Perception

Disclaimers: Naruto and its characters are owned by Kishimoto.

Contains spoilers up to chapter 350. This story was inspired by the recent manga, but deviates at Ch. 353 and takes place 3 years ahead of the current timeline.

This story is rated M (as in MATURE) for language, violence and……..you got it - sexual situations. If you’re not mature, don’t read it. And don’t whine if you get offended by adults acting like adults; you were warned. Other than that, all reviews and opinions are much appreciated and loved!
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Perception by Cynchick

Chapter 1: The Perfect Plan


“Target location identified, three hundred meters northwest.” A muted male voice broke the silence.


“Copy. Moving to your location now.” replied another male voice, deeper and smoother than the first.


“The two of us will approach the building and confirm target status. Everyone else stay hidden and mask your chakra. Move to our location upon confirmation.”


“That bastard better be there this time!” ground out a third male voice, deep with an odd squeak


“Keep your voice down, you dickless retard.”


“Don’t order me around asshole!”


“Both of you shut the hell up!” hissed a fourth voice, this one distinctly female despite the lower, hushed tone.


Haruno Sakura rolled her eyes in annoyance as she listened to the hollow, tinny voices coming from her earpiece. She silently mouthed a string of curses at her two bickering teammates. How she managed to keep from strangling them for all these years was a mystery. Their constant fighting and insult-slinging despite the fact that deep down they were friends reminded her too much of another grudgingly love-hate relationship…


She shook that thought out of her head and crouched low in the shadow of the tree branch she’d landed silently on. She drew her chakra inside herself, moving as little as possible. She noted with some satisfaction that she was so inconspicuous that the tree’s resident squirrel was scurrying around not far from her on the trunk, completely undisturbed by her presence.


After several minutes of silent waiting her mind began to wander and she thought of the reason they were here. Sasuke. They were tracking Sasuke, their missing friend and teammate. Or rather, trying to track him down and failing.


She tiredly wiped her brow, using the cloth side of her fingerless gloves to remove the fine trickle of sweat running down her temple. She probably just smeared dirt all over her face but she didn’t particularly care at the moment.

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Sakura and Naruto entered the Hokage’s office, her blonde friend still slightly disgruntled from being dragged away from his breakfast at Ichiraku, to find her mentor Tsunade gazing out of the large window, Jiraiya standing beside her. Both looked gravely serious, and Sakura felt a chill run up her spine.


Sakura bowed briefly to the Hokage and gave a respectful nod to Jiraiya. Naruto simply stood there staring between the two. For once he seemed to pick up on the somber mood and was behaving accordingly. Sakura was struck again by how mature he had become. For the most part.


“What did you want to speak to us about, Hokage-sama?” she asked tentatively.


Tsunade turned around fully and simply looked at them, unsure how to phrase her words.


“Right,” she said, followed by another decisive pause. “Information has been coming in from other countries. I wanted to discuss it with you.”


Sakura felt an invisible fist clench in her stomach. “Information…?” She had a feeling of what this was about, the look on her mentor’s face made her dread what she would hear next.


“W-what is it?” Naruto spoke up for the first time, his question almost too quiet to be heard. The look on his face said he had the same feeling as she did.


Tsunade looked at Jiraiya before continuing. His gaze was turned inward, his expression a deep thoughtful frown.


“Orochimaru is dead.” she said in a strange tone, as if she wasn’t sure what to make of that fact. Sakura thought she could understand the mixed emotions of the two Sannin. He was a monster who deserved whatever bad could happen to him, but he was once their teammate and possibly even a friend at some point.


The similarities between the three Sannin and Team Seven were uncanny. It was Sakura’s greatest fear that they would lose the battle to save their friend like the two older ninja before her. She knew it was Naruto’s greatest fear as well.


The Hokage sighed heavily, regaining her composure. The fist in Sakura’s gut clenched tighter as she waited for the other shoe to drop.


“It appears that Uchiha Sasuke was the one who killed him.”


Stunned silence.


“…Really?” asked a shocked Naruto.


Jiraiya seemed to come back to himself at his apprentice’s question. “It’s definitely true; my most reliable sources confirmed it.”

