Fiat justitia, ruatcaelum

Messenger and Ninja

Sakura let her mind wander to the last tie she had passed along this road. She looked down into a familiar rut. Haku drifted closer to Sakura, ambling.
*This is about the place where those mist nin…*
Haku stopped without warning and Sakura stumbled as she sidestepped.
Skirts rustled as Haku spun around, her palm filled with a pale silvery blue gray energy as it rushed at Sakura.
Sakura hopped backward, lifting the spice box in defense. Trying to make space between her and Haku.
The first swipe missed and Sakura felt the box rip out of her hands, pulling her forward and into the hand as it smashed into her midriff.
“Uhh…” Smoke exploded around and she felt the flower of pressure blossom from the strike to her solar plexus. Her body wouldn’t draw wind and a sharp blow from something that felt like a foot sent her tumbling backwards.
Sakura came to her feet, charging them with chakra, she slid to a quick stop.
Haku burst from the cloud of smoke flying upward, senbon needles stacked in her hands and drawn back for the throw.
Half a dozen needles came down. Sakura waited for them, her hands charged and glowing. She threw them forward, hoping to deflect the needles away.
Six tiny puffs of smoke erupted as they struck the wave of force and Sakura was hit from behind, low in the back and propelled skyward. The airborne Haku hit her with another handful of chakra, sending her down.
Three needles pierced her as she fell, one in each arm and one in her left leg.
The limbs were numb when she hit the ground and folded up like a rag doll.
Haku landed gracefully beside a doppelganger that held her windmill shuriken.
Sakura climbed to her feet, pulling the needles from her arms and leg.
“What the hell was that for?” *Stall fro time… Get some feeling back…*
“You aren’t who I expected…” The Haku’s spoke in unison.
Sakura checked her grip on the blood-slick shuriken.
“Sorry to disappoint. And I’m sorry, but I needed an exit out of Konoha with some cover.” *Tingle’s starting to hurt… Must be good…* “I never meant you any harm.”
“Why would you need me? Mist ninja are as free in Konoha as Leaf are. And nearly as numerous.” Haku held a fresh handful of needles.
Sakura looked down at the headband belt. “This is on loan…” She gathered the senbon in one hand, “My loyalties lie with a different village.”
“Who?”
Sakura sighed, “It doesn’t matter. It isn’t there anymore anyway…”
Haku handed the windmill shuriken to herself and the copy fell apart in a crash of water. “Why did you need to get out of Konoha?”
Sakura pulled the abused letter out of her bracer, “A girl can’t lie about everything.”
Haku slipped her senbon back into the bracers she wore under her sleeves. “I had to know.” She approached, holding out the shuriken, “I’m sorry I wounded you.”
Sakura shrugged, “I deserved it for the puddle.” She traded the senbon for her shuriken.
Haku rubbed her hands back and forth over the senbon, drying the blood and wringing it away, “There were reports of an Uchiha loose in Konoha. And the wielders of the Sharingan are ill reputed in these lands. And a woman besides.” Haku slipped the senbon away with their mates, “The reward is enough to make the half-hearted brave.”
Sakura sighed, “I may be the only genin with that sort of report. Except maybe Uzumaki.”
“Don’t forget the Uchiha so quickly.” Haku had retrieved her basket and box and watched as Sakura wiped blood from her wounds.
“Right…” Sakura rubbed her hands and focused healing chakra into them. She healed her arms first, letting the pulse of her own body lap at the energy. “Ill reputed or not, I still have to deliver this damned letter.”
Haku watched quietly as Sakura switched the healing hands to her leg, tugging at the fabric to watch the wound close.
“Are you determined?”
Sakura pushed her hair back, ignoring the headache that healing herself always seemed to give her, “A promise is a promise. And I intend to be there when it’s opened. If I deliver a bad omen, I want to be able to defend myself at the time or be dead as well.”
Haku smiled. “Then I should let you know; The Uchiha aren’t as the Hokage depicts them.”
