Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Underneath The Leaves	By : ChaCha92 Category: Naruto AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 4798 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Don't own anything in the Naruto universe. Some dude in Japan does. Make no money on my stories either.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Life got busier for the members of the reformed Team Kakashi. Fluid teamwork lead to high mission success rates, making them the highest revenue earners for the village. As a result, Tsunade assigns them more high ranked missions, resulting in making their personal time non-existent.
That doesn’t mean certain members don’t try squeezing in what they can, especially for the sake of existing relationships. After two serious discussions, Naruto decides to continue dating Genma, much to the irritation of some of her friends. She knows he carries a lot of emotional baggage, but is willing to make the effort, understanding it’s all on his shoulders.
The investigation into the Uchiha massacre continues plodding along. Now that they aren’t dealing with classified documents, Sakura becomes more involved in the research with Sasuke’s permission. They spend a lot of time meticulously going through all the records, searching for anything that looks like a revolt was planned. However, after nearly four months they turn up nothing. After going through every scrap of paper in the main house there isn’t even a hint a civil war was going to break out in the streets of Konoha.
Sasuke is especially frustrated by their lack of progress. The chilly November weather outside echoes his bitter sentiment at not being able to prove or disprove the Uchiha clan’s guilt.
“Are these all the documents belonging to the entire clan?” Naruto asks, breaking him out of his brooding while snapping the file folder in her hands shut.
Reaching over, she stuffs it back into the file box sitting on the kotatsu in his living room. The darkening shadows outside belie the mid afternoon time as all four teammates finish gathering the remaining files spread out on the tabletop they had settled around to work.
“Everything regarding the clan in the main house,” he replies absently.
Pausing in their cleanup, Naruto and Kakashi gape at him dumbstruck. Sakura looks between the two in confusion while Sasuke arches a questioning brow at them.
“Are you saying there are records elsewhere? Like in the homes of the other clan members?” Naruto prods.
“Of course,” Sasuke replies as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “The main house took care of all business relating to the clan as a whole. Otherwise, each family handled their own affairs.”
“We should check the documents in each household then,” Kakashi muses as Naruto nods her agreement.
Sasuke and Sakura look at them both as if they’re crazy.
“That seems like an unnecessary amount of work,” Sakura points out reasonably. “If the clan was planning a coup, the files should’ve been in the main house. The clan head would’ve been in on it and kept all information under his control. Allowing it to be anywhere else would’ve been too risky.”
Putting the last of the files in her hand in the box Naruto considers her words.
“What if it wasn’t the entire clan?” she wonders. “What if it was only a small group of Uchiha or just a couple of members?”
Kakashi nods, picking up her line of thought.
“If that were the case, they certainly wouldn’t share their plans with everyone, especially if they were in the minority.”
“Any wayward members would’ve kept any incriminating evidence close by to avoid discovery,” Naruto continues. “So, it’s possible we might find something worthwhile in one of the other households in the district.”
Tilting her head, Sakura considers their reasoning.
“It’s a possibility, but it seems like a long shot.”
Sasuke remains silent during the entire exchange, allowing their words to wash over him before finally deciding to speak.
“Long shot or not, we’ve come this far; might as well go all the way.”
“We should start with the Uchiha names we’ve uncovered so far,” Kakashi suggests. “It may not simply a case of their names being used illegally after their deaths. It’s possible they may have been part of a conspiracy. They just continued being useful dead.”
“What names?” Sakura asks in confusion since she wasn’t involved in that portion of the investigation.
“It’s getting late and we have to report to Tsunade’s office early in the morning for our next mission, so the explanation will have to wait until we get back, Sakura,” Kakashi smiles.
Sakura pouts as she grudgingly nods her agreement and they all finish cleaning up to call it an early night.
Not bothering to stop by her home, Sakura heads straight to Danzo’s mansion. She’s not surprised to see Sai sitting with Danzo in his office when she arrives.
“I’ve got some new information for you,” she explains at his questioning brow.
Without hesitation she updates him regarding the new direction the Uchiha massacre investigation is heading. When she finishes, Danzo sits in silent contemplation for several minutes before finally looking at his two subordinates.
“I was certain the investigation was about to end since all leads have been exhausted. Despite that, I did consider possibility the focus would shift to the Uchiha clan archives, but I was not concerned. I knew they would not find anything in the main house. However, I too had not considered the homes of the other clan members. It is possible there may be incriminating documents in those households.”
“Since Team Kakashi will be out on a mission starting tomorrow, it’s the perfect time for Root to check all the Uchiha homes and destroy any evidence,” Sakura suggests.
Danzo shakes his head.
“I know which households they are likely to start searching first based on the names they have uncovered going through the council records. However, doing what you suggest is too obvious. They have not even revealed to you the names they will be checking, so it would be too coincidental if the documents from those homes suddenly turn up missing.”
Danzo Pauses a few moments to lean back in his chair.
“I doubt there is anything truly incriminating in those homes. Let us see what they uncover as it is possible it could be advantageous. Meanwhile, we will seize the opportunity to take out the vessel permanently. Sai will shadow Team Kakashi and kill her when the chance presents itself. All I know of the mission is that it is an ‘S’ rank. I have my suspicions, but will not know more until morning. For now, you are dismissed, Sai.”
Sai bows leaving Sakura alone with Danzo.
“Sakura, I have another patient for you to kill.”
“Great,” Sakura replies cheerfully before becoming serious again. “I have to become more creative with my kills. So far I’ve pinned the blame on someone else by making it look like an accident or an allergic reaction, but the deaths are attracting attention. From what I’ve heard from that naggy bitch Shizune, the old hag only noticed a couple of kills but hasn’t connected them. The deaths are troubling her.”
