Chapter 53
A tag attached to Sakura's wrist warmed up, catching her attention and forcing her to look up from her lunch. She slapped some money down on the counter and left. Once outside, she concentrated her chakra into her feet and climbed up the nearest tall building. At the pinnacle, she clung to the side, walking around until she spotted it. An obvious fight, three figures with swords, the nearby civilians streaming away as fast as they could. Clinging with her feet, she freed her other hand and dug out a pen, writing the location onto the tag before heading there herself.
She jumped from rooftop to rooftop for several blocks, leaping down into the road just yards from the fight. People still fled from the surrounding buildings and down the road. A quick glance at the fight showed that Izumi and Choujuro were handling Suigetsu. Sakura ducked into the nearest building, scanning it to see that it was empty. When she found no one, she moved onto the next and the next, helping a few restaurant patrons on their way.
“I'm here! I got your message!” someone called, jumping down from a rooftop in front of her.
Sakura spared Suisho a quick smile, ducking back out of a soba shop.
“The surrounding area?” Suisho asked.
“Residential,” Sakura said, pointing back the way she had come. “Everything else is business.”
Suisho nodded. She made several hand seals, and stone walls rose up out of the street around them, blocking off storefronts and alleys, curving around the combatants. As the walls closed, forming a long oval, Suisho let out a low whistle.
“She's pretty good,” she said, watching the fight.
Ahead of them, Choujuro blocked a blow from Suigetsu, leaving an opening for Izumi to slash. The blade passed through as Suigetsu turned to water, but the change weakened his attack. Choujuro pushed back, and he stumbled. Izumi ducked down, her tanto aimed at his ankles, forcing his steps to falter again. Sakura watched as the woman finally drew her katana, swiping at Suigetsu as he whirled away.
There was a soft thud behind them, and she turned to see Kakashi drop down from the wall. He nodded in passing to the two of them as he rushed forward, hands forming seals as electricity crackled around him. The Mist nin spotted him and jumped apart, leaving Suigetsu in the middle as Kakashi struck.
Lightning arced from his outthrust fingers, snapping audibly on its way to strike Suigetsu. The man lit up, his body turning to water, horribly frozen in a rictus for several seconds before the energy dissipated. Suigetsu's body slumped and dripped, steaming, before he resolidified.
At first, Sakura thought the hissing noise came from Suigetsu's steam as the others regrouped around him. When the steam stopped, however, the noise continued. She looked around, readying a kunai for some counterattack, and saw motion out of the corner of her eyes. She spun. A snake slithered up out of a storm drain.
Behind her, she heard another thump and turned to see Shikamaru helping Sasaeko down from the wall. A flicker of motion from another direction turned out to be Uwaki arriving, skirting around a snake as he walked over.
“Ladies, gentleman,” Uwaki said with a wink. “How are we doing this?”
“You three hold him down. Suisho, help the offense,” Sakura said, pointing.
Sasaeko scaled back up the wall, holding herself to the surface with chakra. Below her on the ground, Shikamaru circled around the fighters, staying close to the wall. Uwaki edged around from the other side, while Suisho went straight ahead, humming a tune under her breath as she began another series of seals. Suigetsu's attack on Kakashi failed as he found his stance ruined, the ground rising up to trap his leading foot. He melted out of the trap, but the damage was done.
Choujuro surged forward, slicing at Suigetsu, forcing him back into Izumi's reach. Overhead, in one motion, Sasaeko whipped off her outer kimono, letting it flutter down, while her other hand lowered down a network of chakra threads. Suigetsu's eyes flickered up. In his split second of distraction, Kakashi pushed another chidori forward into Suigetsu. He jerked wildly as the electricity coursed through him. As it left his body, the chakra threads connected, tightening around him, his still soft body oozing around them. He shifted, letting the threads pass through as he made another swing for Izumi, then stopped suddenly.
Sasaeko's coat landed, its work done. Shikamaru's shadow spooled out from his body, connecting through the shade of the jacket, to capture Suigetsu. He struggled against the jutsu, shaking just slightly with the effort, but he was stuck. Sakura stepped forward.
“Where is Sasuke?” she asked.
“How the hell should I know where he is?” Suigetsu said, his gaze flicking across hers. “Do I look like I keep tabs on worthless loads like that?”
Sakura frowned. She was sure he was lying, but why? He had clearly lost all respect for Sasuke, so why cover for him?
