Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Playing the Game	By : erincthomas Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female > Kakashi/Sakura Views: 2679 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, the characterisation would be a lot more consistent. No more Kakashi doing the good guy pose, please. No profit made from this.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
Sakura hadn't been so happy to see her own village after returning from a mission since the one to Wave Country in her genin days.
Her first ANBU mission had been ... well, she wasn't exactly sure. Awful, whispered her mind, but that wasn't quite right. The whole mission had gone off without a hitch. It had been a simple assassination, very cut-and-dried – a complex set-up made boring by perfect execution. The most complicated injury had been a dislocated shoulder that she'd fixed in about three seconds flat.
And that was all she'd done. Upon learning of her new position, she had supposed she should be a little frightened and apprehensive and so she was, for awhile. She did that, sometimes – picked the "correct" emotion for a situation and convinced herself that it was hers because it was what one should feel. Eventually, though, such self-deception gave way to ambivalence and in the end, her true self usually won out, albeit very quietly. No matter how often she realised in hindsight that she'd been lying to herself she could never quite figure it out until it was too late.
This new ANBU thing was no different. She supposed she should have been frightened, but she hadn't been, at least not for very long. In fact, she had been terribly excited, eager almost to an embarrassing extreme, though she'd resolved not to show it. This was her chance to prove herself, to hone the battle skills that were always neglected in favour of medicine. And with Kakashi-sensei as a captain!
It was that, perhaps, that had bled away any anxiousness she might have otherwise felt. When she'd shown up – late, by her usual standards, but for some reason it had never occurred to her that he would actually be on time – he had made it glaringly obvious that she had been mistaken. In hindsight, she should have anticipated his gruffness to a certain extent. No seemingly random declaration of friendship could affect his professional attitude, and she knew – knew – he turned up the heartless front for ANBU.
So he was a little – a lot – harsher than she had counted on, manhandling and yelling at her immediately upon her arrival. What else had she expected, though?
And all of a sudden she was twelve years old again and all she could think about was how to impress him and the others, how to show them that chuunin or not, she belonged.
But she didn't belong and they didn't bother to pretend that she did. She was an outsider and clearly not elite enough to join their ranks; each and every one of their actions drove those facts home like senbon into her fingertips. That the snubs seemed to be largely unintentional was what made them sting.
It had become apparent far before the action began that she wouldn't be allowed anywhere near it. Her only purpose was to patch up the real fighters after all the fun was over.
Her disappointment was tangible. Even now, she could taste it.
And they just went and did things and then barely contained their amusement when she was just a tad too slow, just a bit too confused to follow along. No one took the trouble to explain anything – not the protocols or standard procedures, nothing – but she certainly felt foolish enough when she broke rules she hadn't been aware existed.
Kakashi-sensei was performing the jutsu to let them back through the barrier – and what an amazing jutsu it was! What Sakura wouldn't give to know it herself. The options it would open were immeasurable, really, but she cut off that dangerous thought before it could fully form.
When they were back within the boundaries of Konoha, Sakura spoke for the first time in a long time. "Am I dismissed, then?"
Kakashi turned his face towards her and though his wolf mask was covering his face, she had known him long enough to guess his expression. It would say something akin to, Are you stupid?
"Debriefing will double as your performance review," he said simply, sounding as bored as usual. "You are not to be present."
She sighed in relief, ignoring the prick of annoyance at his tone. She couldn't bring herself to be apprehensive about the evaluation. She hadn't actually done anything, so how could she have done anything wrong? She knew they'd come up with something but she just couldn't care.
Without a word to the other three, she turned towards home, stopping in a copse of trees and extending her senses to make sure she was alone. Assured that she was, she stowed away her mask and dropped the genjutsu. It was actually quite lucky that her presence was such a joke during the mission, Sakura mused with an internal sneer, since Tsunade-shishou's jutsu took more chakra than she had counted on to keep up. She could feel the drain as she activated a variation of it to make her ANBU uniform appear as her normal Madoka-emblazoned ninja gear.
This jutsu.... She had employed it only rarely, before, and never for so long. When Tsunade had taught it to her, she had warned that it would take awhile to get used to before it required no thought, but it had been the obvious solution for appearance alteration. Sakura remembered that the genjutsu had failed after the Nenzo assassination but assumed that with a little practise it would be fine. So she'd lengthened her hair for the daytime and forced her mother to check on her as she slept to confirm that more drastic experimental changes were maintained even in that state of consciousness.