Danzo mulls this over before giving Sakura her orders.
“Proceed with the kill. After that, we will have to ease up for awhile.”
Sakura glowers at Danzo, who holds her gaze unperturbed.
“We cannot afford to have you attract unwanted attention. You will wait until things cool down before you can start killing again.”
Sakura continues pouting until an idea occurs to her, lighting up her face.
“Not all kills have to be in the hospital, y’know. Some patients fail to follow their medic’s advice after they’ve been discharged,” she grins at Danzo wickedly.
Danzo considers it.
“I shall keep that in mind.”
In the pre-dawn hours Team Kakashi assembles in Tsunade’s office. Lining up at attention before their leader as she sits behind her desk, they are surprised by what she has for them.
“After dismissal, you will be departing as soon as you have your gear assembled for a ‘S’ rank mission,” the blonde begins without preamble. “Three days ago an ANBU by the name of Ayashida Mayuko went missing, taking with her a top-secret list of Konoha friendly civilian contacts in various enemy territories.”
Surprise ripples through the team. Kakashi’s gaze hardens while Naruto looks appalled that one of their own would dare betray Konoha.
“The civilians on the list Mayuko stole aren’t spies embedded deep in the upper echelons of their local governments or even a significant part of Jiraiya’s network,” Tsunade continues. “However, they provide basic info on events in their homeland as well as aid Konoha shinobi should they need help. I don’t want to repay their loyalty with betrayal.”
Tsunade pauses to reach down into a drawer in her desk, bringing out a manila folder. Flipping open, she summarizes the contents.
“Ibiki and his team discovered that Mayuko was offered a very lucrative job working for Sakurogi Kakeru, a prominent Fire country businessman. Kakeru has great political aspirations. He made a deal with Mayuko to steal the list in exchange for a well paying job and shelter from hunter nins. Funding political goals aren’t cheap, so he intends to sell the information on the black market regardless of the consequences.”
“Why didn’t she steal something more lucrative, like the identities of deep cover spies?” Sasuke interrupts. “Those civilian names will bring in some money, but not much.”
“Because Kakeru wants to keep the risk to himself to a minimum,” Tsunade explains. “He knows those civilian names won’t be as high a priority as a deep cover spy or high-ranking snitch. However, money is money and he recognizes the benefits of having a former ANBU on his payroll.”
“Still a dumbass move on Kakeru’s part,” Naruto snorts. “It was possible you may not have sent anyone to retrieve the list, but any idiot knows we’re not going to let a ANBU level rogue nin running loose for long if we can help it. Especially not in our own backyard.”
“Mayuko probably convinced him the list was worth a lot of money and it would be a clean theft that wouldn’t be traced,” Kakashi points out. “Kakeru probably understands business better than shinobi matters.”
Tsunade nods as she closes the file.
“Your mission is to retrieve, if possible, the contact list. If retrieval isn’t possible you are to destroy it. Although, I’d like for you to take care of Kakeru, you can’t. He’s too well connected. However, Kakashi and Naruto have the separate mission of eliminating Mayuko, no apprehensions.”
“I chose Team Kakashi to handle this volatile situation because of your two ANBU members. I normally wouldn’t send Sakura and Sasuke along, but I want this taken care of as quickly and quietly as possible. Naruto and Kakashi need to take care of Mayuko and I don’t have any other ANBU available to handle the retrieval.” Tsunade levels her intense gaze at Sasuke and Sakura. “I feel you both are more than capable of handling the retrieval. However, you cannot afford to fail or be caught. The delicacy of this situation is such it can’t be known that Konoha is involved.” Tsunade pauses for everyone’s acknowledgement. “Assemble your gear and be out of here within the hour. Dismissed.”
Within a half an hour Team Kakashi is geared up and well on their way to the northern borders of Fire country where their target resides. It normally takes four days to make it to the northern borders, but they plan on pushing hard to make the trip in two. Winter arrived early this year and the skies have been overcast for days, promising more snow. Their journey is uneventful and they arrive on schedule by dusk the second day.
Kakashi separates the team, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to wait for him and Naruto at a teahouse in the nearest village. Flitting among the shadows they duck into a bathhouse to change into their ANBU uniforms before leaving the village again.
The moonless night provides perfect cover while they race fifteen kilometers away. Outside of Kakeru’s solitary, palatial estate they arrive at small clearing in the forest. Patiently they wait until a heavily cloaked figure enters the area. Hound moves in to intercept while Ermine remains hidden. When he makes his presence known, the cloaked figure turns towards him.
“The leaf dances in the golden fire,” he states, stopping a couple of meters away.
“Only to be cooled by a silvering gale,” a female voice drifts from the hood.
Nodding, Hound signals Ermine promptly joins them, nodding at the figure in greeting. The three crowd in closer so they can speak low to avoid being heard.
“At Jiraiya’s request, I have more information to aid your mission,” the cloaked female states. “From what I’ve gathered Kakeru hasn’t sold the contact list yet. He’s aware Konoha will be searching for it and Mayuko and decided to wait for things to cool down before traveling to the nearest black market in Wind.”
“Is Mayuko hiding within the estate or is she elsewhere?” Hound asks.
“On the estate,” the contact confirms. “She is currently hiding in a servant’s cottage on the far southeast corner of the grounds surrounded by a large copse. It is the most secluded structure on the property. She doesn’t venture outside and few servants outside of a designated pair who deliver her food and supplies are even aware she is there.”