Sakura’s eyes began to mist over at the implications of that statement. “That’s…then…” she couldn’t finish the sentence as her emotions began to take over.


“HAHA! I knew that freak wouldn’t be able to take Sasuke down!” Naruto shouted cheerfully, throwing his arms behind his head in his trademark pose. Sakura couldn’t help the grin that formed on her face. “So Sasuke’s coming back to Konoha now right?” He looked back and forth between the two Sannin, who stared back at him with unreadable expressions. His smile cracked a little. “Right?”


“Doesn’t look like it.”


Another stunned silence, this one with and undertone of pain. Sakura’s smile slid off her face like someone had slapped her, as did Naruto’s. It was getting hard to hold back the tears.


“What the HELL do you mean?” her friend shouted into the quiet office, his face full of disbelief…and anger.
“Why not? How could he not come back now that Orochimaru is gone?”


Sakura and Naruto both knew the answer to that question, and both had lived in quiet denial about it since the day their friend and teammate left them.


“Sasuke was not kidnapped by Orochimaru, Naruto. Nor was he being held prisoner. He left Konoha of his own free will to seek power. You know that.” Jiraiya admonished, giving his student a pointed look.


“Sasuke is obsessed with getting revenge. He will try to find Akatsuki so he can kill his brother Itachi.” Tsunade added.


It was a hard truth, one they had always known and were now bitterly forced to accept: They didn’t mean as much to Sasuke as he did to them. Nothing was more important to him than killing Itachi. He was an avenger.


Sakura fought back her tears as she looked at Naruto. She could see how hard this was for him. Not for the first time, she thought that no matter how much she loved Sasuke somehow it seemed Naruto was truly the one hurt most by his betrayal. His expression was so dark and brooding that he could have rivaled Sasuke at his worst.


“SHIT! Damn that bastard!” he spat out in frustration. It wasn’t clear which Uchiha he was referring to. Suddenly he snapped into a different mode altogether, his bright eyes resolute. “We need to form a platoon and move out right now! The mission to hunt down Akatsuki is still going on right?”


“…Yes…” Tsunade replied slowly, looking at Naruto like she’d never seen him before.


“To get to Sasuke we need to go after the member of Akatsuki we have the best chance of finding.” He continued.
“In other words, we need to find Uchiha Itachi.”

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Kakashi had come in shortly after that and they began to formulate a plan. Now here they were. Team Kakashi was given a top secret, S-ranked mission of indefinite length with a single purpose: locate Uchiha Sasuke and return him alive to Konoha by any means necessary.


Sakura was no fool. The Hokage did not take four of the Leaf’s best ninja off of mission rotation to go on a soul-saving quest to rescue their lost friend, no matter how personally attached the Godaime was to the people involved. The only reason this assignment was sanctioned by the council of elders was because Konoha could not afford to lose the Sharingan bloodline. They would convince Uchiha Sasuke to return with them of his own free will, or they would take him by force and return him to Konoha where his seed would be extracted and held in reserve to artificially return the bloodline to the village. Then he would be tried and likely executed for treason.


It was a harsh truth, but one that was entirely possible. The members of Team Kakashi knew this better than anyone, as they were the only ones to interact with Sasuke after his defection to Sound. He had truly intended to kill them, and they were the only ones he could even remotely call friends. It still stung that Orochimaru was the one to stay his hand, effectively saving their lives that day.


Despite all of that, Naruto, Sakura and even Kakashi would do everything in their power to save Sasuke from himself. They would do whatever it took to convince him to return willingly and spare him from a traitor’s death he didn’t entirely deserve. His extenuating circumstances would save him if he came home willingly, but they would be thrown out the window if he was brought back as a prisoner. Tsunade had chosen Team Kakashi for this top-priority mission because she knew they had the best chance of success with a positive outcome.


They did exactly as Naruto suggested: track the Akatsuki for any information on Uchiha Itachi’s whereabouts. They weren’t trying to prevent a confrontation between the brothers, they were simply using the fact that if they knew where Itachi was, it was likely that Sasuke did too and they could intercept him.


It was a dangerous game; getting close to the Akatsuki but not close enough to draw attention, lurking around in the shadows and hoping to run into Sasuke doing the same. Team Kakashi had effectively become Hunter Nins with a single, permanent target.