Despite her efforts, it was difficult to alter clothing so thoroughly that even if someone were to try to remove it nothing would be noticeably amiss – so difficult, in fact, that if she had to do it for a week-long mission she wasn't sure she'd be able.
More practise, then, Sakura thought firmly, running her hands over herself to check that she'd performed the genjutsu correctly. Perhaps this ANBU assignment wouldn't challenge her in the ways she had hoped, but she'd use it to perfect this jutsu along with the rest of her espionage skills, if nothing else. If there was anything Tsunade-shishou had taught her, it was not to let an opportunity go to waste.
As Sakura made her way to her house to bathe and change, she barely took in the comfort of the familiar streets of Konoha and its population. Sakura may have longed for home when she'd been off on her mission but it hadn't been its inhabitants that she'd missed.
"Here you are, dear," greeted a kindly old shopkeeper as she presented Sakura with the gift of a shiny apple. "To brighten your day. You look weary. Home from a mission?"
Sakura took the fruit with an insincere expression of gratitude. She normally loved apples, but this one tasted sour on her tongue, tainted with the tang of hypocrisy. Sakura would die to protect the citizens of Konoha but if she were honest with herself, it was more a matter of duty. One of her most closely-guarded secrets was that she sometimes considered the village population mindless sheep. As a whole, they followed without question and Sakura resented them for it.
These were the types of thoughts she never shared with anyone, not even Naruto.
Sakura entered her room through the balcony. She loved the privacy it afforded her, allowing for visitors and reprieves from facing her mother when she just couldn't. The balcony had been Yamato-taichou's little surprise addition; he hadn't even charged for it. She was determined to find a way to thank him some day but could never seem to find the opportunity.
Sakura undressed quietly, donning civilian clothes after a quick shower. Before her mother could be alerted to her presence, if she was around, Sakura darted back out the window and headed towards the one place she truly felt comfortable.
As usual, none of the hospital staff questioned her right to be there and Sakura released some tension she hadn't realised she'd been harbouring. Perhaps Danzou's forced removal of her name from the regular staff wouldn't be as much of a hindrance as she'd feared.
Tsunade's hospital room was quiet except for the beeping of various monitors. The room was small and crowded with machines; there was a single wooden chair for furniture. Everyday clutter lined the slightly-crooked shelves Sakura had Naruto install. It wasn't much but Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she slipped inside the space.
The Godaime Hokage lay motionless on the bed – a proper one, with a good mattress, as Sakura and Shizune had insisted upon despite the difficulties in procuring one. Tsunade's cheeks were sunken, closed eyes receding into her skull.
Sakura knelt at her master's side, running trembling fingers over the paper-thin wrinkles that were far too pronounced for Tsunade's years. Despite the official records, Sakura knew that Tsunade's body had aged well into its eighties due to her use of the dangerous chakra storage and cell regeneration technique she'd invented.
For the sake of the villagers, Tsunade had activated her Souzou Saisei on the day of the Akatsuki invasion. In all likelihood, she would never do so again.
That the once-proud Godaime Hokage lingered in such an undignified manner made her loss both easier and more difficult to bear.
Sakura took Tsunade's hand and laid her pink head down beside it, observing idly as the slight wetness of her hair let a damp spot spread on the pristine white sheets.
If Tsunade-shishou would just wake up, she could tell Sakura what to expect out of ANBU. Unlike Kakashi, Tsunade had never sugar coated explanations but always provided them upon request. Kakashi favoured an approach more akin to throwing his students into the fire and seeing what played out. It was a teaching style that worked well for some people – like Naruto – but never for Sakura. She liked to feel prepared; it calmed her and helped her focus. Tsunade had understood that. It seemed impossible that Kakashi-sensei didn't understand, as he was so uncannily perceptive. Perhaps he just didn't care.
The door to Tsunade's room slid open but Sakura didn't bother to look up. There were only two other people with access and the soft click of heels gave away Shizune's identity.
"Oh, good, you're here," Shizune said. "You can help me with the vitals."
