Fiat justitia, ruatcaelum

Battle and deception

Sakura awoke. The lamp hadn’t burned down very far.
She got up, trying to discern the time of day.
If there was any traffic overhead, it was too well muffled to make out. The lever was stiffer than she expected, but opened. The gray light of dawn peering down into the bolt hole. The lamp extinguished, Sakura tied on the headband and jumped skyward, taking hold of the edge of the floor.
*Coast is clear…*
Sakura climbed out and waited by the trapdoor as is slid shut.
And she began to wander. Observing. *Gathering intelligence!* Sakura scoffed, *For what? My eventual overthrow of Orochimaru and return home?*
“Hold!” An anbu dropped in Sakura’s path. She froze. *Act cool. Pretend you’re lost!*
“What is your business here?”
“No business, really. Just wandering.”
The anbu still barred her path, “I’m sorry, miss. But the Academy is accessable by Leaf nin only or those with business.”
Sakura shrugged. “Whatever.” She turned her back on the anbu and walked back the way she had come. *Talk about routine! I wander off and find myself at the academy…* She heard the anbu leap back up to his post.
She made a random turn into a street lined with booths and began to window shop.
Her trek down the long street was slow for many reasons. Hawkers kept dragging her aside to preview some item or service.
One desperate man made her a ludicrous offer on a silver pendant. Even if it was fake, she would have been nuts to refuse. Instead, she was just penniless.
And his shop wasn’t the only one. Nor was he the strangest.
One was selling headbands. Though business was understandably poor with three black masked anbu taking down notes on anyone who even looked interested.
She passed that vendor, but began to take note on the number of nin in the market.
And the fact that there were as many mist nin as leaf nin. And it seemed like every anbu in Konoha was patrolling the area.
“You!” Sakura looked about frantically, expecting any number of enemies.
All she found was an old Leaf jonin pointing at her, a bottle of liquor in his fist.
“Yeah, you with the black hair!”
Several nin stopped to look at the man, most with curious expressions.
“Not you, the girl in orange! Come here a minute!” He waved into the building, and stepped inside.
Everyone who had stopped began again.
Sakura felt for her chakra. The energy was there, coiled restlessly.
Two days of good rest had restored her reserves, and just touching the power energized her.
Her chakra had a rich texture to it she was still a little unaccustomed to. But it felt good.
She crossed the threshold and looked around the darkened room. Smoke from pipes and cigarettes was thick against the ceiling and the walls were papered with thousands of diagrams and sketches of weapons. From wooden senbon to the zanbatos of the legendary swordsmen. A few really exotic weapons graced the walls as well; whistling shuriken, throwing crescents, one handed crossbows, even a few devices that fired bolts of raw chakra.
“As promised,” The jonin put his arm around her shoulders, steering her toward an open area in the center of the room, “You two against me and the first nin I laid eyes upon in the street.” He took a swig from the bottle, his long white hair falling back to reveal a headband stamped with the kanji for ‘toad’. The headband seemed to be solid steel, two short horns jutting out.
Sakura tried to size up the jonin. He was aged. And had the standing of a well seasoned veteran, but he appeared a little unsteady and the smell of drink, while thick inside the building, seemed to stick to him a little more strongly.
Then she looked over her opponents.
They weren’t the first she had seen back from the dead. The brothers that had attacked when Sakura and her team had escorted Tazuna the bridge builder home.
Their masks, cloaks, even the gauntlet with the bladed chain they shared between them.
The demon brothers.
“Such a different place…” Sakura felt sorrow well up in her heart. The mourning for her home. *If déjà vu really exists, I’ve got it backwards…*
“Perhaps you should try again.” One of the brothers laughed, “Or perhaps choose another scatter brained cadet for your ranks.”
“We’ll fight two on three. It would be a shame if we were accused of cheating.” The other chided. They laughed even more.
“I’m not cadet! I could take both of you by myself!” Sakura glared, her fist raised to them. She steeled her features as the emotional backlash hit her, *Well there’s a Naruto moment for you…*
“Ooohh, Such bark…” The brothers stepped apart, the chain rattling as it strung out, “I wonder if she can bite as fiercely.”