Reaching into her cloak the contact draws out a scroll and hands it to Hound.
“Inside is a detailed layout of the property,” she explains. “The list is secured in a wall safe hidden behind an ornately carved panel in the headboard of his bed in the master chambers. It’s located on the second floor in the middle of the south side of the building. Kakeru runs on a strict schedule. He rises at dawn leaves for his office in the village after breakfast and returns by five every evening. He eats dinner right at seven before retiring to his private chambers for the rest of the night, rarely leaving his rooms again. Throughout the day there will be servants randomly entering his chambers to clean and do anything else he requests. There’s no set schedule but they tend to tidy up right after he leaves.”
“Are there any patrolling guards we have to watch out for?” Hound asks.
“No,” the contact confirms with a shake of her head. “That is why he is so willing to shelter Mayuko, to have a fully trained kunoichi on his payroll as his personal security.”
“Thank you,” Hound states with a bow.
The contact bows in return before slipping away. Hound and Ermine disappear from the clearing, racing back to the village to change and retrieve Sasuke and Sakura. Within an hour Kakashi leads his team to a cave he and Naruto found deep in the forest on the way to meet their contact not far from the estate.
Once camp is set up they assemble around the fire for the next portion of their debriefing. Kakashi kneels down and unfurls the map in front of his subordinates.
“Alright, Sasuke and Sakura, you will infiltrate the estate grounds from the north before dawn,” he explains, pointing on the map. “Wait for Kakeru to leave for the day before making entry through one of the upper floor windows on the north side of the mansion. Make your way to the master bedroom on the south side.”
“Will we be encountering more than a couple servants at that time of day?” Sasuke asks.
“Yes,” Kakashi nods. “According to our contact there’s no defined schedule, but they tend to clean Kakeru’s chambers after he leaves, so you may have to wait until the room is clear. Once inside the master bedroom you’ll find the list inside a safe hidden behind a panel of the headboard. It’s probably a small, non-descript scroll.”
“Traps? Sasuke arches a brow.
“Not likely. Nor are there likely any protective seals in place. Mayuko is unskilled in seals and probably only used a typical ANBU sensing seal on the bedroom windows to alert her of any intruders. Once you retrieve the list, exit through those windows. By the time she’s alerted of the breach and goes to investigate you two should already be more than halfway across the compound.”
“Why not sneak back out undetected through another part of the building?” Sakura asks in confusion.
“To make our job easier by drawing her out in the open,” Kakashi smiles. Becoming serious again, he continues. “A strong snowstorm is expected sometime tomorrow. It’s good cover, but you both need to be careful. Watches are split between you two. Sakura will take the first and Sasuke the rest. Naruto and I will rest for a few hours before leaving to commence our portion of the mission. We will rendezvous back here by sunset tomorrow. Understood?”
“Hai!” the three younger ninjas acknowledge before breaking up for the night.
Sakura exits the cave and makes herself comfortable on the broad bough of a tree near the entrance while everyone else settles inside for the night. Nearly two hours later Sai perches in the bough above her. She quietly outlines the plan to him. When she finishes Sai takes his turn to debrief her.
“Mayuko is a Root member who stole the list under Danzo-sama’s orders,” he explains. “Kakeru paid to get his hands on the list believing it will bring more money on the black market. Danzo-sama wanted a chance to embarrass the Godaime.”
“Mayuko’s Root?” Sakura asks in shock. Sai nods. “How the fuck could she be so careless and get busted?”
“Mayuko wasn’t one of our best operatives,” Sai shrugs. “Danzo-sama leaked more details to Tsunade-sama, hoping she’ll clean up the mess. He knew she’d only trust her most loyal lap dogs for this assignment. Mayuko believes Danzo-sama has given her a chance to redeem herself by killing Naruto, but we are to finish her off on the remote chance she survives Kakashi and Naruto.”
Sakura ponders the information for a moment.
“I wonder if I should botch the retrieval.”
“It doesn’t concern Danzo-sama if the list stays in Kakeru’s possession,” Sai calmly explains. “He got what he paid for and it’s his to keep or lose. I will be meeting with Mayuko when we are finished here. She will think I’m assisting her in killing Naruto.”
Rolling her eyes, Sakura mutters, “What an idiot.”
Sai smiles before disappearing into the inky darkness.
Hours later Naruto and Kakashi awaken. Collecting their gear then quietly slip outside into the inky blackness without a word to Sakura. Two hours later Sasuke takes his shift allowing Sakura to rest.
Stopping in a secluded area of the forest a couple of kilometers from the estate, Kakashi and Naruto stop to silently change again into their ANBU uniforms. She pins her hair into a tight bun before covering it with a black hairnet to obscure the color then dons her brand new Ermine mask.
Once ready, they crouch low together to confer for a few minutes before departing to assess the area surrounding the estate. When finished they return to stealthily infiltrate the grounds, taking up separate positions to observe the cottage from the shadows as the new day slowly approaches.
It’s still dark when Sasuke wakes Sakura. They change into white or off-white clothing and Sakura wraps her head in a cream colored scarf before quickly breaking camp and heading for the estate.
Separately they sneak onto the grounds to reduce the risk of detection and rendezvous at a gardener’s shed near the main house. Checking the area to make sure it’s clear they steal up to the west side of the house before wall walking to the roof. Making their way north they conceal themselves in the shadow of a chimney to wait for Kakeru to leave for the day.
Slowly the sun creeps over the horizon as the estate gradually comes alive. Eventually they witness Kakeru leave the estate like clockwork.