“That’s a relief.” Sakura pulled the yellow box from Haku’s hand, “But how do you know them?”
Haku only shrugged, “That is of little matter right now. And as long as we’re being relieved,” Haku sighed, “I’m quite relieved you weren’t who I was expecting.”
Sakura resumed walking, “Who did you think I was?”
“I suspected many people…” Haku switched the basket to her other hand, “An assassin, or perhaps that annoying young man from the other day.”
“Who?” *Let it be someone I know. Someone who‘s supposed to be annoying.*
“Heh. I didn’t bother to exchange names, but he wouldn’t be hard to spot. Some pervert in leather pants and a vest with no shirt, like he was showcasing his tan. Though it was a nice tan…” Haku smiled briefly, “Dark hair and darker eyes that seemed bored with everything he gazed upon.”
“Ryo Maru!” Sakura chuckled to herself, shaking her head.
“You know him?”
Sakura swallowed a harder laugh, “You might say so… In a way.”
“Then when you next see him, tell that Ero Maru what a pervert he is!” Haku growled to herself. For he is shameless.” She muttered.

They came upon the large clearing as Sakura was beinging to wander how far ‘not far’ had really been. A wide river cut out the clearing and a small, simple courtyard lay in wait of guests in front of a stone entryway holding what was without doubt a front door.
“This is the place I call home.” Haku beamed proudly. “Father carved it with his own jutsu, one day at a time.”
The courtyard held a small pond that teemed with crawdads. It was fed by a musical waterfall that came over the short cliff. The pond that sat over the front door was probably fed by a small brook that branched off from the river that fed the waterfall a mile to the west. The cliff face rose sharply to several hundred feet as it went.
“The back door goes out into the woods behind the cliff. And up there,” Haku pointed westward, “The fields is so serene looking over the local trees and the wild flowers are beautiful all year round.”
“This place is incredible…” Sakura stood for a moment to absorb the scene.
“Wait until we get inside!” Haku nearly ran for the front door, throwing it open.
“Father?” Haku called through the house as she slipped out of her shoes, “Father? I’m home!”
“Kitchen!” The gravelly voice that echoed back had once carved itself deeply into Sakura’s memory. Terror had that effect on a person. And yet she was glad to hear the old shinobi.
Sakura followed Haku through the house, huge as it was, most of it had to be underground. Yet it was very well lit.
“How was the trip? Did you get everything?” Sakura sighed with relief as she came around the corner to find Zabuza in the kitchen. Haku had set her basket on the counter and was hugging the older mist nin, giving him a peck on the cheek.
“It went well and yes,” Haku stepped back. “I got everything I set out for and had a friend nin drop in on me. Or rather, into the puddle.”
Zabuza nodded, “I knew there was a good reason you were covered in mud.”
Sakura noticed the hilt of the familiar zanbato perched on Zabuza’s shoulder, the tip of the blade laying flat on the counter. The thinly sliced remains of an onion nearby.
“Hanuro Sakura.” She bowed to Zabuza.
The older man scoffed, “Don’t bow to me, Ms. Hanuro. I am Momoshi Zabuza. It is a pleasure to entertain you in my home. But might I enquire about the parcel you carry?”
Sakura offered it forward, “Oh, yeah. This is yours, actually. I was just carrying it.”
Haku took the box and began to unwrap it, “He finally had some in stock.”
Zabuza smiled, his teeth still filed to points, though not as demonic looking as she had nearly feared. “Excellent!” Zabuza patted Haku on the shoulder, “You should go change, Haku. You shouldn’t be such a mess.”
Haku stole a small bit of onion as she let herself get shooed out of the room.
Sakura watched as the nin set the hilt of his blade down on the far counter and opened the apothecary box.
“Dill…Thyme…Rosemary…” Sakura almost laughed to herself. “Cooking spices.”
“Indeed!” Zabuza looked back at her, “What else?” He set about storing the small vials over the cook stove.
“So you literally fell upon Haku, eh?”