A hand fell on her shoulder. The jonin stood beside her, “Stand back, child.”
Sakura was half way turned to look up at him when he pushed her down, a silver streak of the blade edged chain ripping the air over her.
She watched as the wave rippled and grew along the length of the chain, reaching toward her.
She rolled out as the blades crashed into the floor
And fed chakra into the palms of her hands as she came up into a handstand, leaping into the air.
She focused as she hit the ceiling, sticking to the rafter beam, watching as the jonin ducked under the writhing chain.
From above, she watched as the coils of chain wove, circling he jonin. She knew this trap.
She had seen it used against Kakashi.
And as the chains collapsed, a flash of smoke erupted. Bits of an unfortunate barstool flying about.
Sakura watched as the loops opened, saw the flick of the wrist meant to maintain the shape and momentum.
And she struck. Sakura pulled the great shuriken from her hip and threw, the blades ratcheting open as it flew and steel singing as the four blades gathered the lengths of chain and bit deeply into the floor.
From the counter, the jonin watched from over the top of his shot glass as the girl fell upon the demon brothers. They had spotted him and lunged, unaware of the state of their loops.
Their claws hit the end of the tether as her arms wrapped around their necks and the sweep of her weight focused down to their forward knees.
“She’s good. If only really using the basics…” The woman in dark glasses beside him smirked.
The mist shinobi fell face first into the floor.
The jonin shrugged, swallowed the shot and summoned a doppelganger onto their backs as the girl rolled away.
“Looks like some money needs to change hands.” The jonin came over himself, dispelling the doppelganger as the mist nin climbed to their feet.
One of the brothers began to dig into his robes as the other freed their chains. He threw the shuriken back, an extra twist in his arm.
The shuriken rotated as it sailed through the air, it’s course oscillating as the distance shrank.
Sakura reacted, ducking down on one knee, her hand reaching up behind her back.
The blade continued to rotate. It went vertical and fell. Turned until it was flat and rose sharply.
She lunged, her hand threading the center loop and holding the great shuriken as it spun around her gloved hand.
She stood up straight, a flick of the wrist unlocking the ring, closing the blades and killing the momentum.
“Thanks.” And she punctuated by snapping it into place loudly.
The paying brother changed sides, his partner scowling thickly at Sakura.
“By one of our own.” He flexed his claws, reeling in the long chain.
“Foolish genin.” The paying brother dropped the winnings into the jonin’s hand, “You got lucky. We underestimated you when we saw your headband was inverted.”
Sakura felt herself blanch and her hand went to her headband belt.
Both mist nin’s eyes grew wide, the chain springing from the floor, “Imposter!!”
Sakura batted the chain lunge away and bolted for the door.
She shouldered under the arm of an entering leaf jonin and broke to the left down the street.
Behind her, she heard the clash of steel. “Damned mist ninja! Haven’t any of you got manners at all?!”
“Out of our way, old man!”
The crescendo of metal bits scattering among roars of anger chased Sakura around the corner.
“Anbu! Flash!!” The air shuddered as jutsu fired, the scent of spent chakra drifting out through the half open windows.
Sakura ducked into the shadows, keeping her head down as anbu rushed in.
It didn’t take them long to depart.
She sighed as she untied the headband. *Two covers in two days… Sakura, you really are just a genin.*
She examined the mist design. Just four little ‘s’ shaped curls in a square design. She turned it over a few times, squinting.
“Still looks the same either way, doesn’t it?” The old jonin had been standing just around the corner, a shot glass in one hand and a new bottle of some clear liquor in the other.
The jonin emptied the glass, his eyes studying Sakura as he refilled it.
“So who are you really working for?”
Sakura studied him in return. *How good do you have to be to duck the anbu…?* “Give me my share of the money I won you first.” Her hand extended.
The jonin lifted an eyebrow.
*Maybe that was the wrong answer…*
He shrugged, “Fair enough.” He set the shot glass in her hand and dug into his pocket.
Sakura tensed as he gripped something within the cloth flap.
He drew out his hand and clicked half a dozen coins off into her hand next to the glass. He dropped the rest of the coins in his pocket, “Cheers.” and took a thick slug straight from the bottle.