Waiting until mid-morning, they creep toward the side of the house where Sakura casts a camouflage genjutsu over them and both wall walk down. Cautiously peering into the windows they check to see if anyone is inside. Noting it’s clear Sasuke carefully unlocks the window and opens it while Sakura scans the vicinity to see if they’ve drawn any attention from the few passerby on the grounds below.
The wind is already picking up and anyone daring to brave the frigid temperatures outside rush to complete their business before returning indoors. Once they enter the room, Sakura shuts and locks the window while Sasuke moves to listen at door to the hallway.
Hearing footsteps approaching, both disappear into the shadows. The door opens and a maid enters, crossing over to the window.
“Damn, drafty old houses,” she grumbles to herself, shivering in the cool air.
Opening the window she leans out and pulls the storm shutters tightly closed. Just as she closes the window another servant enters the room.
“Can you help me downstairs?” he asks.
“I was about to go clean the master’s chambers,” the maid answers him in slight irritation.
“We need to prepare for the coming storm before the master returns home,” he insists.
“Oh, alright,” she agrees reluctantly. “As long as you return the favor and help me clean his chambers or there’ll be hell to pay.”
“Sure,” he agrees as they both walk out.
After the door closes, Sakura and Sasuke emerge from the shadows. Listening again at the door for any passerby, they cautiously open it to peer into the dimly lit hallway. Seeing it’s clear, Sakura steals down to the end first to peer around the corner of another corridor.
Joining her, Sasuke activates his eyes and leans around her to check for any traps before nodding to continue. As they approach another junction they hear voices coming from the opposite direction. Climbing the walls towards the ceiling and Sakura casts another genjutsu to blend them in with the shadows.
“I’m telling you we need to bring more firewood into the master’s chambers. The weather is already worsening,” one man argues.
“Fine,” the other man huffs irritably. “But we better hurry and get everything done fast because the master is going to come home early because of the weather.”
“Yeah,” the first man agrees as they disappear around a corner.
Silently, Sakura and Sasuke share a look. The clock is ticking. Climbing down, they hurry to the master bedroom. Listening at the door they don’t hear anything before slipping inside and locking the door behind them.
Sakura stands guard at the door while Sasuke crosses the clothing littered floor and climbs onto the messy bed. Activating his Sharingan he scans the windows first, confirming what Kakashi told them. There is a sensor seal on the windows. Focusing on the panel in the headboard he opens it and examines the safe. There are no traps and it’s secured by a simple combination lock. Carefully turning the dial clockwise, he watches when it hitches on certain numbers before turning it counterclockwise to repeat the process.
Less than a minute later the safe opens after the final clockwise turn. Shifting through the contents his finds the scroll, but his eyes falls on another document. Picking it up, he glances at it. Red eyes widen slightly when he realizes it’s a receipt for payment for the list. It doesn’t say to whom the payment was made, but it’s clear that it was made to someone in Konoha.
“Did you find the list yet?” Sakura hisses impatiently from her position by the door.
Sasuke nods as he closes the safe. Climbing off the bed he pockets the scroll and the receipt. Leaving her post Sakura joins him by the window. Before exiting both henge themselves to look like Sound nins per Naruto’s half-jokingly made suggestion in case anyone spots them.
Slipping out through the window they head to the roof. Moving back towards the northern end of the house, they leap down to a nearby tree before leaping again to the roof of a nearby gardener’s shed. Dropping to the ground they keep to the shadows, moving from structure to structure towards the outer boundaries of the estate.
The weather is worsening and snow has begun to fall in flurries with the sky when they reach the last shed where a wide expanse of snow lays between them and a three-meter high hall.
Directing chakra to their feet both step cautiously onto the snow. Snow is more difficult to walk on than any other substance as it’s a delicate combination of water and air, but they need to leave as little evidence of their little visit as possible. When they achieve the right balance, both take off running towards the wall. Leaping before they even reach it they land effortlessly onto the wall, vaulting gracefully into the trees without touching the ground again.
The sensor seals on the windows did alert Ayashida Mayuko that Kakeru’s room was breached. Frowning at the implication, she quickly dresses in her ANBU uniform. Sai informed her last Ermine and Hound were coming to eliminate her, but advised she had days until they arrive.
Mentally she reviews Sai’s instructions from Danzo-sama. She is to maintain her working relationship with Kakeru by eliminating Ermine with assistance from Sai. Hound is not to be killed, but harmed enough to force his return to Konoha.
Now in addition to killing a powerful ANBU, she has to retrieve the list or she won’t be able to maintain her relationship with Kakeru like Danzo-sama wants.
Tying on her Crow mask she strides over to the window. Sliding it open, she leaps out and races towards the main house. Her path is blocked by two cloaked hunter nins wearing generic, painted masks with two more rapidly approaching her flanks in an attempt to surround her. Reacting quickly, she changes directions and charges full speed towards the outer wall, leaping effortlessly over it.
Glancing briefly behind her, Crow notices all four hunter nins closing in fast. Flying back and forth from tree to tree, she produces four kunai with explosive tags attached. Without looking, she tosses a kunai just ahead of each of her flanking pursuers then tosses the other two directly behind her. Speeding through the trees, she doesn’t spare a glance to see if any of her pursuers survive the explosions.
Changing directions again she travels a couple more kilometers before stopping within a thick copse. Pulling her cloak around herself tighter, the missing nin scans the area for any sign of her pursuers. The sky has darkened considerably and the snow is coming down harder.