"Okay." Ton-Ton pattered over and shoved her head under Sakura's hand. Obligingly, Sakura gave her a quick pet before lifting her up to the bed. The pig proceeded to conduct her ritualistic inspection of Tsunade before huffing into her hair with little noises of distress and curling up at the woman's side. "Oh, Ton-Ton," Sakura whispered. "You miss her, don't you?"
Shizune set down the IV bag she'd been fiddling with. "I miss her, too. And I know you do as well."
"The whole village misses her. It's sinking without her to hold it up."
"I wouldn't go as far as to say all that." Shizune frowned as she hung the bag.
"It would have been different if Kakashi-sensei had been made Hokage."
"Don't let Kakashi-san catch you saying that. You know he dislikes it. And watch your mouth, Sakura. The walls have ears, especially in the hospital. We don't know for sure this room is safe."
Though Shizune's voice had been kind, Sakura reddened at the rebuke. "It's true, though. And it's not like that old bat doesn't know what I think of him. I've never made it a secret."
"Well, you should have," Shizune snapped, uncharacteristically blunt. "It gives him the advantage. I had to go through a lot of trouble to make sure you stayed on the hospital roster in any fashion, Sakura."
Sakura didn't argue. She couldn't. "I know," she said quietly, throat tight.
"You give him too much leverage."
Sakura leaned forward, hiding her face with her hair. "I made a mistake. I let him realise it was important to me," she croaked.
"Honestly, Sakura. You antagonise him so much I can hardly blame him. After all that time in the office with Tsunade-sama, did you learn nothing of subtlety?" The dig hurt because it was true. Of course, Tsunade-shishou wasn't understated at all in most things, but she could pull off some brilliant subterfuge when she really wanted to. When people expected straightforwardness and looked no further, one could slip a lot under their noses. Sakura knew, however, that the true master of subtlety was Shizune herself. She was a skilled manipulator, when need be, and would make an excellent spy.
Not like Sakura, who'd given away her game to Danzou so easily because she'd approached it with all the finesse of Naruto trying to perform genjutsu. Her eyes burned with tears that threatened to spill over.
"I'm sorry," whispered Sakura. "You shouldn't have to put yourself on the line for me."
Sakura was startled when Shizune knelt down to hug her. Such physical signs of affection were rare between them.
"I don't mind, Sakura," Shizune said firmly. "We're practically family, you and I. I just don't like to see you putting yourself in this position."
Sakura settled into the embrace, dazed by the frank admission. Despite all the time they spent together, there'd always been a certain distance between Tsunade's apprentices – enough that Sakura was pleasantly surprised to find that Shizune considered them close. Upon this realisation, the pinched feeling in Sakura's chest suddenly became overwhelming. A sob tore from her throat.
"I was s-so scared I wouldn't b-be allowed in here anymore," she admitted. "I think I'd die!"
Shizune moved her palm in soothing circles on Sakura's back. "I wouldn't let that happen. You're always welcome in this room, no matter what. Danzou doesn't have the right to take that privilege away."
"Of course he does. He's the Hokage, isn't he?" Sakura said bitterly, forcibly calming herself.
"But I'm the director of shinobi personnel in this hospital. You haven't done anything wrong. He only pulled you for mission duty to give the impression that you had and you know it. Mogusa's death wasn't your fault. You weren't even on his case." As she said this, Shizune straightened and started fidgeting with the knobs of one of the machines, facing away from Sakura.
"It wasn't your fault, either, Shizune," insisted Sakura.
"It was more my fault than yours."
"It was that bastard Hamada's fault. How someone of his rank can make such a rookie mistake – and get away with it –" Sakura began hotly but broke off. "Mogusa-san was going to live, after all that. He was broken and you put him back together and that idiot ruined it."
"Everyone makes mistakes, Sakura," said Shizune in a quiet voice. "And medical training was not what it should have been in Tsunade-sama's absence. You know that."
Sakura scoffed. "Even our interns know not to give painkillers to a patient with a severe lung injury!"
"Even you have made mistakes before, Sakura. People have died because of them." Sakura quieted, knowing Shizune was right. "People have died because of my mistakes as well. And the fact of the matter is that Hamada may have ordered the painkillers that weakened Mogusa's lungs, but neither of us caught it. That's on us, too."