*Kiba says it isn’t so bad…* Sakura closed her fist around the glass. *Aww, what the hell…* She threw the shot back, swallowing fast.
A knife of acidic fire tore its way down her, from the back of her tongue to her belly where it stopped and smoldered like an ember.
Sakura fought down the desires to both cough and vomit. “If that’s all…” She handed the glass back to the jonin and dropped the coins into the inside pocket of her vest.
The jonin lifted the bottle, examining the label as Sakura turned to walk away.
“Figures they’d water it down…”
She reaffixed the headband as her belt, *Probably upside down again…*
The bustle of the marketplace greeted her as she neared the exit of the alley.
And no more than a hundred feet away, Haku stood once more. Bartering with an herb dealer.
Sakura checked her back. The drunk jonin had left. No one else…
She drew the line of chakra and focused.
Kaji leapt onto a water barrel, bounded to an awning, and hopped onto a high signpost.
The mischief sense began to send devious plans back to her.
Sakura aimed the sense at Haku. Something within her giggled in glee at the prospect of a specific target.
Haku had turned and was walking away.
Down the street, the crowd parted around a specific spot. Something they didn’t want to step in.
The anbu would have picked up anyone sleeping in the street.
No load animals. Not dung.
The booth was abandoned, so it wasn’t stray goods left in the street.
*Puddle. It’s gotta be a puddle. Puddles splash!!*
The awning of the booth looked to be in poor repair. Weakened and rotting.
The set up was perfect. He couldn’t have planned it better.
“The gods of mischief are with me this day, hehehehehehe”
Kaji patted the mist headband around his waist.
Pale blue hair rustled in the wind, sky blue eyes scanned the target awning. Determined the exact place to land, where the seam would rip. Where his fall would be naturally inclined toward the puddle. Where the rotation for maximum splash would seem natural.
Few looked up as he passed. Less cared.
“Hey! Get down from there!” The perfect excuse for a distraction shouted at him as he passed Haku, “It’s not safe!”
Kaji made the last bound, turning mid-air to look back at the rightly concerned party. And to make certain Haku was in position. “Bleahh!” His tongue stuck out and sighted in Haku.
Perfect placement.
His feet hit the awning. The seam began to rip. Haku looked up, hesitating in the splash zone.
“Yeaa!!” The awning fell apart under his weight and Kaji spread his arms as he fell.
Sakura wiped victory from her borrowed face and put of a mask of shock.
Haku’s eyes widened as she watched Kaji fall. The press of bodies collected behind her blocking her retreat.
The pool was shallow, just deep enough to get your toes wet. It slashed wonderfully.
Haku tried to move back, stepping on the toes of another. Her failed attempt robbed Haku of the time to evade.
And as the sounds of water landing echoed in the sudden strange silence that seemed destined for this moment, the woman in Sakura cringed at the though of muddy water all over Haku’s skirts.
They may have only been cotton, but they were still nice skirts.
The prankster in Kaji could only chuckle at his own cunning.
Haku gasped as the cold water fell on her, a belated cry of abused toes cutting in futilely.
Kaji rolled to hands and knees, “Hehe, whoops. I guess that guy was right.” He stood, appraising his water logged self. Not to bad.
“Are you alright?” Kaji felt the delicate hand on his shoulder as he dusted himself off.
“I’m good. Right as rain!” He looked into the eyes of his victim. Genuine concern. Then he looked down. The effect had been more glorious than he had hoped.
“Oh no! Ahh, I’m so so so sososososososo sorry!! Please don’t be mad!” Kaji fell to his knees in the puddle, trying in vain to brush the stain away. *Damn I’m good!*
“It’s alright.” Haku grabbed him under the arm and guided him back up, “I won’t explode in a puff of smoke. It’s okay, honest.”
Sakura took hold, looking down sheepishly, one hand behind her henged head, “I feel awful…” She snapped her head up, wearing a wide, hopeful grin, “Let me make it up to you!”
Haku chuckled, smiling warmly, “That isn’t necessary, little mist nin. But thank you anyway.”
“Come on, please!” Kaji clasp his hands, openly begging, “Just let me carry some of your stuff for you!”