A net flies at her out of nowhere. Barely dodging it she sprints in another direction, heading for an isolated pond nearby. As the pond comes into view, one of the hunter nin maneuvers ahead and engages Crow. The fight is brief. She deftly slips behind and snaps his neck. Before the body hits the ground, it poofs out of existence. She barely registers it’s a Kage Bunshin before she’s fighting another hunter. It takes a little longer, but she stabs this one in the throat, causing the hunter disappear in a small cloud of smoke.
Racing towards the pond, Crow vaguely wonders if the last two are also Kage Bunshin. If they are, that means her real pursuers are hiding. Waiting.
She almost reaches the pond when another nin appears ahead of her. Dropping down into a small clearing to face them, Crow senses another presence drop down behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she sees the last one. These two are likely the real hunters.
Dodging another net, she leaps towards the nearest tree. Maneuvering her body into position, her legs bend against the trunk to absorb her momentum as she rebounds toward one of the hunter nin, drawing her ninjato in one fluid motion. The clang of metal is barely heard amidst the fierce, raging winds as both opponents cross blades. Springing away, Mayuko rebounds off another trunk to cross swords in midair again. Before their blades connect, she twists around behind her pursuer and drives the tip of her blade home through the heart. Again the nin disappears into smoke.
Landing before the last remaining hunter, she opens her senses to scan the area for any other chakra signatures. Either this last one is another Kage Bunshin, or there may be another hunter hiding out amongst the deepening snowdrifts.
Only one way to find out.
Crow charges. This one proves to be far more skilled with a blade. Finding it difficult to keep on top of the deepening snow, she attempts to take to the trees only to be blocked by the striking blade of her opponent. Bringing her blade up quickly she uses the force from blocking their thrust to leap backwards into another tree. Twisting around she aligns her body upside down and grabs a bare branch. Swinging down and up, she lets go and drives her foot into the hunter’s gut, sending them flying to the ground into a deep snowdrift. Not giving them a chance to recover, she follows, holding her blade high to drive it through the porcelain mask right between their eyes.
Crow doesn’t have long to wonder if she killed the real thing or another clone as her victim disappears in a small cloud of smoke. Sensing a sudden chakra spike from behind she drops low, whipping through some hand signs as she whirls around.
“Earth Shore Return!” she shouts, slamming her hands to the ground.
A large dirt wall bursts forth from the snow in front of her, blocking a large fireball aimed at her back.
“Whirlwind Fist!” a husky female voice calls out.
The wall disintegrates into dust amidst a small, vicious whirlwind. Crow leaps back to avoid an attack by Ermine. Keeping Ermine in front of her, she leaps up into a tree, drawing several shuriken from her pouch. Scarcely touching down on a branch, she leaps backwards from tree to tree, hooking the shuriken on her thumbs through the center holes and quickly flashing through some hand seals while Ermine relentlessly follows.
Before the last seal Crow hurls the shuriken then forms the sign of the Tiger. Flames engulf the shuriken as they sail directly at Ermine. Following too closely, Ermine has no time to react as she’s hit, then disperses into smoke.
Leaping towards the ground Crow dives for cover in a snowdrift as Ermine lands softly nearby. Approaching cautiously, Ermine hears Crow’s voice shout from the snow.
“Rock Staff!”
Several spears made of rock explode from the drift right at Ermine.
“Wind Cutter!”
Throwing her hand out in front while leaping away, Ermine releases a large slice of wind, disintegrating the spears before they can touch her. Landing on a branch, Ermine leaps away again, barely dodging a fireball spewed at her by Crow.
Crow relentlessly releases fireballs. She closely tracks Ermine as she leaps from tree to tree in an effort to keep away from the flames.
Far too engrossed in her little game, Crow barely notices another spike of chakra behind her accompanied by a male voice.
“Earth Flow River!”
Just as she turns to face her new opponent, she barely has enough time to recognize the famous Hound forming the sign of the tiger before she is swept off her feet by a river of mud. Not giving her a chance to recover when the flow finally stops near the shore of the pond, Hound races forward, flashing quickly through a series of seals.
“Earth Style Wall!”
Crow’s suddenly boxed within earthen walls decorated with dog sculptures. Approaching her prison, Hound hears her muffled shout.
“Rising Stone Spears!”
Sculptured walls shatter spectacularly as the mudflow hardens into deadly protruding spikes, freeing her and nearly skewering Hound. Standing amidst the clay rubble, Crow’s hands blur through more seals.
“Ash Pile Burning!”
A superheated ash bursts from her towards Hound. Before the fast moving cloud can overtake him, Crow feels an immense surge of chakra behind her and spins around to see two Ermines standing a short distance up the shore.
“Typhoon Water Vortex!” both Ermines shout.
Strong winds violently mixing with spiraling water vapor, creating a blinding torrent around Crow.
Blinded, she calculates when the vortex starts drawing in her ash cloud as she continues blowing it out. Before the torrent can cool the ash completely, Crow drops to the ground while snapping her teeth hard, igniting the ash into a violent rocking explosion.
As the conflagration passes, Crow scrambles to her feet in time to see Ermine skidding on her back towards the center of the frozen pond. Leaping away, she barely avoids a strike by Hound. Having lost her ninjato during her battles with the clones, she defends with a kunai in each hand.
Although tired from fighting, she grits her teeth, striking and slashing viciously at Hound. Catching him off guard with a powerful kick that sends him flying, Crow spins in time to deflect a barrage of kunai hurled at her back by Ermine as she races back towards the battle.
After blasting another fireball at Ermine, Crow twists to avoid Hound’s thrust with his ninjato and strikes him in the heart with her kunai. Smirking behind her mask at besting the famous Hound, her victory is short lived as he disintegrates into lightning. Without a sound her body jerks and twitches until the jolts peter out and her corpse falls hard to the cold ground.