Sakura tried to chuckle, though it was weak, “It was slightly more planned than that… Really I needed a way to get into contact with someone…”
Zabuza set his hands on the counter, his head falling as he chuckled without mirth, “And the koinouchi shows through.”
He turned to face Sakura, leaning on the counter, “You have done what three sannin, two hokages, and twenty seven messengers and assassins could not. His eyes flashed pain before he masked it. “You have brought the troubles of the times into my home.”
“Surely you can’t ignore the struggles that will change the world.”
“They may change the world, young Hanuro. But this is not the world.”
Sakura could only stare at the man. “I had heard tales of a man known as Zabuza the Demon. Has he died?”
Zabuza hung his head. His hand gestured to the zanbato that bridged the counters, “My neck chopping knife was indeed meant for things less peaceable than slicing onions. But has been a decade since it tasted blood. Perhaps Zabuza the Demon has died…”
They stood silent for a long time.
“Of course I get back to find you slacking!” Haku came around the corner voice first. She had changed into a dark robe that fit quite well. Though there did seem to be some swell to the chest rather improper for a young man. She hesitated at the kitchen island, drawing a more suitable knife for slicing vegetables. “Perhaps, Sakura, you would like to tell him about that letter for Itachi and Sasuke.”
Zabuza raised one of his hairless brows. “To the sitting room, then?”
Sakura followed him out of the kitchen and down the main hall a short way.
He entered a large room with a glass box set in the center of the room, filled to the brim with water and small fish that swam about slowly.
“So you came to me hoping to find the Uchiha?” Zabuza sunk into a low armchair. One arm fell over the edge of the chair over an odd groove in the floor.
“Yes.” Sakura seated herself near the table, “It would seem that I have also failed to bring the troubles of the world to you.”
Zabuza shrugged, “Before that, let us speak freely. You addressed me as Zabuza the Demon. How would you have heard that name? To my knowledge, it has been taboo to mention my name in public for a time now.”
Sakura remained steady, “I read. There is much information to be found if one looks in the paths less traveled.”
“Very well.” Zabuza nodded, “And while we address names, ‘cherry blossoms’ are known more for their beauty than for their wartime uses. What drives you to seek out demons?”
“I found myself in a rather delicate postion between the Hyuuga and the anbu. It seemed at the time that the Hyuuga was the less deadly faction to follow. All I am contracted to do, is deliver a letter. Then I…” Sakura hung her head, “I don’t know what then…”
“Tea?” Sakura jumped as Haku set the tray down on the table. It drifted until it bumped into one of the sides. One of the tiny fish came to inspect the object.
“You two look far too serious…” The fish darted away, having found the tray inedible, “The stew is simmering and should be done shortly.”
“Thank you, Haku.”
Sakura looked back up as the girl left the room. “What about Haku?”
Zabuza looked down where his hand hung, as if cradling something. “Haku was the light I needed when I lived in darkness. Haku showed me life without blood. Without death or the threat of assassins. And Haku is the reason my knife no longer rests beside this chair. I changed my life for that child.”
*My father was the same way…* Sakura felt her heart sink a few, heavy inches. She tipped her head back, willing the tears to run back into her eyes.
“Who has left that mark upon you?”
Sakura’s hand went to her throat, the gentle sting of the massive bruise a reminder. “This was a personal gift from the Lord Hitake Kakashi.”
Zabuza scoffed, “And they called me ‘The Demon’.”
Sakura tugged at her collar, trying to pull it up higher, “One of a few reasons I need to deliver this damned letter. She pulled the abused fold of paper from her bracer. Sweat, mud and blood stained its wrinkled and creased mass.
“If it or you were a threat, I don’t believe Haku would have let you get this far. But who is it from?” Zabuza held his hand toward her, palm up.
Sakura dropped it in his hand, “Hyuuga Neji.”
“Personally, I really don’t trust the Hyuuga.” A voice spoke behind her.
