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Sand in the Leaves	By : ahmenet Category: Naruto > General Views: 1274 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I make any money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
0.0.0.0.0.0

“They're early.”

Konohamaru looked back at Udon and
followed the direction of his gaze. A moment later two shinobi
walked through the underbrush followed by a group of kids and four
more shinobi.

“Oi! You there!”
Konohamaru turned and started for the group.

The tallest ninja, with sandy brown
hair and an eye patch, turned to look at him as the group came to a
halt. All eyes turned and the two leaf shinobi measured up the small
convoy. Six young ninja, they assumed were the genin, gave them
belligerent looks and both men had to hold back the laughter as they
remembered their own reaction to being in a foreign territory for the
chuunin exams. Konohamaru turned his eyes back to the adults of the
group and pressed the call button on his headset and spoke quietly.

“They're early. To the West.”
There was a slight crackling noise and then a moment of cawing
birds.

“Got it. On my way to the
gates.” Moegi replied
over the noise then the headset went silent.

The eye patch ninja
cocked his head but showed no outward sign that he was interested or
annoyed by the delay. The man next to him, however, was very vocal
in his displeasure.

“We have
permission to be here!” The ninja growled.

Udon smiled and
nodded. “We know and we apologize for holding you up. We
weren't expecting you for another two days.”

“Is that a
problem?” A young man with flat blond hair and a tight smile
asked. The genin around him already taking fighting stance.

“No. Not at
all.” Udon soothed while Konohamaru looked irritated and
menacing. “We've simply had a little trouble with bandits
lately and...”

“You can see
we aren't bandits!” The angry shinobi growled again.

“Yes we can.
And we'd like to offer you escort back to the village.” He
watched the man stiffen to argue and the genin get ready to take
offense at the offer. “We are well aware that you are capable
of getting there on your own but we'd be remiss in our duty if we
allowed the sand delegation to be attacked within our own boarders.”

Udon smiled
companionably while Konohamaru continued to scowl and on occasion
'tsk' at something beginning said as the angry ninja and another
shinobi at the rear of the group carried on a short but heated
argument before turning their attention back to the men in front of
them.

“Can we
expect the same... treatment at your village gates?” The man
at the rear of the group asked with polite rudeness.

“We have
another teammate who's already informed the gates of your arrival.
You will not be detained more than a moment once we reach Konoha.
You may go straight to your rooms or move around freely as you
please.” The bespectacled man looked to his right to catch his
teammates eye.

Konohamaru nodded.
He too had noticed the brown haired mousy young woman manning one of
the genin teams. Both men knew who she was as well as her normal
position so why was Matsuri dealing with a genin team? But more
importantly to both, what would her reception be when Gai's team saw
her here.

Udon motioned for
them to begin moving and Konohamaru fell into step next to the ninja
with the eye patch. There was silence for a moment as they navigated
the trees and finally reached the road into the village.

Udon clasped his
hands behind his back. “If you don't mind my asking?”
There was a grunt from behind them but no one spoke. “The exam
roster didn't mention names for the genin team leaders. I was
wondering if I could have your names now? It would make things a
little easier for the examiners.”

“You can have
their names when...” The angry shinobi was cut off as the flat
haired jounin spoke up.

“I'm Kane.
My students are Yukio, Midori and Zinan.”

No last names.
Neither of the leaf shinobi were surprised. It wasn't uncommon to
leave off your family name to save the family, either from harm or
disgrace. But they'd not asked for the genin names and there was no
reason to give them, since they were listed on the roster. So why
offer then information now?

“I am
Matsuri. These three are Mine, Ronin and Sorano.”

Udon nodded and cut
his eyes to Konohamaru who was frowning slightly. “I've met
you before Matsuri-san. Congratulations your promotion to sensei.”

There was a long
pause before angry shinobi piped up again. This time with glee and
not a little bite to his voice.

“Their not
her team. She's just filling in for their team leader. He died
recently.”

The smile he heard
with those words gave the Leaf nin a cold shiver. Whoever their
sensei had been, he hadn't died pleasantly. Udon chanced a glance
behind him. The two young girls in Matsuri's group had their heads
hung low but the boy stood tall and proud... and angry. Ronin glared
at the men in front of him with enough heat to burn the flesh from
nearly any human body. How the two ninja in front of him didn't feel
it was a mystery.

“Sensei
is...!” The boy began only to have Matsuri place a firm hand
on his shoulder. One of the girls snubbed quietly and wiped her face
with the sleeve or her net shirt.