“You know where he is,” she said, “So why hide it? You clearly don't give a damn about him. Why not let him become our problem? We don't care about you. Tell us where he is, and your search for the swords goes back to being between you and their bearers, at least until they ask us for help.”
Suigetsu barked out a laugh. “Nice try, but I'm not falling for that.”
“For what? We really don't care. Konoha doesn't have any of the swords, so unless the Mist-” She broke off suddenly, turning her head, sure she had heard a scream.
Before anyone could ask why she stopped, another scream rent the air, followed by several others. Distant, but coming closer. Motion caught her eye. More snakes, streaming up out of the drains by the dozens. She swore aloud. It was winter. Why hadn't she paid more attention to the snakes from earlier? Suigetsu began to curse, struggling harder against the binding. Shikamaru began to sweat with the effort.
“Let me go, you fucking morons!” Suigetsu yelled, shaking harder. “There's no time!”
“We should-” Uwaki began, but his words died as the giant snake rose above the wall.
A robed figure came into view as the snake's massive purple head undulated.
“Kabuto,” Sakura breathed.
“Oh, you've caught him,” Kabuto said, sounding cheerfully unfazed. “How convenient. I have some questions for him myself.”
His words were punctuated by a crash from somewhere beyond the wall, the corner of an apartment building crumbling out of view. More snakes surged up out of the drains, spilled over the stone walls, writhing around them as the screams continued. Kabuto's expression, barely visible in his hood, remained unchanged.
Shikamaru let out a hiss of pain, dragging Sakura's eyes off of Kabuto. He sat crouched for his jutsu, snaked slithering around him. A bite marked his leg, bleeding faintly, the skin around it already turning an angry red. He wobbled, concentration wavering, the rope of shadow connecting him to Suigetsu waving. Sasaeko released her chakra threads, running along the wall and down to him just as his jutsu lapsed.
“No, go, keep a hold on him,” Shikamaru protested, his voice weak.
Sasaeko ignored his words, scooping him up with a visible effort. She ran back up the opposite side of the wall, away from Kabuto, avoiding the growing river of snakes. Suigetsu, meanwhile, took advantage of the chaos as the others jumped to avoid the serpents. He lunged for Choujuro, sword swinging, forcing him back against the wall. Izumi slashed at Suigetsu, but her sword just passed through him.
As Sasaeko reached the top of the wall and walked up the side of a nearby lamppost, depositing Shikamaru, whose leg had swollen alarmingly, into a chakra net, Kabuto's snake slithered forward, head reaching over the wall. Choujuro spun away from Suigetsu, hands forming awkward seals around his sword hilt. He summoned a wave of water that slammed into the snake's head, pushing it back for only a moment. Kabuto ignored him.
Suigetsu went after Choujuro again, stabbing out only to be forced back as the massive serpent snapped at him. Izumi formed several seals, sword in hand, and sent up a blast of water that knocked the snake back a few feet. Before the water fell back to earth, she swung at Suigetsu, managing a small scratch before he turned to water.
Suisho slammed her foot down, sending up a stone spike under Suigetsu. He sloshed around it, unharmed. The snake lunged for Suigetsu, knocking her aside. Suigetsu dodged away from the teeth. Kakashi flung a volley of kunai at the snake, the blades barely scratching the beast's scales. Uwaki spun, the water all around flowing with him, gathering up snakes as it went. His hands made a seal and the water and snakes froze, their continued momentum turning them into spikes that hit the snake in the face.
Another voice joined the screams, yelling something indistinct, its tone different from the rest of the noise. An orange blur appeared atop the wall and launched itself, slamming itself into the snake with enough force to knock it back. The blur dropped down, Naruto lowering his hands as the remains of a Rasengan died away.
“What the hell are you doing to my village?” he yelled, pointing up at Kabuto. “I had to leave the exam to deal with you!”
Atop the snake, Kabuto frowned, tearing his eyes away from Suigetsu for the first time.
“I don't see why you're fighting me on this,” he said, his tone of voice more annoyed than anything. “We could all interrogate him toge-”
He cut off as Kakashi launched a massive shuriken that buried itself in the snake's side. The snake hissed and flailed, its tail slamming into another building with a deafening crash. It lunged for Kakashi, who tumbled out of the way, only to get hit as its tail came around again. The blow sent him flying into the wall. It cracked with the impact.