Hound calmly walks over to the body and crouches down next to it, verifying his lightning shadow clone had in fact killed her. Confirming her death, Hound looks over to the pond for Ermine since she hasn’t reached the shore yet. Frowning behind his mask when he doesn’t see her, Hound rises to his feet and looks around more carefully.
Visibility is extremely poor from the storm. He still should see her form, especially out on the expansive ice. It didn’t taken long to finish off Crow after Ermine’s distraction and she was running on the ice towards them.
With the unease in his gut growing rapidly, Hound steps out onto the ice and walks towards her last known position. He barely manages to keep from plunging into the freezing water when he nearly steps into the broken surface.
Alarmed, Hound enhances his senses with chakra to get a location on Ermine. He gets a faint read on her chakra a few meters to his right where the ice remains unbroken. Focusing chakra to his feet in case the ice is weak, he quickly moves to the location only to find it empty, yet her chakra is reading stronger.
Instinctively he crouches and examines the ice. Even wiping away the snow piling on the surface he’s still unable to see a thing. Without hesitation he lies flat on his stomach, directing chakra to reinforce the ice underneath him. Certain Ermine’s in the water below, Hound forms a Chidori. Instead of the usual cacophony of chirps it trills of one or two birds. Propping himself up on one arm he drives his fist into the ice, creating a decent sized hole.
His arm frantically searches the dark, freezing water only to come up empty. Switching arms, Hound’s finally rewarded when his hand snags on something. With a firm grasp on the object he drags it towards him. He caught the back strap for the scabbard of Ermine’s ninjato. Plunging his other hand back into the water, he maneuvers her body closer. Shifting into a sitting position to give himself more leverage, he struggles until an unconscious Ermine emerges through the hole. Wasting no time he gathers her into his arms and races for the shore.
Once on land, Hound sets her down before channeling chakra into the ground, using the Hiding Like A Mole jutsu to dig underground and create a small chamber several meters below the surface. Returning to Ermine, he picks her up and moves her inside.
Pulling out his storage scroll he summons his knapsack. Taking out his emergency chakra lamp, he ignites it with some chakra to light the darkened chamber. Rolling Ermine off her back onto her side, he digs into her weapons pouch for her storage scroll and summons her knapsack.
Hound takes out Ermine’s jounin uniform and changes her. Storing her wet ANBU uniform and knapsack back into the scroll, Hound wraps her in a blanket. He takes a few moments to consider his options.
Normal protocol when dealing with a missing nin’s corpse is to follow the same disposal procedures as the Hunter nins. With the storm is raging so fiercely, it’s safer if they shelter in the chamber and wait until the storm passes. He can ignore protocol for now and dispose of Crow’s corpse later.
However, he can tell Naruto’s in bad shape. He’s no medic, but he has enough experience with hypothermia to know he needs to get her to Sakura for emergency medical attention immediately.
Deciding to gamble he heads back into the storm. Taking out a blank storage scroll, Hound kneels next to Crow’s corpse and seals it inside for later disposal. Afterwards he returns to the chamber. Changing back into his jounin uniform, Kakashi wraps Naruto’s unresponsive body in his ANBU cloak before settling her on his back and racing to the rendezvous point.
Fortunately the pond is only about ten kilometers to the cave. They deliberately maneuvered Crow here to make it easier for Naruto to use her water jutsu with the bonus of it being relatively close by. However, travel is difficult due to the raging storm and extremely poor visibility. It’s not even sunset, but it’s nearly dark as night out. Knowing that jostling a hypothermia victim is dangerous Kakashi does his best to keep from accidentally triggering a heart attack. Despite feeling the effects of the cold as it slows him down, he continues pushing hard and is nearly at his limit when he finally lands outside the cave.
Kakashi makes it a few paces into the cave when he encounters the rest of his team.
“What happened?” Sasuke demands when he sees Naruto on his back.
Kakashi ignores the question to sweep past.
“I take it you got the list?” he asks over his shoulder.
Sasuke and Sakura follow him through the narrowing passageway to a small cavern where they set up camp and have a fire going.
“Our part of the mission was successful,” Sasuke answers, tamping down his irritation at having his question ignored. “We didn’t encounter any resistance and I’ve got the list in my possession.”
“What happened to Naruto?” Sakura worriedly asks.
With Sasuke’s help, Kakashi gently eases Naruto on the first available bedroll near the fire.
“We completed our part of the mission, but Naruto somehow ended up submerged in a freezing pond,” he explains, stepping back to give Sakura room to work.
“Did that happen during the fight?” Sasuke asks.
“No,” Kakashi shakes his head. “The ice was solid and I saw her running across it back towards my position towards the end of the fight while I was engaged with our target. I finished her off quickly before searching for Naruto. She was in the water for less than ten minutes.”
“That answers one of my questions,” Sakura states while continuing to examine Naruto with glowing hands. “What did you do for treatment afterwards?”
“Once I pulled her clear of the water, I got her back to land and dug a chamber underground to get her out of the storm,” he explains. “I changed her into dry clothes and wrapped her in a blanket before going outside to take care of Mayuko’s corpse.”
Finishing her exam Sakura tucks a blanket around Naruto before turning to her teammates.
“Naruto is definitely suffering from Stage Three hypothermia,” she reports. “She’s got almost all the symptoms. Her eyes are dilated, her muscles are rigid and her heart and respiration rates have decreased significantly. Judging by the bluish tinge and puffiness of her skin I’d say her core body temperature is probably below 32° Celsius. If her core temp continues dropping her organs will start failing, increasing the risk of a heart attack.”
