through the streets of the village in the predawn light. At that hour, everything was quiet, deserted. Until Kiba spotted the others, gathered under a streetlight. He sped up to meet them.
“What's the deal?” he asked, stepping into the circle of light.
He looked around at the group. Sakura, who had sent the note, Shikamaru, and Sasaeko. The latter two blinked sleep out of their eyes. Sakura looked like she hadn't been to bed at all.
“Suigetsu's been spotted nearby,” she said.
“Suigetsu?” asked Shikamaru.
“The guy who had been seen with Sasuke,” she clarified, impatient. “The latest report had his name, finally. Anyway, he's in the country. Someone in a village to the south saw him last night. I got the message right before I called you all out. Let's get going.”
“What's the plan?” Kiba asked as they walked.
“Track him, catch him, question him,” Sakura said, handing him an old rag, pink with dried blood. “There might be some contamination to that, but it's all we've got that might smell like him. Do your best.”
Kiba nodded, taking a whiff before holding it out for Akamaru. They walked for hours, the sun rising as they went. They spoke little, saving their words for mission details. Sakura checked the map at least once an hour, and as they passed the village where the report had originated, she nodded to Kiba. He and Akamaru took the lead, casting about for any trace of the smell from the rag as they entered a forested area.
Miles past the village, he stopped, holding up a hand. The others paused, glancing around for some sign of what he had sensed. He motioned for them to spread out. They nodded. Sakura and Sasaeko took to the trees. Shikamaru disappeared into the underbrush. Kiba climbed atop Akamaru's back, and they took off, swift but silent.
Not far ahead, Kiba saw a man walking along an old deer path, just barely visible in the brush. He wore a massive sword strapped to his back, so big it seemed like he should be bowed under its weight. Kiba's eyes flicked over to the bushes. A shadow, half hidden by the light flickering through the leaves, stretched toward the man.
The man jumped back, pulling his sword from its straps in the same motion. The underbrush exploded, leaves and dirt clouding the sky as the blade skimmed through them. Shikamaru rolled away, crushing down bracken, the tip of the blade missing his face by inches.
Behind Suigetsu, Sakura dropped down from the trees. She brought her arm back, winding up, and delivered a powerful blow to his head. It exploded into water, reforming as soon as she had followed through, ending up in front of him.
“What the hell?” Shikamaru said, getting to his feet.
Suigetsu grinned, revealing sharply pointed teeth, like a shark's. “What, your reports didn't talk about that part?”
Kiba and Akamaru charged. Suigetsu didn't even bother to dodge. They hit him, and he splashed apart, showering Sakura and Shikamaru. As the droplets began running together, rebuilding Suigetsu's body, Shikamaru extended his shadow. It reached a large globule of water just as it was shaping itself into a leg. The rest of the body stopped, half-formed, and fell back. It splashed and reformed, leaving Suigetsu shorter by several inches. Shikamaru spun, using the shadow connection to toss the water leg out of reach, and released.
“Hey!” Suigetsu said, scowling. “I just got back to normal!”
He swung at Shikamaru again. Shikamaru jumped back, the blade catching him across the arm with a spray of blood. Sakura rushed forward, ducking into Suigetsu's reach. She punched the sword, chakra concentrated into her fist. It cracked, but didn't break.
A net of chakra threads dropped down on Shikamaru, pulling him up into the forest canopy with Sasaeko. She pulled him up onto her branch. He clutched his arm, blood seeping through his sleeve and between his fingers. Sasaeko struggled out of her outer jacket and pushed it against the wound, moving Shikamaru's hand to hold it in place while she tied the sleeves around his arm.
“Keep pressure here,” she said, her voice quiet. He could hear the sounds of battle below. “This should hold you until Sakura can take a look. Try not to fall.”
She offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Shikamaru thought she looked shaky. Without another word, she leapt. She landed in the branches of a nearby tree, shaking off a few leaves. She peered down on the fight. Sakura was fighting Suigetsu, aiming more of her punches at his sword. Even at this distance, Sasaeko could see where she had chipped off several pieces. Kiba and Akamaru had separated, flanking Suigetsu, harrying him to keep his full attention off of Sakura.
Sasaeko took a deep breath and began lowering down more chakra threads, tiny things like spider silk, barely visible. Her breath caught as they made contact. With a motion of her hands, they constricted around Suigetsu, squeezing his arms to his body. His body softened, oozing around them. She tugged hard, trying to pull him out of balance. He stumbled, but didn't fall, and his arms came free.