Stalking the Akatsuki was like playing with fire, but this plan was the only one they could follow. They had tried to gather information on Sasuke himself and his possible movements but he just didn’t get attention like the easily recognizable Akatsuki. So they searched and waited for any news of Akatsuki, more importantly Uchiha Itachi, and followed the lead in the hopes that the younger Uchiha would hear the same rumor and show up.


That was almost three years ago. The plan seemed relatively simple but they had had very little success. Every time they got a lead on Akatsuki activity they would head out to investigate, but it was never Itachi or his partner Hoshigake Kisame. They would wait around for a day or so to see if they could catch a chance rendezvous with their target pair, or even for Sasuke to show up on the same dead-end lead they had, but they rarely had any luck. Most of the time any Akatsuki that may have been around were already gone, and they were very good at covering their tracks even from Kakashi’s ninken dogs.

Sakura sighed in frustration. She was starting to become bored, not to mention cramped, from all the waiting. She wondered how Naruto was faring. Normally, the hyperactive blonde was the absolute worst person to use for missions of stealth and reconnaissance. But because of the danger involved for all, because of the severity of the situation, and mainly because it was Sasuke, he was able to keep himself in check. Mostly.


Impatience was beginning to get the best of her and she resisted the urge to fidget. If any Akatsuki were in the area they would find her in a heartbeat if she wasn’t as stealthy as possible. She realized she had lost track of time during her daydreaming, if you could call it that, and chastised herself for losing focus. She could just imagine Kakashi giving her his patented “you know better than that” look. She smiled at the thought of her former sensei. If he tried to give her crap for thinking too hard she’d slap him upside his messy head with that stupid book of his. He clearly had issues of his own to be looking at, not hers.


She noted by the suns position that Kakashi and Sai had been gone about twenty minutes; they should have something to report soon. She really hoped they had something to go on this time. They had staked out several members of Akatsuki before, but they could never catch that damn Uchiha or his fishy partner.


She could freely admit he was one of the best shinobi she’d ever seen. The man was like a ghost, appearing and disappearing without a trace, his name whispered in the dark corners of taverns and always with fear. She hadn’t seen him since the newly reunited and re-named Team Kakashi was sent to rescue Gaara three years ago. Technically it wasn’t even him, merely an advanced clone, but she could still remember the deadly and intimidating aura that filled the space around her like a chokehold. His partner Kisame, on the other hand, had a habit of looking for trouble everywhere they went, usually leaving a brutal, bloody mess behind him. However for all the havoc he caused he was impossible to track as well.


That’s how it’s been for nearly three years. If Team Kakashi had actually managed to stumble across the infamous duo this time she would be so happy she’d kiss the first teammate she came across. But with their track record they were more likely to fail and she’d have to punch something instead.


After what seemed like forever, Sakura finally heard the tiny click of her comm. set activating and Kakashi’s smooth voice in her ear.


“The building was empty. Whoever may have been there is gone now. No information on who was here or any other clues, so I guess that’s that.” His electronically hollowed voice sounded strained and tired, and she knew exactly how he felt.


“Damn it, not again!” was Naruto’s frustrated reply.


“Meet at the rendezvous point.”


“Yeah, yeah we know.” Naruto sounded tired as well.


She hung her head limply in a brief moment of sheer frustration. Yes, she definitely needed to punch something. She stood up slowly, knees aching from her extended crouch, the top of her knee-high boots leaving pressure marks on the backs of her bare thighs. She stretched her legs, enjoying the feel of relaxing muscles. “On my way.” She said into the tiny microphone at her throat, and launched from the tree branch to meet up with her boys.

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As she made her way to the rendezvous point, Sakura thought about her team and how much they’ve changed over the years. They were a far cry from the mismatched, reckless group they were when they were younger, though at times they were still slightly dysfunctional. That was what she loved about them. Even Sai, insensitive asshole that he was. He had helped their team more than she ever thought possible. When they were re-classified to their current mission, he and Kakashi had taught them every trick used in ANBU and them some. She and Naruto had contributed as well with many things they learned from being the privileged students of two of the Legendary Sannin. After several grueling weeks of intense training, Team Kakashi was hardly recognizable in its team dynamics and deadly precise functionality.