“Ronin.”
That one word from the eye patch ninja had the boy stiffening but he
continued to walk and Matsuri dropped her hand.

The one eyed
shinobi turned his back to the boy once again and pulled a book from
his vest. After a moment more of silence the gates of the village
came into view. Udon turned and walked backwards while Konohamaru
continued to walk facing forward.

“I am sorry
for the loss of your sensei and team mate. I'm sure you will do well
in these exams to honor his memory.” Three determined if
blotchy faces lifted at his words and bobbed their heads in
affirmation. “I look forward to seeing you all again over the
next few days. The young woman at the gate will give you your room
assignments and answer any questions you might have.”

Konohamaru put his
hand to his ear piece and stiffened. He cut a look to Udon and made
a short series of hand gestures. Udon turned as his teammate veered
from the group and disappeared into the trees.

“Is there a
problem?” The eye patch ninja asked as Udon smiled warmly at
them.

“Nothing you
need to worry with. Moegi?”

She stepped from
the guard station and smiled while going over the faces in the group.
She blinked twice when she saw Matsuri then stepped toward the
group.

Udon's droopy eyes
remained on their little convoy as he discretely gave the same series
of hand signals to Moegi. “I will leave you in Moegi's
capable hands. Now, if you'll excuse me.”

The group watched
him take off into the trees after his comrade. Once he was out of
site, Moegi took the group through the gates, the angry shinobi
protesting loudly over standard admission papers and procedures.

Udon watched them
for a moment before leaping to the tree tops and heading in the
direction of the carved signs in the bark. He gave a thought to why
that eye patch ninja had such a familiar smile and where he'd seen
that book before then shrugged it off to follow more pressing
matters. Konohamaru had motioned there was a man down and an
intruder. Seemed it was their day for unexpected guests.

0.0.0.0.0.0

Tsunade wasn't
surprised by the report from her torture division leader. After all,
Tatako Uchiha was simply a civilian who'd thought she could play war
and win.

“All of the
infiltrators were attempting to take positions in founding family
staff service. It's one of the reasons they weren't picked up
immediately. When the established servants began to notice something
strange they told their head of household.” Ibiki shook his
head.

“And the
nurse maid for the Uchiha twins naturally told Takako about the
strange woman.” Tsunade ventured.

“Apparently
she was attempting to gain entrance for another position but Hiro
didn't like her on site so Sasuke wouldn't hire her. When Takako
found out she was still around she approached her. The woman was
from her home village.”

That got Tsunade's
attention in more ways than one. The blond stood from her seat and
leaned over the desk. “She wasn't from the sand?”

“No,
Hokage-sama. She was not. If I recall she is from the Grass
country.”

Tsunade watched
Ibiki with a careful eyes. “What else?”

Ibikis eyes
hardened. “In exchange for taking out Sasuke's first wife, she
gave them the location of the medic who would be meeting our
retrieval team.” Tsunade's eyes widened and her face began to
mottle. “Luckily, she didn't know who or what was being
transported or when they'd be meeting, only who'd been sent and when
he'd left.”

“So most
likely Hirasi-san was followed from the moment he left.” The
blond nodded and dropped into her chair once again. “I've
already sent out a message bird. We'll find out in another day or
two if he received it.” She'd given explicit instructions that
she was to be contacted the moment the medic made contact with the
retrieval party and information on the status of the 'package'.

“The plan was
for the intruder to henge into the nurse to get in the house.
Apparently the old woman put up a fight and Izanami caught her before
she could make her escape. She then turned on Takako and used her as
bait. She claims the ninja wouldn't have hurt her or the twins. She
offered her a considerable sum.”

Tsunade nodded.
They'd gone through all of the attacks with each of the surviving
prisoners. The Hyuuga had found their spy with apparent ease. He'd
been carrying weapons no civilian would have and hadn't counted on
the cook being a member of the branch family and having a fairly
decent grasp of the byakugan. He'd been dealt with within moments of
stepping into her domain. The Aburame's had caught theirs with
nearly as much ease, though the man was a little worse for ware and
babbling incoherently after his capture. There had been five others
including the one Choji had brought in. They found the one that
attacked Gaara and young Naruto at the gates. A returning ANBU had
run him through with a short sword. He lived long enough to get to
the hospital and the moment they let him go he took a suicide
capsule. She'd like to say they'd been lucky to find Takako, a more
than willing informant, though she might not know much. But she
shuddered to think how long that element had been living in their
village and what kind of information, knowingly or otherwise, she
passed along to a country sending assassins and spy's.