Sakura had spun around to spot the speaker. He was tall, dark, and, well, handsome. His eyes were a blazing red and his hair was a flowing long black that shimmered beautifully. He moved with a strange sort of grace as he sat on the far side of the watery table. If it was Sasuke, he was older. His easy going body language was offset by the eyes he turned upon Sakura. Eyes that pierced her spirit with a Sharingan she hadn’t seen before.
“So much…but nothing hostile.” He nearly smiled, “how queer…”
“You can be nicer than that, Itachi.” Zabuza scolded him. “Have you been here long?”
“I was here before you were.”
Itachi’s hand was up before Zabuza released the letter and his hand darted about, chasing the letter as it sailed. He caught it as delicately as one would let a snowflake land in their palm.
His other hand held a long bladed kunai with which he opened the letter. He withdrew the folded page within and had one hand flipping it open when he held still as stone.
“oh… one of these…” He spoke quietly.
He stood and stepped to an open space in the room, “You may wish to be standing, and perhaps armed.”
Sakura was on her feet quickly, the great shuriken in her hand. Zabuza was up as well, standing beside Itachi.
Itachi opened the letter and watched as dust spun about in a tight ring. “OOONNNGGGGG!!” A ring as the stored energy of the summoning seal coalesced and smoke flashed.
It cleared quickly to reveal Neji, his back to Itachi.
He turned, “Ahh. A minor misprint in the justsu.” He looked down at the letter, “Or perhaps some damage during delivery.”
“Get to the point, Hyuuga.” Itachi glared. Powerfully.
Neji bowed, “Of course, Lord Uchiha. I wish for nothing but a truce between our clans. And as a token of my trust, I offer you my messenger.”
“Do not presume to offer that which you do not own” Sakura opened the windmill shuriken, her foot lightening as she leaned to step forward.
Itachi put a hand on her shoulder, “What do the Hyuuga want that the Uchiha has?”
“You seem to be gathering a force to be reckoned with. All I was going to ask was to be able to add to your collection. For when you make the move to retake Konoha from the fifth Hokage.”
Itachi looked down at his nails, polishing them on his black vest, “My sincerest apopogies, but the members of Hyuuga Main Branch were blacklisted as a whole last time I looked.” He looked up, “And that isn’t going to change.”
Neji put a hand to his chest in imitation shock, “Me? The prodigy Hyuuga, turn missing nin? That’s absurd!” He crossed his arms, looking away, “Though some of the others have been somewhat shifty and flighty as of recent…”
Itachi growled, “You disgust me, Hyuuga.”
Neji laughed, “Don’t be so hasty to reply in such fashion, I might take it back. Though do take some time to think about the prospect.”
“As for my own, private, business.” Neji stepped up to Sakura, offering her a pen and pad. The writing on it was tiny, though brief. “If you could sign this, Ms Hanuro.”
Itachi laid his kunia over the page. “To what end?” His voice smoldered, his eyes all but smoking.
Neji put on his finest hurt look, “I did promise reimbursement to this fine messenger. And she did fulfill her duties, and rather much faster than I had anticipated.”
He drew roll of coins from his pocket and handed them to Sakura, “If you could just sign the receipt…”
*This is going to bite me in the ass…* She threw her name on the page and handed it back.
“Oh, just for the sake of conversation…” Neji tucked the pad back into his jacket, “While I wait for the timer on this to run out, Have you lot heard the rumors? Someone has come to Konoha and killed one of Orochimaru’s Grave Spawn while under the guise of an Uchiha.” Neji smiled.
Sakura felt a wave of chills race up her spine.
“Yes! It would appear, from what gossip whispers, that this mystery Uchiha woman went into the complex, opened up some secret chamber, and made off with some sort of scroll or something.”
“The spitting image of the late Lady Uchiha on the day the clan was massacred. An avenger in her funeral suit.” Sakura glowered, her hand tightening on the shuriken.
Neji smiled a little too widely, “Well, I hadn’t heard that… Farewell!” And he vanished in a flash of smoke.
“That boy is as much a serpent as Orochimaru.” Itachi stowed his kunai, shredding the summoning seal as he went back to his seat.