Sakura had changed as well. She no longer thought of herself as the weak link in her ridiculously strong team, and neither did they. She was more confident as an eighteen-year old jounin. Inner Sakura rarely made appearances now as Sakura no longer felt the need to act a certain way to make people like her or hide her true thoughts and feelings like she did as an insecure twelve year old.


After Team Seven fell apart and she was left on her own, she realized she needed to stand on her own two feet and get past the silly pre-teen melodrama that had been her life until that point. After making chuunin rank with her former team nowhere in sight she realized that their unnatural strength intimidated her and quite possibly held her back. After all, a sapling cannot grow in the shadow of a mighty tree. Or three trees, as it were. It was likely that she had never really been all that weak except for her tendency to let emotions rule her judgment. She realized that when held next to the great Copy Ninja, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and the prodigious Last Uchiha, she had paled in comparison. But next to anyone else she was exemplary, especially after working and training with her “super-team” for so long.


After nearly six years of growing and learning on her own, most of that time spent learning from the most powerful kunoichi in the world, Sakura was a force to be reckoned with and she knew she held up against her extraordinary teammates just fine. In fact, sometimes they were a little intimidated by her temper and freakish strength. Jiraiya hadn’t called her a mini-Tsunade for nothing.


Chakra control and genjutsu were no longer her only strengths. She had worked hard to master every aspect of the shinobi. She spent hours doing target practice and honing her senses, and had trained extensively with her good friend Rock Lee in taijutsu. She would never in a million years be as good as him, but she was fast and agile and could whoop both Naruto and Sai in hand to hand combat, even without her chakra boosted strength. The only one she couldn’t beat was Kakashi, but that man was in a class by himself anyway. He was elite among the elite, and although she managed to rough him up a few times, he always won their fights. She trained with her childhood teacher turned close friend whenever they had time and opportunity. Although she didn’t have a huge chakra supply and preferred to use it for her strength and healing, it didn’t hurt to know as many jutsu as possible and the famous Copy Ninja knew more than anyone. He also had a Sharingan, and she wanted to be as proficient as possible against it for when, not if, she would have to fight Sasuke again.

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She arrived at the designated rendezvous point to find Naruto already there and looking thoroughly irritated. He looked up at her when she dropped down from the trees into the small clearing though she knew he heard her coming. He grinned warmly and moved to her side, throwing a friendly arm around her shoulders and thunking his head against hers to acknowledge their shared frustration.


He was much taller now, standing eye to eye with Kakashi who was above average height himself. He was so excited when he had his final growth spurt and realized he was a good inch taller than Sai that he teased the quiet man about it for hours. Sakura wrapped her own arm around his waist and she could see and feel how tired he was. They were all tired, in more ways than one. This seemingly hopeless mission was beginning to wear on them, but they refused to lose their determination. They would push on for Sasuke.


She moved away from her blonde friend to remove her pack from her shoulders and drop it carelessly on the ground. She grabbed her canteen and walked to the small creek near the clearing just as Sai dropped silently from the trees. He didn’t look at Naruto and merely nodded at her before setting his pack on the ground and walking off again.


Sakura removed her gloves and kneeled down at the stream. The cool water felt wonderful on her hot skin as she washed her dirty hands and face. She made sure to splash some of the refreshing liquid on the back of her neck before bending down and drinking from her hands. She felt Kakashi’s presence moments before she heard him enter the clearing but didn’t look up as she was busy refilling her canteen.


“What now, Kakashi-senpai?” Naruto was the only one on their team who still called the older jounin by anything but just his name. After telling him time and time again that he didn’t like to be called sensei and to stop saying it, Kakashi had to physically beat it into the blonde’s thick skull. But Naruto always had to tack some sort of extra emphasis onto everything he said including names, so Kakashi was stuck with the respectful yet not-so-age-identifying “senpai”. The only one who was exempt from Naruto’s speech quirks was Sai, who was usually referred to simply as “asshole”.


“We rest here until nightfall, then we move out.” He dropped his own pack and sat down on the ground next to it, removing his mask as he began rubbing his neck to work out the kinks.