Sakura could feel her eyes burning again, in anger, this time. "He makes a lot of those mistakes, Shizune. Too many. You've said it before yourself."
Shizune sighed. "I know. It was better when we could assign him the low-risk cases. It took care of so much grunt work.... But then Danzou insisted on promoting him."
"That stupid, corrupt—"
"Sakura!" cried Shizune, clapping a hand over her junior's mouth. "Stop it! You'll wind up dead if you're not more careful."
"Sorry," Sakura mumbled, sufficiently cowed by the scolding.
"Besides, Danzou-sama wasn't to know. Hamada's record was good, by the account of all official documents –"
"Only because we run damage control all the damn time—"
"But because of that, someone like Danzou can look at our records and be misled. It's partially our own—"
"Which is why he shouldn't be sticking his nose into hospital affairs! He has no business interfering with our infrastructure."
"He considers the hospital a symbol of Tsunade-sama's reign and it was a political ploy to—"
"I know why he did it but that doesn't make it right."
"Even so, there's nothing you can do about it, Sakura. You'd do better to stop obsessing over such things."
Sakura stayed silent, still brooding.
"Now come help me record these monitors' readings," Shizune ordered and Sakura obeyed. Operating as a well-oiled machine, they ran various tests on Tsunade's heart, brain function, chakra coils, and the rest of her body. They'd run the same tests many times but the results were always the same.
"No change," said Sakura when they were finished, voice flat.
"No," Shizune sighed. "But I'm working on some things to try. I'll let you know when I have anything substantial."
"I'll try and think of something in the mean time," added Sakura absently, distracted because she thought she'd seen Tsunade-shishou move. But no, it was just Ton-Ton that had accidentally shifted an arm.
"I have to get back to my patients. Take care of yourself, Sakura."
"You too," Sakura replied, a little bit jealous. She missed the hospital a lot more than she thought she would. It was steady – predictable, compared to the field, even though the stakes were often just as high or higher than those of high-rank missions. When Sakura was stuck in it, the routine could be tedious but she felt the absence of its comfort now.
"And watch Ton-Ton, will you? She's been too noisy today."
The pig squeaked indignantly in response and Sakura had to giggle. "Sure."
Shizune left Sakura to stare at the tubes snaking into Tsunade's mouth, to watch helplessly as her sunken chest rose and fell. She's so thin, Sakura thought for the dozenth time as she triple-checked Tsunade's nutrient intake. Even Tsunade-shishou's legendary breasts were deflated. Still bigger than mine, though, Sakura mused wryly.
Sakura simply watched her master for awhile. The relative silence was relaxing.
Ton-Ton got bored after a bit and wanted to play with Sakura, who obligingly fetched some candy from where they kept it specifically for this purpose. The little pig took a simple delight in guessing which fist the treat was hidden in; it was a game usually played with babies but Sakura figured Ton-Ton was probably close enough.
Ton-Ton didn't expect anything from Sakura except to be petted every now and then. She didn't get angry when Sakura couldn't keep up, didn't expect Sakura to know things she'd never been told, didn't forget important dates or have any pressing problems for Sakura to solve. Ton-Ton's love was unconditional and the only price was a piece of candy; she didn't run hot and cold and she was never confusing.
Sakura's musings was interrupted by the door sliding opening and a familiar call of, "Hey, Baa-chan!" Ton-Ton claimed her sweet and then ran over to Naruto with a squeal of greeting. Naruto picked her up and then turned to Sakura. "Didn't realise you would be here, Sakura-chan. I haven't seen you around lately."
"Mission," she replied simply.
"Oh yeah? What kind?" he asked with interest.
"I...." She looked away. "I had my first straight assassination mission the other day." It's not a lie, she told herself. The Nenzo mission had been the first mission she'd been assigned with the specific goal of the death of a particular target ... but it had been awhile ago now. This was another reason to hate this ANBU farce, she realised. More secrets.
Naruto was eyeing her strangely. "Oh yeah? Did he deserve it?"
"Yes. He did." Again, she couldn't quite meet his eyes. Karasuma Mabuchi may have gotten what was coming to him, but Kitagawa Mirei had only been collateral damage. Sakura wasn't sure that Naruto would understand if she told him, so she didn't.