She warped the eyes a touch larger. Wetter. And turned the single cutest set of puppy dog eyes loose a person was capable of conjuring on Haku.
The hesitation was only a second before the corners of Haku’s mouth twitched.
*Success!!!*
“Alright.” Haku chuckled, “I’ve got one last stop, but I can only take you with me as far as the gates.”
“You live outside Konoha?”
“Yes. But don’t worry, not far.”
Sakura smiled at the wonder of it. Some god really was on her side today. “That’s great! I can take you all the way! I have this letter…” Kaji pulled it free. It was wrinkled, soggy, creased, and dirty.
Haku giggled, one hand covering her mouth, “A nin with a mission. Very well.”
“Alright!!” Sakura cheered aloud. “Kaji rocks in ways that don’t even have ways!!”

Their last stop was an old apothecary. The shop was tucked in a dark corner and it was difficult o tell how old the building really was.
The thin man behind the counter turned as the doorbell rang and followed the echo of the foot fall. he adjusted his glasses, though the lenses had accumulated a layer of grit thick enough to stop a shuriken.
Sakura paused as the full spectrum of scents hammered her sense.
“Hello again, Haku. I see you’ve found a friend.” His voice was old and scratchy, almost as though it had become worn over the years.
“Well, you could say he fell out of the sky.” Haku shot a sly grin over her shoulder.
“I can see why you would get along so well.” The old man played with his glasses, “Your friend has a rather interesting aura.”
Sakura stiffened, suddenly aware that it could be a Hyuuga behind those glasses. Or someone else who could see right through her illusion.
“No need to fret, child.” The old man waved one hand at her in dismissal, “I can see the strength you possess. You are not without great potential. That is all I meant.”
Sakura sighed inwardly, *That was a close…*
“That is also a very impressive jutsu, if I may say so.”
Sakura gaped. Her jaw hung open and she was too floored to close it.
Haku turned slowly, her hand dipped into the basket and the firm foundation for an enraged scowl set beneath the surface of her calm face.
*Think fast!!*
One hand went up behind her head, “Really? Thanks! I’ve been practicing a lot! I look a lot better with light hair than with dark and I’m not good with potions. I always mess something up.”
Haku relaxed and withdrew her hand from the basket, but seemed far from convinced.
*No way!* Sakura raced around in her mind, trying to find a way out, *No way can I blow another cover! If Ino heard about this…*
Sakura shifted the henge, making the hair black and paling her skin a few shades, “See? It makes me look like I’m all pasty and stuff.”
Sakura flashed her henge signs and shifted the hair back. “It’s too bad all I can do is hair, though. I’d like to be a little taller.”
Haku still looked far too severe. *I think I blew it… But I just need to get out of Konoha…*
“I have the parcel ready, if that’s what you’re here for.” The old man bent down and came back up with a box wrapped in a yellow cloth.
Haku opened up a coin purse and laid a short stack of gold on the counter. “It’s been good to see you again. I’d stay and chat, but it’s a good walk and the afternoon wanes on us.”
“It has done these old eyes good to see you as well, child. Travel safely.” he squinted at the coins on the cou8nter, peering as he picked them up.
Kaji marched up and tugged the box down from the counter.
“Uuh. What’s in this thing? It weighs a ton!”
“Cooking spices.” Haku answered, turning and walking for the door.

Kaji’s spirit pouted in the silent journey to the gates. He really just wanted to run and shout. To do something stupid. It took a lot to keep him in line.
“Ms. Momoshi!” One of the guards leered down from his perch, “Won’t you let me give you a ride? It would be much easier than that long walk. And more fun besides!”
Haku paused, smiling upward to the guard. “I cannot, Inicho. I’m afraid my father would not approve.”
“When do I get to meet this disapproving old codger?” He called back, “A girl as pretty as you won’t stay young forever!”
“Perhaps one day soon.”
Inicho sighed, “For a year and a half, you’ve always said ‘one day soon’. I may find another belle, you know.”
Haku shrugged in return, “I would not blame you. One must follow their heart.”
The gate began to swing open slowly.
“Take care, fair Haku. You have stolen my heart away again!”
Kaji stuck his tongue out at the guard as he followed Haku out, smiling widely as the guard sent a rude gesture in reply.