Sakura screwed the cap back on the container, shoved her gloves into her pocket and stood up. She walked back to her pack and returned her canteen to the external side pouch, glancing at Kakashi and his woeful attempt at self-massage. She moved behind him and kneeled, swatting his gloved hand away from his neck as she placed her hands on his shoulders and began to work out the knots.


He immediately gave a low groan of relief, relaxing into a slouch as tension drained from him under her expert ministrations. “You’re amazing Sakura-chan.” He sighed, leaning back into her slightly. “What would I ever do without you?”


“Die a painful death due to your own stubbornness and refusal to seek help or medical attention.” was her immediate reply.


“Hmm, you’re probably right.” he conceded, leaning back into her more, forcing her to widen her knees to accommodate him.


Sakura just gave an exasperated laugh at his antics and playfully smacked the back of his head before continuing.


A moment later Sai came back into the clearing from wherever he had gone off to, his dark gaze on Naruto as the now-shirtless blonde dunked his entire head in the stream and came up for air, shaking his sopping head like a wet dog.


Sakura squeaked as a spray of water hit her in the face. Kakashi chuckled at her and she saw he had predicted Naruto’s idiocy and raised his hand to block the spray. She knew he could have blocked her from it as well but didn’t because he thought it would be funny, and she pinched down on his nape in retaliation.


That only made him laugh at her more. Sai turned his attention to them and observed her giving Kakashi a shoulder massage. He said nothing, merely blinked once and looked away.


Not one to miss an opportunity to ruffle his strange teammate’s feathers, Naruto turned towards Sai and mimicked Sakura’s movements, wagging his eyebrows in mock invitation to massage his shoulders for him. He was rewarded with a slightly revolted and very disturbed look from the artist, and all three of them burst out laughing at their teammate’s expense. Sai just turned away and grabbed his pack. Steering clear of the laughing blonde, he sat against a tree and took out his sketchbook.


Naruto put his black undershirt back on, but threw his jacket over the top of his pack as he sprawled out on the ground and tucked it under his head. He clearly intended to nap in the late afternoon sun like a cat, and Sakura thought that sounded like a wonderful idea.


She moved back from Kakashi as she finished working out the last kink. “Better?”


“Much. Thank you.” he replied quietly. She was about to move away when he inclined his head back over his shoulder toward her and made a circular motion with his arm. She blinked at him in confusion until she figured out that he was motioning for her to move around in front of him, and she realized he wanted to return the favor.


She couldn’t believe he was actually offering but she wasn’t about to refuse, so she crawled around and sat in front of him. He grabbed her arms and scooted her backwards with him until his back was resting against the tree. Trust him to get as comfortable as possible. Why didn’t she think of that? He set one leg on either side of her with knees bent and set to work on her tense muscles.


Six, four, even two years ago she would have been shocked as hell to be in this situation, but a lot had changed with their team over time. Sakura knew she was one of the only people allowed in the aloof Copy Ninja’s personal space. She never really wondered why that was because simple physical contact was always a welcome thing with her.


Sakura’s mind was suddenly wiped blank when Kakashi’s strong fingers hit a pressure point and a moan of pleasure escaped her lips as she slumped against him, all of her tension draining away under his touch. Her unintended noise caused Sai to pause in his sketching though he didn’t look up, and Naruto cracked an eye open in their direction briefly before returning to his cat nap. Kakashi merely smirked and continued his work. Sakura was only mildly embarrassed at her little slip. She knew what it had sounded like, although her experience in that area was decidedly limited.


She didn’t think anything of the fact that she was sitting between her much older, former sensei’s legs as his hands moved all over her back and shoulders. She would have done the same thing with her other teammates. Even Sai, though him returning the favor was less likely since he was still rather uncomfortable with any physical contact other than fighting. She was very comfortable with all of her boys, though Kakashi’s presence gave her an extra comfort and she figured that was because she had admired and looked up to him since she was twelve. She trusted her boys with everything she had, and was sure they all felt the same way about her.


There were people in Konoha, mainly the village elders, who thought that Team Kakashi was a little too close, and that their team dynamics were borderline unprofessional. Tsunade however, knew that turmoil was what brought people together and Team Seven and later Team Kakashi had had more than the average ninja’s share. After all they had been through their bonds were permanent and unbreakable, and that was the key to their magic. Despite their old-fashioned grumbling, even the elders couldn’t deny that their team was the most gifted, highly skilled and well rounded team in Konoha.