"I've never done an assassination like that," Naruto mused.
"I don't think you'd like it. I don't think I like it," she confided quietly.
"At least it's a mission. At least it's something. How long can he keep me cooped up like this?" Naruto's voice was uncharacteristically bitter and he turned away from her as he spoke, ostensibly to inspect Tsunade's condition though it was static.
Sakura frowned. "I don't know, Naruto. Maybe Sasuke will be sighted again soon." The restrictions on Naruto's movements were really grating on him. Danzou said Naruto was needed at home for village security, and though she supposed this was true to a certain extent, the decision's basis lay in other machinations, the true intentions of which remained in the shadows. Sakura didn't want to say it, but Naruto was lucky he was even allowed to remain on Team Kakashi, which was only assembled in specific circumstances that were almost always related to Sasuke. If Naruto were anyone else, he wouldn't get even this concession.
"Maybe he won't. Sasuke's hiding, the coward."
"You ought to be glad he's hiding. If he weren't, he'd be dead." With Naruto facing the bed, Sakura was in perfect position to see how his whole profile stiffened at her words. "Everyone's out for Sasuke's blood now...." she whispered.
"I won't let him die, Sakura-chan. I promised."
Her temper suddenly flared. "I told you to forget about that promise! We said we'd get him back together, Naruto. For both of us and Kaka-sensei too. And Ino and – and everyone! If you're only doing this because you think I'm still the same person I was back then, then you can just forget about the whole – "
"I'm sorry." His face was soft and open, now, as he turned back to her. "I'm sorry."
What is he sorry for? What does he have to be sorry for? she wondered. Before she could stop herself, a question slipped out of her mouth that she'd meant to keep to herself. "If it comes down to your life or his, you know he's not worth dying for, don't you?"
His eyes widened in shock and Ton-Ton wiggled in his arms. "Sakura-chan...."
"I mean it, Naruto. Whatever happens, you're the one that can't die. What would Konoha do if we lost you? Who would be the next Hokage then?"
"You know how I feel about that. If I can't save even one friend...."
"You've saved many friends. Besides, what would Shishou do if you didn't come in to talk to her every day? And what would Hinata do without you?" What would I do without you?
There had been a brief time when she would have been secure enough to speak that last thought out loud but that time had passed. He didn't belong to her. He had others who needed him more than she did.
Naruto faltered. "I...." The look in his eyes said that he sensed what she'd left unsaid, but she couldn't be sure. There were times when she was positive that he understood her completely and she him, but then there were those vital moments rued by miscommunication....
Taking pity on him, she reached over and pried Ton-Ton out of his grip before they drowned in awkwardness. "You were squeezing her too tightly."
"Sorry," he said, seizing the distraction and relinquishing the pig with an apologetic pat to her little head. She huffed indignantly but nuzzled him anyway. Like her master, Ton-Ton could forgive Naruto anything.
And just like that, Naruto switched gears. He plopped down heavily in the chair and started prattling on to Tsunade about his day as per usual. He told her what he had done in training, what Hinata's father had said to him, what stupid thing he'd seen Sai do, what funny joke his new best buddies Kiba and Shino had told him, what new way he'd found to embarrass Hinata in the most adorable way. Hinata, Hinata, Hinata, Hinata. It was every other word out of his mouth and even the things that didn't directly involve her showed her influence.
Sakura listened quietly if a bit absently, strangely finding the rise and fall of his strident voice just as soothing as the room's previous silence. She snapped out of it when she realised Naruto was calling her name.
"Sakura-chan, are you listening to me?"
"Sorry. What is it?"
"I asked if you wanted to grab dinner with me. It's getting late and I'm sort of hungry."
"Oh!" It had been so long since the days of Naruto pestering her for dates that she'd forgotten what it felt like. "Sure," she answered, a smile creeping onto her face. "Where are we going?"
"I don't know. I told Hina-chan she could choose. She probably won't pick ramen since we had it for lunch," he bemoaned with a boyish pout.
"Oh. Right." Sakura felt as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her. "Actually, I just remembered I made plans with Ino before my mission.... You just go with Hinata. I wouldn't want to intrude on your date anyway."