Suisho kicked out, drawing the earth with the motion. A chunk of street as large as her head hit the snake. Behind her, Choujuro sent a barrage of chakra needles at Suigetsu. He dissolved to water again, though the needles seemed to hurt as they passed through him. Sakura ran up along the wall, curving around to aim a kick at the reforming Suigetsu. It connected as he was half-formed and her leg passed through him slowly, as if through gelatin.
The snaked lunged for them both. She dropped off the wall, hitting the ground and rolling away as the snake's head slammed into Suigetsu, breaking him with a splash. Chakra threads latched onto the snake as Sasaeko braced herself against the far wall. The snake reared back, and her grip on the wall broke. She went flying, slamming into Uwaki as he prepared an attack.
The snaked writhed, disoriented, nearly jarring Kabuto off its back. Its tail hit the wall, nearly missing Kakashi's prone form. Uwaki disentangled himself from Sasaeko and stood. He ducked another blow of the snake's tail, forming seals. As he stood, he pushed his hands forward, dragging the water back off the ground. It coalesced around Kabuto and the snake, freezing solid. He kept with the motion, pushing the jutsu, even as cracked appeared in the ice.
Suigetsu swung his sword at Izumi and Choujuro. As they jumped away, he stepped back, onto a storm drain, and melted, dragging his sword down with him as he disappeared. Sakura swore aloud. The ice around Kabuto and the snake shattered, coming down on everyone in shards.
“Go! After him!” Kabuto yelled, waving an arm.
The snakes all around them turned as one, surging down the drain after Suigetsu. The massive snake spun, knocking against the soba shop, and slithered away back down the street. For a moment, it was silent. Then screams started again, receding into the distance with Kabuto as he left.
Sakura shook her head, dragging herself back into the moment, and hurried over to the lamppost where Shikamaru was suspended for medical treatment.
---
Sakura slumped back into a waiting room chair. Night had nearly fallen, and she knew she should go home, but she was tired. Immediately after the battle, she had run triage, performing emergency care on Shikamaru and Kakashi. It had been just enough to get them to the hospital, and if she had left it at that, she would have still had energy. But then she had been the one to draw the venom out of Shikamaru's leg.
And then came the council. As soon as she was out of surgery, one of the old men had cornered her to tell her that more than a dozen buildings had been badly damaged by the giant snake, several civilians were being treated for minor injuries, and they were still quelling the panic over the river of snakes. He told her she was irresponsible and lax and how dare she bring this kind of trouble down upon the village. She agreed with him, though she didn't say so out loud.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Sakura looked up. Naruto stood over her, scowling, his arms crossed. She sighed.
“I was going to bring you in once we'd captured Suigetsu. I didn't want to interrupt you taking the exam.”
“I was disqualified.”
“What?” Sakura sat up sharply.
“I left early when I heard the screams, and the exam went on without me.”
“Naruto, I'm sorry.”
He shrugged and looked away, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Yeah, well, I've gotta go. Iruka-sensei said he'd treat me to ramen, even though I didn't...”
He let out a huff, and walked away without saying another word. Sakura closed her eyes for a moment. She still felt exhausted, but heaved herself to her feet. She needed to look in on Shikamaru and Kakashi, and she should probably check up with all of the other combatants.
---
“How are you feeling?” Suisho asked, peeking into Kakashi's hospital room. Hearing her, he put down his book.
“I have three cracked ribs, a sprained knee, and bruises and lacerations all along one side of my body,” he said. “It's not too bad.”
“You did pretty well,” she said, stepping in. “I think if the snake guy hadn't showed up, we'd have the target in a cell by now.”
“You did all right yourself. If the plan hadn't unraveled, your wall would have prevented any property damage from happening. Still, what's done is done.”
“Yeah. I might have heard a council member reaming Sakura out over this whole thing, actually.” She sat down on the edge of his bed. “He was pretty harsh. If you see her, could you tell her it's probably just politics? They want someone to blame, but that doesn't mean she has to be hard on herself, too, you know? I mean, none of my plans ever had contingencies built in for if guys riding giant snakes showed up, either.”
Kakashi smiled behind his mask. “I'll pass it along.”
“How come they've got you staying tonight, anyway?”
He shrugged, then grimaced. “Just to be safe, she said. I think she's worried I got some venom or something into one of my cuts.”
Suisho nodded. “Probably worth watching. Still, it wasn't a total loss.”