Sakura couldn’t care less what those people thought. Anyone who truly knew her and her teammates knew there was nothing going on of that nature. She learned a long time ago that maintaining a professional bearing was merely an external behavior and didn’t change the way one actually felt. Naruto had never followed that shinobi rule, and after some time Sakura decided that, at least with the people close to her heart, she wouldn’t either. Eventually her other teammates came to the same conclusion, although in different degrees. They knew what they were to each other, everyone else could piss off.


They were like family, a fact made even more poignant because none of them had any family.


Sakura’s parents both died while she was on a mission four years ago when her family home collapsed due to structural damage caused during the Sound and Sand attack. The old house held up for over a year after the attack and it seemed like a freak accident, but the engineers had assured them that these things can happen. Sakura was never really close to her parents but she did miss them sometimes. She was glad they got to die together, and in their sleep, both luxuries she would likely never have. Naruto had never had any family, growing up alone and unloved. Sai was orphaned at a very young age and taken by ROOT, who did their best to turn him into an emotionless robot. And Kakashi, well, his life was a never-ending tragedy until three annoying genin entered the picture. Sakura was one of the only people alive who knew about his past, and possibly the only one to hear it from his own lips. She marveled at the man’s inner strength, at his will to keep going after so many devastating knock-downs. She just wished he didn’t blame himself for so much of it. His faith in his current team and his emotional trust were probably due to the fact that they all had darkness in their pasts, and the fact that they were all still alive.


The late summer sun was just beginning its afternoon descent and Sakura figured they had about two hours until nightfall. She let herself relax fully against Kakashi as he continued to work out the knots in her neck and shoulders. It was peaceful in the small clearing, listening to the lulling sounds of the forest and watching her teammates relaxing and enjoying the afternoon after the long, hard day they’d had. She smiled as she gazed affectionately at her oblivious boys.


The first time Kakashi had removed his mask in front of them Naruto could barely contain himself and gaped unabashedly at his former sensei’s newly revealed face for hours. Even Sai was surprised and had to fight the urge to stare. Sakura smiled at the memory. She had stared too, but females are much more subtle about things like ogling.


She had always known Kakashi was a very handsome man. His mask was formfitting after all and you could see the entire outline of his face if you paid close enough attention. His good looks were probably one of the biggest reasons he wore the mask as he didn’t like all the attention. There wasn’t anything particularly remarkable about it; just even, regular features that fit together extremely well. It was youthful without any lines or blemishes, but still held a rugged, authentically masculine edge that was missing in the perfectly formed, almost feminine beauty Sasuke possessed.


Other than his willingness to go maskless around them, his outward appearance hadn’t changed much in all the years she’d known him. He still wore the standard black jounin uniform and still had unevenly cut gravity-defying silver hair that looked like it had never been brushed. Sakura had tried brushing it once but his hair was as stubborn as he was and refused to go any direction other than up.


She looked over at Naruto, who was beginning to emit small, snoring noises. He was sprawled haphazardly on the ground, taking up as much space as possible. His black undershirt had ridden up during his shuffling baring nearly half of his flat, toned abs. The dark coloring of the Kyuubi seal around his navel stood out in stark contrast on his sun-kissed skin. He still had the same orange and black jacket, but had finally traded his loud orange pants for regular, black jounin ones that actually fit inside his calf-length boots. His golden blonde hair was slightly longer now, especially in the front and sides. It hung over his hitai-ate and partially obscured the darker pigmented marks resembling whiskers that the Kyuubi sealing had left on his cheeks.


As he had gotten older, his resemblance to the deceased Yondaime became so uncanny that occasionally she saw the older villagers doing double-takes as he walked around town. It really made her wonder, but she knew if she did ask anyone who might know she wouldn’t get an answer anyway.


He was so much more mature, so much more thoughtful and perceptive, and she wondered what had happened during his three year absence from Konoha to make him grow up so much. She had no doubt in her mind that the goofy, hyperactive man currently flopped on the forest floor like a well-fed dog would be the next Hokage.