Naruto frowned. "I don't mind. Really, I haven't seen you for awhile, so why don't you—"
Shaking her head, Sakura declined. "What do you mean? I've seen you just now. It would be rude of me to go without checking with Ino first. She's probably still expecting me."
"Okay, I guess. Tell Ino I said hey, then."
"Sure. Tell Hinata I said hello as well."
Sakura swept out of the room, leaving a slightly bewildered Naruto behind. From her arms, Ton-Ton grunted her displeasure at being carried away from Tsunade-shishou, but Sakura couldn't stay there forever. It was the second Friday of the month and she really did have plans with Ino, though she might have invented some if she hadn't. Another ugly truth was that playing the third wheel to Naruto and Hinata was one of Sakura's least favourite activities.
The prime hour of evening was just beginning to descend upon the streets of Konoha. People were out and about, bustling along in their daily business. Sakura weaved through the crowd, quickly covering the relatively short distance between the hospital and the shinobi residential section. Here, the roofs were flat-topped, some even lightly furnished, for the building tops here were a highway used just as often as the packed earthen street below.
Sakura liked the open, "anything goes" sort of feeling to this part of town, where the houses, though tightly packed together and structurally identical, each had some distinguishing feature that said something about its owner. In the boring civilian sector, all Sakura's house had to set it apart was its dinky little balcony. She sighed, stopping in front of Ino's residence. It was practical but attractive, individualised by the roof gardens and colourful flowers spilling over painted pots secured on specially designed window sills.
Sakura rapped out a brief staccato rhythm on the door before she could chicken out and then stood, fidgeting somewhat gauchely, as she waited for someone to answer.
Before too long, the door swung open, revealing Yamanaka Inoichi in civvies with his hair hanging loose. In his own house, he looked so relaxed, with a small smile playing upon his lips – that is, until he spotted Sakura, and then the smile froze, no longer sincere.
"Hello, Inoichi-san," she greeted meekly. "Is Ino in?"
"No, I'm afraid not," he answered, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Oh, I.... It's the second Friday, is all. Did she already leave, then?"
"I guess your girl's night is cancelled. Sorry." With a nod, he moved to close the door, but she put a hand out to stop him.
"Inoichi-san, I have to ask if you've given any thought to the request I made of you."
"I have," he answered warily, leaving the door halfway shut as if to guard himself. "My decision still stands."
"But why?" Sakura cried, passion suddenly leaking into her voice. "All she has to do is change specialties! If you teach her that jutsu, they'll be begging to have her—"
"Torture and Interrogation is no fit specialty for a young girl, no matter the circumstances," said Inoichi, fighting to keep his words even-tempered.
"Is that so, Inoichi-senpai?" hissed Sakura angrily.
"That's so," he said resolutely, deliberately looking down to meet her eyes. "Not all decisions—" His lip curled into ever so slight a sneer, and Sakura's spine stiffened as he continued, "—are up to me, but this one is. You don't know a damn thing about 'that jutsu'. It's not a simple tool, to be used or not on a whim. It's – the raping of minds, and not just the victim's, but the user's as well. I won't have my daughter subjected to such a thing."
"You'd rather her endure the real thing, then?" Sakura snapped without thinking.
Inoichi's eyes widened as if he'd been stabbed. He looked about a decade older than when he'd started arguing with her. Feeling terrible, Sakura slid her eyelids closed and breathed deeply to recollect herself.
"I.... I'm so—" she began, but was interrupted by a distant call of, "Daddy? Is that you? Who are you talking to?"
Sakura's eyes flew back to his face, all sympathy gone. "Already out, is she?"
His jaw clenched. "It was kinder than saying she didn't want to see you."
And then Ino was visible as she clunked down the stairs, garden shears in hand. Looking up, she froze upon seeing who was at the door. "Oh. It's you."
Sakura said nothing, only watched as Ino carefully removed her gardening gloves and lay them aside.
"What?" Ino asked sarcastically. "Coming to check if I'm prepping for my new job? That's what you want, right?"
"Ino, that was never what I intended—"
"Tell me, Sakura. What else could you have possibly meant by suggesting that I work full time at my family's flower shop when we open it back up?"
"Only as a stop-gap measure! Only until we can find a way to—"
"You think I'm hopeless. You think I should give up." Ino's blue eyes were as hard as diamonds as they bored into Sakura.