“Hey…” Sakura turned again. Sasuke stood in the doorway, “What’s going on in here when the kitchen smells so good?”
“Not much, otosan.” Itachi poured himself a cup of tea.
Sasuke shrugged. “So is it her that smells like sweat and blood?” Pointing at Sakura.
Sakura sniffed herself. *I’m not that bad! …Am I?*
“Maybe she just needs a bath.” Ino stepped up beside Sasuke, her long blond hair wrapped around her neck in a thick braid, “I love you, but this jutsu needs to wear off soon.” And she planted a kiss on his cheek.
Itachi’s arm reflexed, spilling his tea. Sasuke jerked, as if he was trying to snatch something out of the air.
Zabuza was looking back and forth along the line of them, half risen from his seat.
Sasuke stepped in front of Ino, holding her behind him.
“Why?” Itachi’s eyes burned crimson, “And you know what already.”
*What would they…* “Oh…” *That bitch Ino-pig kissed Sasuke!*
“Oh?” Sasuke glared at her, “What oh?”
Ino was craning her neck, trying to see over Sasuke’s shoulder.
*But this isn’t my home. Not even my world… And I suppose if I had been here someplace I would have run into myself by now…* “Mistaken identity.” Sakura forced a smile, “Hanuro Sakura. And you would be…?”
Ino giggled as Sasuke let her push him aside, “Uchiha Ino.”
Sasuke cleared his throat and shot Ino a hard look. “Well, I will be eventually.”
“Ino. Right.” Sakura nodded, “Totally not who I thought you were. I‘m truly sorry I thought abut killing you for a tenth of a second.”
“Who did you think I was?” Ino pointed down at the shuriken Sakura still held in her hand.
She closed it and clipped it to her belt, “Nobody. Old childhood rivalry gone sour.”
Ino nodded, “I know how that goes.” She sidled up to Sasuke and ran a finger through his hair, twirling some of it around the digit, “My Suke-kun has taken a lot of kunai aimed my way out of jealousy.”
“Yes…” Itachi spoke up, “Her Uke-kun is so protective. Hehehe” Itachi laughed harder as Sasuke glared at him. “Fuck you, nii-san.” Though he smiled as he said it.
“Anything else we need to get off our chests before we can continue?” Zabuza stood.
“Actually,” Sakura took the headband off and held it out, “Can someone tell me which side of this thing in up?”
“You aren’t a mist nin?” Itachi took the headband and glared at it, his eyes slowly spinning.
“No…”Sakura watched as Itachi turned it over twice before he threw it to Sasuke.
“It’s just a mask. Part of my disguise.”
Ino pulled it from Sasuke’s hands. He had turned it over several times to no avail.
“Dinner is ready… What’s this?” Haku looked down at the headband Ino had thrust upon her.
“You figure out which side is up.” Ino huffed and resumed her grasp of Sasuke.
Zabuza broke, his control taxed and over run as he fell to the floor laughing riotously.
He howled, holding his sides as tears ran from his eyes.
“What?” Sakura looked down at him, “What the hell is so damned funny?”
“Father, really!” Haku handed the headband back to Sakura, “It’s the one joke the jinchuuriki haven’t played that someone else has.” Haku helped Zabuza to his feet as the fit subsided.
“The mist design is symmetrical…” Zabuza clipped his chuckles closed, wiping his eyes.
“Then why would a mist nin tell me it was upside down?” Sakura rolled the headband up and stuffed it into her vest pocket.
Zabuza straightened his shirt, “It’s a joke among friends, or an insult in the proper circumstances. You usually respond ‘So is yours’ or with a rude gesture or something to that effect.”
“I get it,” Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temples, “But it isn’t that funny.”
“But the part where five of you looked completely confused was.”
Haku gave the old mist nin a shove to the door, “As fun as this is, dinner is getting cold while you all rib one and other about a stupid headband.”
“Dinner?” Itachi perked up and was over Sakura’s head and out the door, bounding off the doorjamb toward the kitchen. “What are we waiting for!”