Sakura finally turned her gaze to the other occupant of the clearing. Sai felt her eyes on him and looked up, watching her watch him for a moment before giving her a small smile and returning to his drawing. He still wore the same cropped jacket but now paired it with a full-length, high necked undershirt that was common for ANBU to wear, and he too had begun to tuck his pants into his boots.


Sai had probably changed more on the inside than anyone else, except maybe her. He still appeared to be the emotionless robot with the same blank expression on his pale, good-looking face, but only if you didn’t know him. After spending years of her life with both Kakashi and Sasuke, she prided herself on her ability to read blank or hidden expressions.


Sai had leaned a long time ago that fake smiles and nicknames you didn’t mean didn’t have the effect on people the books said they would, so he stopped doing it. Except for Naruto who was still referred to with some form of nickname suggesting missing genitalia because it got a rise out of him. Sakura couldn’t imagine the atrocities done to the children of ROOT to turn them into such severely repressed, psychologically fucked-up shinobi, but she was glad that Sai was slowly pulling himself out of it with their help. His smiles were rare but genuine, and although he would always be slightly emotionally stunted, he did feel things and expressed them in the little ways he knew how.


However that was only to the other members of Team Kakashi, whom he felt comfortable with. With anyone else, Sai just didn’t give a shit. He was strange, difficult to read at times, and had an odd sense of humor. But he was a loyal friend and a magnificent artist with a deep soul that saw beauty even in the darkest situations, and that was good enough for her.


Watching the aloof artist and trying to figure out what he was thinking reminded her of another dark-haired boy he resembled so much: the missing member of their team. Yes, they still considered Sasuke a member of their team, and probably always would. Even Sai, who had only met him once under less than favorable circumstances and had only learned about him from his teammates, still felt a strange connection to the misguided Uchiha. They were a family, and Sasuke was the wandering stray, their black sheep.


They hadn’t seen him for three years and she couldn’t help but wonder what he looked like now. Was he still beautiful? Most likely. Was he still brooding? More than ever, of that she was certain. Was he tall or short? Muscular or lean? She didn’t have a clue since she had none of his relatives to judge by, and she was too young and scared the one time she had seen Itachi to notice anything. She’d heard they looked a lot alike, but she hadn’t looked at his face that time for fear of being caught by his eyes. Would Sasuke have that same, deadly aura around him? It worried her to think so. Did he still wear that ridiculous bow-tied outfit that Orochimaru gave him? She certainly hoped not.


She had often been asked by other kunoichi, including the Hokage much to Sakura’s horror, how she managed to handle being on a team with so many fine specimens of man-candy. Some women teased her that she was the luckiest woman in Konoha and to share the wealth. She just laughed at her friends, telling them that she handled it by having the ability to admire physical beauty and not get all worked up over it, and that there were plenty of other hot shinobi in the village that weren’t on her team; Neji, Genma, Shikamaru and Kiba for example. Her friends agreed with her, but they pointed out that her teammates all had that little extra something, and Sakura was compelled to agree. All of her boys were gorgeous in their own unique ways, and it never hurt to appreciate beauty.


She remembered the day she had been mercilessly exposed by the devious little Konohamaru and his infamous Sasuke/Sai make-out henge. Not that she had those kinds of fantasies. Even if she did, those two looked too much alike to be anything other than creepy and more perverted than she was willing to think about. However, they had both been naked in the jutsu, and that fact alone had given her quite a nosebleed. Poor Sai, he hadn’t quite understood at the time, being fresh out of ROOT. But now when it was brought up, because her other teammates refused to let her live it down, she could swear she saw an uncomfortable blush on the artist’s cheeks.

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The sun was below the horizon, the sounds of the forest changing as the nocturnal creatures awoke and came out of hiding. The trill of crickets and the feel of Kakashi shifting behind her brought Sakura back to her senses, and she got that odd feeling of waking without knowing you’d been asleep. Then she realized that she had fallen asleep with her back against Kakashi’s chest, effectively trapping him against the tree.


She turned her face over her shoulder to look at him. He had pulled out Icha Icha at some point, and was resting his elbow on his knee for leverage to read. He felt her shift against him as she woke up, and he closed his book before tilting his head to look at her.