"I don't," insisted Sakura. Putting just enough chakra behind it to ensure success, she shoved open the front door and stormed past an enraged Inoichi.
"Haruno Sakura!" he spluttered. "You were not invited into this residence and I'll thank you kindly to leave at once!"
She ignored him, gently dropping Ton-Ton so she could place a forceful hand on each of Ino's tensed shoulders.
"You listen here, Yamanaka Ino! I won't have you questioning me like that."
Ino gasped furiously, trying unsuccessfully to throw Sakura off. "You won't have me –? You – you – !"
"You never once gave up on me, so why should I choose now to start giving up on you?"
Ino stopped protesting, jaw dropping in shock.
"We'll figure this out," Sakura promised in a throaty whisper. "I don't know how, yet, but we will. He can't win forever."
After a period of strained silence apart from heavy breathing, Ino brought two shaking hands up to cradle her head. A broken sob ripped from deep in her chest. "Okay," she murmured. "Okay." She tugged away, and this time, Sakura let her arms fall limply back to her sides as Ino took some privacy to wipe her face. When she turned back around, shoulders squared and stance steady, Sakura spotted a welcome glimmer of the Ino she'd grown up with. "Forehead, did you seriously just let a pig into my house?" Ino demanded.
"You mean besides you? I guess I did. She's cuter than you, too," taunted Sakura. "Ton-Ton!" The little animal had squirreled away somewhere, not being fond of any sort of yelling or histrionics, but she ran out to the sound of her name, sensing the shift in atmosphere. Sakura scooped her up and held her out to Ino. "See? Cute as a button!"
Deftly, Ino dodged the incoming pig. "Gross! Get it away from me!"
"Aw, come on, Ino-pig. Shouldn't you be fonder of your namesake?"
"Shut up, Billboard Brow! I bet it's dirty." From the relative safety of behind the stair guardrail, Ino shuddered.
Ton-Ton squealed in indignation. "She's very clean," assured Sakura. "We bathe her once a day, you know. Now, are you coming to dinner or not?"
"I'm meeting the others soon." Shifting her eyes guiltily, Ino added, "I didn't know you'd be back."
Sakura's lips drew into a thin line at the hedging insinuation. "Of course." She sighed. "I shouldn't have said that, about the flower shop. I knew it as soon as it came out of my mouth."
At the apology, Ino's eyes softened. "I didn't mean you couldn't come along, you know, silly Forehead. It's still the second Friday."
Smiling, Sakura quipped, "Want to carry Ton-Ton there? My arms are getting sort of tired."
Ino turned her nose up and said, "Not a chance. And you have to brush your hair before we go anywhere. It's all mussed. What did you do, sleep on it wet?"
Scowling, Sakura took the pro-offered comb that Ino had procured from a hidden pocket and dragged the teeth through her slightly gnarled hair. "Satisfied?"
Ino just smirked and tucked away the comb again on her person. "Let's go, then!" she trilled, linking arms with Sakura and leading her past an entirely bewildered Inoichi. "'Bye, Daddy!"

Ino and Sakura slid into a booth opposite Tenten.
Sakura couldn't bring herself to look around at the layout of the restaurant, which she'd never seen before. "So this is the new soba joint, huh?"
"Yeah, and it's much better than that old one! It – " Ino quieted at Sakura's sudden wince. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't even think—"
"About what?" piped up Tenten, looking between them in curiosity.
"Nothing," stated Sakura curtly. "It's nothing. Is anyone else coming, Ino? You said 'others'."
Patting Sakura's shoulder apologetically, Ino answered, "Only Hinata. She's running a little late, I guess."
Sakura snorted. "Don't count on her showing up."
"What do you mean? Is she not coming?" asked Tenten. "She didn't say anything about cancelling."
Rolling her eyes, Sakura explained, "Naruto is under the impression that they're going out for dinner tonight, which means that as soon as he suggests it, they'll be going out for dinner tonight. Trust me."
"I see," said Tenten thoughtfully, with a small frown. "That's not very considerate of her."