“If we are
done with her, I'd like permission to carry out the execution and...”

“No.”

That one word gave
Ibiki pause and he looked into his Hokages eyes. “What do you
mean by 'no'?”

“Exactly what
it sounds like. No. You can't order the execution.” She
pulled out a file and riffled through the papers. “As much as
I would love to give that order I can't. Sasuke will have to make
that decision.”

Ibiki made a very
rude noise and opened his mouth to give his opinion on Sasuke
Uchiha's reliability when Tsunade apparently found the paper she was
looking for and waved it in front of him.

“Her family
had very specific details written into the marriage contracts. She
can't die on Konoha soil. In fact, her death within the Fire country
itself will be considered suspect. I'd originally thought they were
making sure he couldn't just get an heir off of her then get rid of
her.”

“I thought he
had the contracts written so he would retain custody of any children
were she to die or leave the Uchiha house.” The contracts had
taken weeks and the deal had nearly fallen through when Izanami had
signed the exact same agreement in less than twenty four hours,
gaining her the position of first wife.

“He did. But
the death must be natural or with just cause otherwise she has to
leave of her own accord.” Tsunade trailed off in thought for a
moment before picking back up on another line. “No. She
didn't know about the attacks before hand.”

“I have to
agree.” Ibiki answered. “But she knows more than she's
telling. And considering her willing participation, I think we can
argue that it's enough for an execution.”

“Maybe we
aren't asking the right questions.” The blond mused.

He waited a moment
but she didn't continue. Deciding he wasn't going to get an answer
on that discussion any time soon he moved on to another requested he
wasn't sure she would accept. “I've already ascertained that
our initial information on Kanaye Sasaki is incorrect. What we've
learned from just Takako suggests that he may not be the leader or
that he has a much wider grasp than we first believed. And from the
information Gaara-san has given me about the takeover of Suna...”

“Just go
ahead and tell me because I know I'm not going to like it.”
She watched his set expression with a frown.

“In light of
this information may I request an interview with all shinobi brought
into the village in the last five years under special contract.”

Tsunade reached for
the bottle hidden behind a stack of papers. “Will this be a
formal interrogation or a simple interview?”

The scarred shinobi
kept his eyes on her head as she poured a cup of sake and stared at
its contents “We will begin with interviews and if I feel it
is necessary take them in for interrogation.”

“If you feel
it's necessary.” She repeated dully and downed the contents of
the cup. She sighed after a moment and put the empty cup on the desk
in front of her. “Compile a list and narrow it down to those
most highly suspect. I leave it to you to establish acceptable
parameters. I'll review your requests as soon as you're finished.”

He bowed low.
“Yes, Hokage-sama.” Straightening, he turned and pulled
the door open.

“Ibiki?”

He turned and
looked at the outstretched cup in her hand.

“Have a drink
with me. I think we're both going to need it.”

Closing the door he
walked back to the desk and took the offered cup. She smiled and
clinked her own cup against his.

“Here's to
surviving the next two weeks.” Tsunade downed the cup Ibiki
nodded in firm agreement and followed suit.

0.0.0.0.0.0

“We need a
medic over here!” Konohamaru bent over the ANBU while Iruka
dealt with the young boy who'd been with him.

He'd come as
instructed only to find four jounin standing stock still and staring
at a small boy holding a short sword in one hand and a kunai in the
other. It was obvious the boy had no idea how to use them but the
blade was ANBU issue and he knew several of them used poison kunai.
He was preparing to move in when he saw something move behind the kid
and instead quietly had sneaked in behind to find the masked ninja
attempt to move then fall completely still. With the mask on he
couldn't see the mans face but his chest rose and fell in shallow
movements which was not a good sign. When the boy realized he'd been
outmaneuvered he turned on Konohamaru only to be taken from behind by
the other jounin. Now Iruka was trying to calm the boy and find out
who he was and what he was doing here.

“Eiri went
for one. We need to move him to the hospital.” Konohamaru
touched the clammy skin and had to agree. If they didn't move him...

“No!”
The scream came from the young boy now fighting against Iruka's hold.
“The more he moves the worse it gets! Don't move him!”

They all stopped
and Iruka turned the young boy to face him, squatting down once again
to his level. “How do you know that? Did he tell you that?”

The boy studied the
forehead protector in front of him for a moment. “You're not
wearing a mask, but you have a leaf on your head.”

Iruka nodded. “The
mask makes him a special kind of ninja. But we are all of the leaf.”