“Oh? How's that?”
“Well, for one thing, I don't think any of us knew Uwaki was that powerful. To think he's been trying to pass himself off as an airheaded flirt this whole time...” She shook her head, grinning. “Plus now we have some more intel on the snake guy. Kabuto? I mean, you all seem surprised about the snake thing, so I'm guessing that's new.”
“You're just trying to look on the bright side of things,” Kakashi said.
“Someone has to.”
---
Shikamaru awoke to pain, as though his leg were on fire. With a hiss of pain, he opened his eyes, and saw a flurry of motion as beside his hospital bed, Sasaeko woke from dozing, her head resting on the sheets, and sat up. She smiled at him.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Terrible, you?”
“Uwaki-san broke my fall, so I'm fine.”
“And how's he?”
She blushed. “He has a black eye where I accidentally elbowed him, but otherwise, he's okay.”
Shikamaru pulled the sheets back to sit up, stopping when he saw his leg. It had swollen from the knee down, the skin a shiny, angry red.
“It actually looks a lot better than it did,” Sasaeko said. “Sakura thinks the venom is meant to be debilitating, but not lethal.”
“That's better?” he asked weakly.
She nodded. “I can get some ice for you, if you want.”
“No, it's fine.” He sighed. “Why are you still here, anyway?”
“I wanted to wait until you woke up, make sure you settled in okay. Ah, I sent a message to your parents earlier, so they know where you are. I think they'll come by in the morning.”
He nodded and covered himself again.
“Can I get you anything?” she asked.
“No, I'm just going to try to get back to sleep. You should go home.”
“Take care,” she said, lingering by the door. “I hope you feel better soon.”
He made a noncommittal noise in response, and she left, closing the door. Motion at the end of the hall caught her eye. Sakura. Sasaeko opened her mouth for a greeting, but stopped when she saw the girl's face. Sakura's brows were knit, her face tensed as if holding back tears. She disappeared through a side door, out into the cold courtyard.
Sasaeko followed after her, wondering what had happened, and trying to think of things her mother had said to be comforting in the past. She winced as the outside air hit her face, suddenly colder now that the sun was setting. Ahead of her, past the trees and bushes, Sakura sat down on a stone bench, leaning back.
Across the courtyard, another door opened, and someone stepped out, their head turning as they looked around. Sasaeko squinted, blocking out the sun with one hand, and realized the person was Lee. He spotted Sakura and jogged over.
“What are you doing here?” Sakura asked, and Sasaeko was struck by how tired she sounded.
“I had heard about the attack today and wanted to see for myself that you are unhurt. Are you?” Lee asked.
“I'm not injured,” Sakura said.
“You look unhappy. Has something happened?” he asked, sitting down beside her.
“I messed up. I keep messing up, and everything keeps going wrong. I don't know if I'm not training hard enough, or if... if I'm just useless, or what, but everyone around me keeps getting better, while I don't, and I'm dragging them down,” she said, drawing her legs up to her chest. “I can't find Sasuke. I can't even catch one guy to question him, and that's with a team of eight people! Eight! Instead, I just fuck it all up and put everyone around me in danger!”
Tears had formed in her eyes, sliding down her cheeks as they turned red. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.
“You are not useless,” Lee said.
“It certainly doesn't look that way right now,” Sakura said.
He shook his head. “Thanks to your care, Shikamaru and Kakashi-sensei will be fine in no time. Your medical jutsu healed most of the damage, allowing them to suffer less and be on their feet again sooner. There were only a handful of minor injuries among the civilians, requiring no hospitalization, because you evacuated most of the damaged area beforehand.”
She glanced at him sidelong.
“Yes, you failed to capture Suigetsu, but you had no way of knowing Kabuto or his snakes would show up. Before this, we did not even know he was capable of summoning snakes at all! Your plan was a good one, but sometimes things happen for which we cannot prepare. You did the best you could with the information you had, and you responded wisely when other factors came into play.
“I know what it is like to feel discouraged. To feel as though everyone else is surpassing you. You have to keep moving. Keep trying. It is only when you give up that you have actually failed.”
Sakura wiped her eyes again and sat up straight. She took a deep breath, and nodded.
“Thanks, Lee. You're right. I just have to keep going.”
He grinned at her.
“You know, I think you're a lot smarter than people give you credit for,” she said, smiling a little.
Sasaeko slipped back through the door and into the hospital, and left.