Sakura gives her teammates time to digest the information before continuing.
“Getting Naruto to a warm, dry place and changing her out of her wet clothing really helped, taichou, but she’s not out of danger. We can’t get her to a hospital to raise her body temp quickly and safely, so we’ve got to do it the slow way and hope for the best.”
“How do we do that?” Kakashi asks.
“By sleeping together,” she answers blithely.
Caught off guard Sasuke and Kakashi blink repeatedly, trying to process her suggestion. Sakura can’t help but be amused by their expressions, especially when Sasuke starts blushing at the implication.
“Get your minds out of the gutter,” she rolls her eyes, amusement coloring her voice. “The best way to re-warm Naruto is through close body contact and since her core temperature is so low I feel it’s better if she were sandwiched between two bodies. A human incubator, if you will.”
“Why can’t we just wrap her in warm blankets and keep her close to the fire?” Sasuke asks, still recovering from his embarrassment at misunderstanding Sakura’s statement.
Sakura shakes her head.
“Blankets alone aren’t enough. Naruto isn’t generating her own body heat to make them effective. Laying her by the fire is definitely out of the question as it might warm her up too quickly. We’re also in a drafty cave and it’s harder to maintain a steady temperature. Besides, as her body slowly warms she may wake up, probably disoriented and irrational, increasing the risk of injuring herself.”
Sasuke looks over at Kakashi.
“Are you up to digging another underground chamber? If it’s underneath the campfire, the radiant heat should keep it sufficiently and steadily warm.”
Kakashi considers it before answering.
“The heat may not radiate into the chamber since we can’t have the fire burning hot enough, but a small chamber would be further out of the draft.”
“It’s a good idea,” Sakura agrees. “A small chamber with one of us sleeping on both sides of Naruto will be enough.”
“Sounds like that’s our best option,” Sasuke reluctantly agrees. “Whoever is on watch should cover the entrance of the chamber with a blanket and pin it down with rocks to help keep as much of the draft out as possible.”
Nodding in agreement Kakashi gets to work immediately. Using the Hiding like a Mole ninjutsu again, he creates a small space a couple of meters underneath the fire. He adds a crawlspace for access with the entrance located away from the cave mouth to minimize the draft.
While Kakashi works, Sakura examines Naruto again. Sasuke crouches down next to her.
“Just the two of us should keep watch tonight,” he suggests, distracting her briefly from checking Naruto. “Kakashi almost looks as bad as Naruto.”
Considering it, Sakura nods.
“I’m sure Kakashi has frostbite. Once I can corner him to examine and treat him, I want him resting. Or else,” she glowers.
Sasuke smirks at her expression, secretly glad he’s not the focus of her ire.
It’s not long before Kakashi finishes the chamber. It’s large enough for them to sit up in and wide enough for three people to move around comfortably. Sasuke helps him set up the sleeping rolls to accommodate three people. Then both men carefully transfer Naruto into the small space and settle her on the center roll. When they both reemerge, Sakura pounces on Kakashi.
“Sit,” she orders, pointing next to the fire.
“Sakura, I’m fine,” Kakashi states succinctly.
“Don’t make me put your lights out to treat your frostbite,” she growls, raising a clenched fist.
Sighing heavily, Kakashi grudgingly complies. Sitting down he removes his gloves and pushing up his sleeves. Sakura takes her time, running chakra through her hands to help with her diagnostic. Once she finishes with his arm she reaches up and removes his hitai-ate to check the exposed areas around his eyes. She silently notes the skin around his eyes and most of his upper arms have a slight yellow cast, while his hands and his forearms are redder and slightly swollen.
“Are you experiencing any pain?” she asks.
Kakashi considers lying, but notices the expression on Sakura’s face. She already knows the answer and wants his confirmation.
“Overall an aching pain, but mostly a slight burning sensation. It hurts more when I move,” he admits reluctantly.
“You’re lucky most of it is mild and easy to treat,” she murmurs, digging into her medic bag for supplies. “When you settle next to Naruto for the night, tuck your hands between your arms and body to warm them,” she instructs, wrapping his arms in sterile bandages. “I can’t do much for your eyes because wrapping them will effectively blind you. If we were home it’d be a different story.” She moves on to wrapping his hands, separating his fingers with the wrap. “I’ll just keep checking on them. Don’t rub or massage the injured sites,” she sternly warns. “It’ll be hard not to as they heal because the pain is likely to worsen. Your skin will redden and you may experience increased tingling and burning in the worst areas. However, it should be significantly better after a night’s rest.”
“I have to take my shift on watch,” Kakashi mildly points out. “So, I’ll rest later.”
Sakura glares and points in the direction of the chamber where Naruto is.
“Rest,” she commands, earning a pointed glare from him.
Before Kakashi can pull rank, Sasuke interjects, his voice tinged with amusement.
“Sakura and I can handle watch. Besides, frostbite does count as a significant enough injury to allow Sakura to pull rank as the team’s medical specialist and hurt you if necessary.”
Sighing in defeat, Kakashi heads into the chamber with Sakura following behind. She checks Naruto one last time before climbing out of the den to take the first shift.
Kakashi shifts onto his side and studies Naruto’s still form for several minutes. Reaching out, he lightly touches her cold cheek before settling onto his back and closing his eyes.
“I can take the first shift, Sakura,” Sasuke offers when she finally returns topside. “You had the second half of watch last night and can use the rest,” he reasons, pointedly avoiding mentioning that he isn’t entirely comfortable sleeping next to Naruto.