The boy looked over
just as Konohamaru was pulling the mask from the ninjas face. “He
said he wouldn't die until we got home. Is this home?”

Iruka nodded. “Yes
it is.”

Konohamaru peeled
the mask back as Udon joined the group. Raido groaned along with
both chuunin when Sai's peaceful face came into view.

“He got
scratched by the puppet.” the young boy sniffed a little then
straightened his shoulders and glared at Iruka. “I told him
what my mother said. I told him we had to go back and get the
anti-... anti-... the stuff!”

Iruka rubbed the
boys back as Sakura dropped from the treetops with Neji, Gaara and
Gai close behind. She moved Konohamaru out of the way and started
looking over Sai's very still body.

“He's still
alive, but barely.” She lifted a small light and looked into
his eyes, with a sigh and dropped the pen to her side. “What
happened?”

“Puppeteer
apparently.” Raido said, quietly moving up next to her.

“I told him!”
The boy was yelling as Iruka began moving him away from the group
and toward the village. “I told him he was going to die! He
said he'd have to run faster!” At this, the small boy began to
cry in earnest though he refused to admit the tears were there. “He
said it was his mission and he didn't fail his missions.”

Iruka rubbed his
back and walked between Neji and Gaara toward the visible tree line
and the village beyond. Gaara watched their backs as they went while
Neji moved closer to Sakura and the body of her former teammate.

“He's in a
coma. I don't know when they were attacked but it looks like the
poison is pretty wide spread. Gaara?” The red head turned
from Iruka's retreating back to look at her solemn face. His own
eyes were a little too wide but he quickly regained his composure.
“What's the common puppeteer poison?”

He looked down at
the man lying perfectly still in the crushed leaves while the faint
green light from Sakura's hands cast shadows on his face. “If
he's in a coma, I'm not sure even Tsunade can save him. Puppeteers
started using a modified version of the poison Sasori used five years
ago. It no longer causes immediate paralysis. You don't even know
you've been poisoned until it's too late.”

Three medics burst
through the trees, a stretcher in hand. They moved in on Sai's body
and Konohamaru and Raido helped shift him carefully onto the
stretcher. Sakura stood as the team began moving him swiftly from
the forest back to the village.

“I'll go with
him. With any luck Tsunade can pull off a miracle.” She
looked at Gaara who showed her nothing. One of Sais pupil's was
already fixed. He wasn't going to be waking up.

The men watched her
take to the trees and disappear into the winter foliage. They all
stood silently for a moment before Konohamaru turned to Udon.

“As much as I
hate to do this now, we have another issue on our hands.”
Everyone turned to look at the younger shinobi. “Suna's group
arrived today.”

0.0.0.0.0.0

At least a day away
from the scheduled meeting site and they were still having trouble.
Yugao growled behind her mask and signaled them to a stop once more
as the jangle of harnesses sounded a short distance away. They'd
been followed when they left and thought no one would ever find the
bodies that didn't mean they wouldn't miss the men. She'd left the
real Shiga's body with those dispatched ninja since he was no longer
needed. That plan had worked out nicely at least.

Yugao growled as
the sound of camel, horses and wheels shifting over sand moved closer
to their position. She'd been able to secure Kankuro by a simple
replacement jutsu. The body she'd run through at the prison had
already been dead while Kankuro was safely tucked in the wrapped
bandages on her back. He simply looked like the puppet of the
puppeteer she was portraying. But the damage was already done. The
mission had been discovered just as they were pulling out. She only
hoped they hadn't lost anyone along the way.

“If we have
to keep stopping like this, he's not going to make it to the medic.”
One masked ninja said quietly next to her shoulder.

She looked back at
Kankuro. He was getting worse. His chest shook with every breath
and they'd covered his face with cloth to protect his still raw skin
from the elements as well as keep the sand out of his lungs. His
fever had spiked the day before and this time they were unable to
properly manage it. Faced with sweat soaked clothing and freezing
night temperatures they'd had to strip him and place light gauze
coverings over his body during the day adding blankets at night.
He'd not spoken since morning and only twitched lightly when touched.
Yugao spent most of their travel time praying he would survive the
trip. She did not want to be the one to tell Gaara Sabaku his
brother and last living relative was dead because they couldn't move
fast enough.

Precious minutes
passed as the caravan moved on and the all clear was given. The
group lifted the gurney carrying Kankuro's loosely shrouded body and
continued as quickly as possible to their destination.