"It's disgusting is what it is!" asserted Ino, slapping a palm down on the table for emphasis. "They're all over each other. It's completely ridiculous. When the men eventually split, she won't have anyone but us, unless that useless family of hers comes through, so—"
"They're not that useless," Sakura grumbled. "If you'll recall, they're the reason she's the only one of us who can skip this, legally."
It was Tenten's turn to grimace. "Well, that's true enough. I wish we were all that fortunate."
"Me too," agreed Sakura. "Besides, Ino, Naruto will never leave her, so she doesn't have to worry about that. If she wants out, she'll have to do it herself."
"Come on!" Ino scoffed incredulously. "Like he's not going to save the world one day or something and have all the women hanging off of him. As if a wallflower like her could stand up to—"
"Naruto's different," snapped Sakura. "He's committed. For him, this is it. He doesn't go back on his word like that."
"What about his word to you, then? Didn't he claim to love you once?" Ino's eyes were blazing the way they always did when she caught scent of something interesting. "So, according to you, he doesn't go back, so he still loves you, right? If that's so, then what the hell's he doing with Hinata?"
"No, he never said that," Sakura said quietly, looking down at her lap. "He's not the type for empty words. And don't you dare badmouth him again. I mean it." She imbued the last of her words with steel and Ino, sensing confrontation, immediately put her heckles up and opened her mouth to respond.
"Alright, you two," interjected Tenten wearily. "Second Fridays are bad enough without your bickering making it worse. So Hinata's not coming. Fine. Let's move on. We missed you last month, Sakura. Where were you?"
"Mission!" she said happily. "Lucked out. I almost got lucky today, too. Just got back this afternoon."
"You've been doing a lot of missions lately," Tenten observed. "What sort?"
"Assassinations," Sakura answered blandly, some of her cheer evaporating. She didn't miss Ino's sharp inhalation of breath, either. "Not that kind, though," she assured, but guilt forced her to amend, "Well, not all of them, anyway."
"Sakura, did you lose it yet?" Ino demanded abruptly. "You swore you would."
"I – not yet," she lied glibly. "I will."
"When? You might have been lucky so far, but it won't last forever. Please," Ino pleaded, suddenly tearing up, "what happened to me can't happen to you. It just can't."
"I don't think losing my virginity with some random loser will be any better, though," Sakura sighed.
Tenten shook her head. "Ino's right. It's much better that way than your first time being for a mission – or worse, like Ino."
"You lost it on a mission," Sakura accused.
"I was twelve." Tenten shrugged. "It's different for me. The point of those missions was to be inexperienced. I was supposed to be scared. He got off on it, and I got information off him."
Sakura's blood ran cold, listening to Tenten describe such a thing so casually.
"By the time I was assigned the more normal sort, I had enough experience from before to do the job. But for you.... Sakura, it's dangerous to go out in the field like you are. You could be killed." Tenten's dark eyes pierced hers, seemingly searching for something.
"I know," whispered Sakura. God, do I know, she thought, passing off a shudder as a chill. She gripped the edge of the booth so hard her knuckles turned white.
"Promise me, Sakura," Ino insisted. "Promise me you'll do it for real this time. Even if you are – like me," she faltered, and Sakura's brows furrowed.
"Say it, Ino. Say it out loud. Like you in what way?"
Ino averted her gaze. "Even if you were to be ... raped," she choked out, "I think it wouldn't be as bad, if you could – if you had some sort of other memory you could associate it with, later. One that wasn't all bad. Maybe you could even turn out, you know, normal. Lots of kunoichi do."
Sakura frowned. "There's nothing wrong with you, Ino. Not one thing, do you hear me?"
Still, Ino wouldn't meet her eyes. Before Sakura could say anything else, the waitress turned up. She was about their age, but sporting too much makeup and overly styled hair.
"Welcome to The Soba Shack. May I – Wait, is there a pig under the table? Eep!" she squawked, shuffling frantically as Ton-Ton had apparently taken a liking to the girl's sparkly shoes.
Weakly, Sakura smiled up at her in a way she hoped was charming. "No?"

A/N: The mystery of Mogusa's death is finally resolved, somewhat. If you still have questions about it ... well, you should. Good things come to those who wait.
I have a feeling that this turn of events will satisfy some people, but though I am obviously setting the stage for something, don't assume everything will go as you expect! :]
- 7
- 8
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