“Thanks, but I have to take the first shift. If any problems arise with Naruto, I can react faster if I’m already awake,” Sakura reasons. “Ideally, her body temp should increase one to two degrees per hour, so her core temp should be back to normal within five hours. If we’re lucky she’ll sleep through the whole process.”
Having no counter argument against her expertise Sasuke lets her take the first watch and reluctantly disappears into the crawlspace. Sakura places a blanket over the entrance and pins it in place before taking up position by the fire.
Once inside the chamber, he settles down on the other side of the redhead. He can’t help shivering when his body touches Naruto’s cold form. Getting as comfortable as possible, he lowers the chakra lamp to a dim glow before closing his eyes.
Sasuke finds it hard to sleep. Partially because Naruto’s body is so cold it’s leeching all the warmth, making him cold and uncomfortable. The other reason is because he’s sleeping next to Naruto.
He noticed many things about the redhead a long time ago and already realizes he’s grown increasingly attracted to her. Since she’s dating Genma, though, he keeps his feelings to himself. However, lying next to whom he considers to be his ideal wife is making it very difficult to sleep. His thoughts shift from thinking of her inappropriately to how he can make her break up with Genma and go out with him. His mind is so occupied he never notices when he finally drifts off to sleep.
Sakura gradually moves several meters closer to the entrance of the cave. The weather makes it too dangerous to be outside for her watch like the previous night.
Pulling her winter cloak tighter about her shoulders, she curses Kakashi’s stubbornness. If he bothered to use common sense that flame haired bitch would’ve been dead by morning. But noooo, he just has to cling to that idiotic belief of not letting his comrades die. What an moron. Actually, she can’t decide who’s the bigger idiot, Kakashi, Sai or Mayuko. Two Root ANBU and a fierce snowstorm and they can’t kill one woman?
Going by Kakashi’s account, Sai took advantage of an ideal opportunity to take down Naruto. Yet he fails to kill her again. Sakura wonders if that fool Mayuko even attempted to kill the redhead before being wiped out. Without knowing specific details, she’s sure Mayuko hadn’t even scratched the baka. If she weren’t dead, Sakura would’ve killed her for her stupidity.
Sensing another presence approaching from the cave entrance Sakura looks up at the familiar signature as Sai walks over while dusting off the snow and sits down next to her. Sakura silently glares as he scrutinizes her.
“Judging by your expression, Naruto survived again,” Sai observes.
“She was still alive when Kakashi brought her in,” Sakura snaps. “You failed to kill her. Again.”
Sai shrugs.
“It didn’t make sense for Kakashi to take such a risk and carry her through the storm. I followed them and there were a couple of moments where I thought he wouldn’t make it.”
“Why the hell didn’t you take them out since they were both vulnerable?” Sakura asks.
“Danzo-sama was explicit that we not touch the Copy nin. Besides, Sasuke would’ve insisted on investigating their deaths and that could cause problems later. Plus, the storm was too strong for me to arrange a suitable accident. I barely managed to follow them and there was no way I could’ve moved in front of them with enough time to set up a trap ahead of them.”
“You’re nothing but an idiot,” Sakura growls. Before he can reply, she asks, “What about Mayuko?”
Sai briefly details her battle against Kakashi and Naruto.
“Mayuko didn’t stand a chance and Kakashi was the one to finish her off.”
“And what did you set up for Naruto?”
“When I realized where they were heading, I raced ahead to the pond. I broke into the ice in a far, hidden corner and drew an octopus, sending it into the hole. Once Mayuko knocked Naruto onto the ice, the octopus broke through and grabbed her by the ankles, dragging her into the water. It dragged her beneath the still intact portions of the ice and was supposed to hold her under until she either drowned or succumbed to the cold. I’m not sure how, but I felt the octopus dispel. It wasn’t long afterwards that Kakashi located her and broke through with a Chidori to drag her out.”
Sakura blows out a harsh breath in frustration.
“If I had been there I might’ve been able to distract him long enough from realizing Naruto fell through the ice.”
“That would’ve meant Sasuke being there and he might’ve prevented Mayuko from even luring Naruto out onto the ice,” Sai reasons. “What is their status?”
Sakura briefly explains Kakashi’s and Naruto’s conditions.
“Is there’s any way you can finish off Naruto?”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” she sighs heavily. “I could’ve let Sasuke take first watch and trigger a heart attack, but Naruto’s core temperature is so low that she won’t die from it until she warms up. That isn’t likely to happen until morning. And then I’d have to treat her, especially since I just finished my cardiology training. The old hag would find it suspicious I couldn’t save the baka because I did so well. Naruto’s core temperature is dangerously low, lower than what I told Kakashi and Sasuke. She requires a lot more aid than I’m bothering to give because I want to increase her chance of dying without suspicion. However, considering our luck so far, I won’t bet money on that. All I can do is hope the baka doesn’t survive the night.”
Sai considers it.
“There will be more opportunities. We still have four days travel ahead of us and a lot can happen in that time.”
“That’s if nothing raises Sasuke’s or Kakashi’s suspicions and puts them on guard,” Sakura points out.
“Then you better make certain that doesn’t happen,” Sai states, ignoring her glare before climbing to his feet and leaving.
Sakura moves back closer to the fire to sulk the remainder of her shift.
kotatsu-low, round table often found in Japanese homes.
baka-idiot, moron.
taichou-captain
Fifteen kilometers-a little over .6 miles.
Ten kilometers-6.2 miles
Hypothermia-when the core body temperature drops below 35° C (95° F)
32° Celsius-89.6° Fahrenheit
- 8
- 9
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Underneath The Leaves