0.0.0.0.0.0

Sasuke stared out
of the window of his bedroom. The mid afternoon sun was high making
the room bright and nearly cheerful even with the dark fabrics and
woods. He only wished the sun would lighten his mood.

He'd been in this
room all morning, trying to decide what to do about his wife... the
traitor. His wife was a traitor and he'd brought her into his home,
his bed! He shivered and pressed his forehead to the cool glass.
He'd almost lost his best friend because of her. He could have lost
his daughters. Her Own Children! He could almost hear the gossips
now. He should have known what she was up to. After all, one
traitor would recognize another. Maybe they thought he'd gotten what
he deserved? Maybe they thought he deserved worse? He groaned and
his breath fogged the window.

He
looked back at the bed where all five of his children were now taking
a nap. Naruto and Hiro were curled protectively around each of the
twins while Tadao snuggled contentedly in the middle. Izanami and
the baby were doing better. In only four more months there would be
one more child on that bed. For the first time since he'd started
his quest to revive the Uchiha clan, he thought this might be enough.
How much more could he ask of his friend? She'd been told it wasn't
wise to carry more children after this. The strain was too much for
her body and she'd most likely lose the next one if she didn't lose
this one. He couldn't do that to her. He'd considered taking
another wife but threw it out. He'd barely tolerated Takako
in his bed. The thought of bringing another stranger that close to
himself or his family... no, he wouldn't do it.

His thoughts
drifted to Sakura. Pretty, pink haired, bad tempered Sakura. Would
things be different now if she'd told him yes back then. He'd asked
her to carry his children because he trusted her and was sure she'd
say yes. She'd harbored a crush on him throughout their academy days
after all. But while he'd been gone trying to chase his own demons
she'd grown out of him and into his best friend.

He remembered the
moment he'd first truly seen her again. It had been after
Orochimaru's death. When he'd faced Itachi. He was ready to deal
the final blow. Ready to finish the man who'd destroyed his clan
with nothing more than a careless thought. He'd been ready. More
than ready. Then he'd felt her hand on his shoulder. He wasn't even
sure how long he'd stood over his brother and stared into cold,
indifferent eyes that just didn't care while blood soaked into the
cracked stones beneath him. And he couldn't kill him. For the first
time since he was a child tears poured down his cheeks and he turned
to look at her and ask why. He didn't understand why he couldn't do
this. It was all he wanted. All he'd dreamed about year after year.
But now he couldn't finish it. He'd screamed at her to explain and
she'd simply touched his face and pulled him into her arms. She
didn't pay attention to the chidori in his hand. She ignored the
fact that he could kill her with that simply touch. She just held
him with the protection and love they'd all tried to give him for
years but he was too blinded by an obsession to see. And so he lay
his cheek on her shoulder and quietly let the tears fall, ignoring
Naruto as he called in his shadow clones and the wind that whipped at
their hair as he pulled his chakra into the tight ball of the
rasengan. In the end he did what he should have done when he was
thirteen. He let his best friend finish the painful mission of
killing his brother while the woman he'd discounted as weak and
helpless held him protectively in strong, sure arms and healed his
wounds. It would be months before anyone told him the truth about
his brother but in that moment, he wasn't sure he would have cared.

Hours after he'd
been secured along with his remaining team for transport back to
Konoha he watched the two of them walk together. He should have seen
it then. The way Sakura hovered so close. The way Naruto's brief
touches lingered. Or maybe it was the fact he was touching her at
all? He didn't notice it though. Not until a few months later, when
he'd asked her to help revive his clan and she'd told him no. Naruto
had come to his door that night and decked him. For once he'd been
the slow one. Who'd have guessed?

The
clouds overtook the sun for a moment so that the room lost its sunny
feel and dropped back into the realm of dark and brooding. Tadao
stirred and whimpered in his sleep. Naruto's hand came over the baby
and wrapped itself around the young boy, cuddling the infant between
the two of them. Sasuke walked away from the window and reached the
side of the bed. He leaned in to touch the hair on each of his
children's heads and wondered, for the first time, if Sakura ever
felt this way when she looked down at her little Tsunade. And he
wondered what Naruto would have thought of his little red haired
whirlwind.

The thought of one
red head brought on thoughts of another. The mission was nearly
over. Everyone was nearly home. He'd done all he could. His mind
flashed to straw blond hair and faded blue eyes before turning to the
next task to be completed. Another mission to put on the table for
one more friend to finish in his stead. He touched Tadao's hair as
the boy settled under his brothers arm. He only hoped his children
would forgive him when they were old enough to understand why their
mother never came home.

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Sand in the Leaves