He swung his sword at Kiba, forcing him back. A gap made, he flung himself through it. Sasaeko braced herself against the tree, but it was too much. The line pulled her off her feet. She let go as it flung her through the air, recovering barely in time to control her fall. She hit the bushes, barely missing a tree trunk that could have broken her bones.
Sakura jumped after Suigetsu, fist poised for another punch. He swung his sword, dropping it below her fist. Her punch went through his head, liquefying him as the tip of the blade scored against her other arm. The sword sucked the blood from her wound, chips and cracks refilling before her eyes. With a muttered curse, she leapt back, out of range. Suigetsu reformed his head.
“What I don't understand,” he said, getting to his feet, “is why you're going to so much trouble over someone like Sasuke.”
“Where is he?” Sakura asked, healing her cut with a medical jutsu, without even looking at it.
“I mean, he's a mess,” Suigetsu said, ignoring her question. “No good to anyone, no matter how he tries to hide it.”
“Sounds like you're not a fan,” Kiba said, moving to flank Suigetsu again. “How about you tell us where he is and we get out of your way?”
Suigetsu laughed. “Nice try, but I'm no snitch. Besides, I needed the exercise.”
“So happy to help,” Kiba said dryly.
Suigetsu's gaze flickered to his side. A few tiny chakra strings had attached to his legs, extending to the bushes. He grinned.
“Not a fast learner, eh?” he said, jerking his leg.
Instead of pulling Sasaeko out, he got a bush. Its roots had been cut, and it flew at him, hitting him in the head in an explosion of leaves. As he batted leaves away from his face, he caught another glimmer of motion and jumped away. The long, thin shadow that had been stretching toward him stopped, snapping back into a natural shape.
“Right. You're getting annoying,” he said, no longer smiling.
He ran forward, slicing at Sakura. She put up an arm, chakra concentrated into her hand, and caught the edge of the blade. It snapped. The lower half continued down, scoring a deep cut along her forearm. Suigetsu, now holding only two feet of sword, swore loudly. He swung again, low and wild, catching a glancing blow to her midsection. As she fell, clutching the cut, he grabbed the other half of his sword and ran off into the forest.
Kiba rushed over to Sakura. She was already healing, both hands emitting a medical jutsu. Sasaeko emerged from the bushes and joined them. Sakura, still working on her stomach, glanced back over her shoulder at where Suigetsu had left. She would need more time to heal herself, as well as Shikamaru. She couldn't send the others after Suigetsu alone. She closed her eyes in bitter resignation.
Sasaeko helped Shikamaru down from the tree. He had bled through her jacket, and looked pale and shaky. When Sakura saw him, she left off working on her arm, as it had stopped bleeding, to tend to him. They sat in the forest for another hour as she finished working on their cuts.
“Any other injuries?” she asked once she had finished. Truthfully, she could have done more. The cut on her arm was now just an angry pink scar, but she didn't have the energy reserves to heal it to nothing right now. It was a relief when Kiba and Sasaeko shook their heads.
“Well, that was a bust,” Kiba said, scowling. “Who the hell can just turn into water like that?”
Sakura stood, in spite of her growing exhaustion.
“Come on,” she said. “Let's go home. I'll need to update the file.”
Sasaeko helped Shikamaru to his feet. He still looked wobbly.
“Here,” she said, handing him some trail rations from her pack. “This should help you replenish your lost blood faster.”
He mumbled his thanks, and she dug out a second serving for Sakura. Sakura took it with a nod of thanks, but didn't eat it. They left, walking back out through the forest. Kiba rode on Akamaru's back again, and after some prodding, Shikamaru leaned against Sasaeko for support. Sakura walked in front, not listening to the idle conversations behind her.
Her mind kept going back to Suigetsu's words. A mess, he'd called Sasuke. No good to anyone. She thought of the Sasuke of her childhood, strong and stoic, and wondered what he meant. The reports suggested that Suigetsu had traveled with him for a while. About as long as she had been on a team with Sasuke herself.
Was it some kind of crack about his personality, she wondered. No, probably not. Suigetsu didn't seem like the type to care about that, as long as someone was strong. She tried to push the idea away, but it made a horrible sort of sense.
Sasuke had been weakened. Whatever he was doing out there, he was vulnerable.