“Nice nap?” he asked playfully.


“Sorry.” she laughed apologetically, sitting up fully. “Why didn’t you move me?”


“You were keeping me warm.”


She blinked at that response. “It’s hot outside…”


He merely gave her an eye crinkling smile and shrugged.


Sakura rolled her eyes at her cryptic teammate and stood up, stretching out as Naruto did likewise with a full throated yawn. Sai closed his sketchpad and returned it to his pack, and Sakura wondered what he had been drawing. Kakashi stood up as well, putting Icha Icha in his pocket and brushing the dirt and leaves from the back of his pants.


Naruto shook the forest debris from himself and his jacket before putting it back on, walking out of the clearing as he zipped it up. “I gotta take a leak.” he graciously informed them.


“How can you take a leak when you have no penis? Do you squat like a girl?” Sai hadn’t said a word in hours but apparently couldn’t resist an opportunity to tease his blonde friend. Or this was payback for the massage joke earlier.


“Man, what is it with you and your obsession with penises? Go play with your own and stop thinking about mine you freak.”


“At least I have one to play with.”


The blonde just stood there for a moment, gaping incredulously at Sai as if he couldn’t believe this subject was still being brought up. Then he made up his mind: he stomped back into the clearing, stopped right in front of Sai and began to unbuckle his pants.


“I’ll show you who’s dickless, motherfu—“


Sakura couldn’t believe that idiot was actually going to whip it out right here in front of her! She flew at her blonde friend and was about to pound him in righteous indignation when Kakashi stepped in and grabbed him by the collar just as he reached inside the front of his trousers.


Sakura was about to whack him anyway for his stupid idea and for standing there practically fondling himself, when Kakashi grabbed her from behind as well, elbow bent around her shoulder with his hand pressing firmly against her sternum.


“Knock it off.”


“He started it Kakashi-senpai.”


“What are you, twelve?”


“Shut up asshole.”


“Both of you shut up. You’re making too much noise.” he let go of Naruto but held on to Sakura for a moment to make sure she wasn’t going to try and hit the blonde again. “Naruto, hurry up and finish your business. Let’s get moving.” he finished with easy, well-practiced authority. He let go of Sakura and moved away to put on his pack.


Naruto huffed and stalked out if the clearing, shooting Sai a dirty look as he went. Sai stared back with an amused expression before shouldering his own pack and leaping onto the nearest tree.


Sakura couldn’t help but laugh. They were all so different but somehow still the same. She loved them all, and wouldn’t have things any other way. Except one thing, and that was why they would return home and wait for any information on their missing piece, and set out to try again.


She picked up her own pack and Naruto’s, tossing it at him as he came back into the clearing. Kakashi was busy erasing any signs of their presence. The blonde caught his pack midair and effortlessly slung it over his shoulders.
“Let’s hurry, the sooner we get back the sooner I can see Hinata-chan!” he grinned hugely.


“I don’t know how you got ahold of her, what with you being di-“


“Sai.” Kakashi warned quietly.


Naruto just rolled his eyes and took off into the trees at full speed.


Sakura shouldered her pack and jumped onto the same branch as Sai, shoving him playfully with her hip and giving him a reprimanding look. He smirked at her, and she smirked back as he leapt away in the direction Naruto had gone.


Kakashi jumped soundlessly onto the branch beside her, and they shared the understanding smile of the only two relatively normal people in their group. He pulled his mask up over is nose and motioned with a tilt of his head for her to move out. She silently leapt away into the forest, Kakashi following behind, and the four Leaf Ninja vanished into the night.

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Miles away, in a vast, dark cavern hidden in the cliffside of a large ravine, nine shadowy figures materialized silently out of the ether. Their dark silhouettes flickered strangely, as if non-corporeal, and an ominous aura filled the air as they stood motionless, waiting.


The presence of one dark figure stood out above the rest. His cold swirling eyes, the only part of him distinguishable from his cloaked shape, rose slowly to acknowledge the eight who had appeared before him. He moved his gaze slowly over each of them before speaking.


“It is time to begin the final stages of our endeavor. What we anticipated to take three years has actually taken seven because we underestimated the individual power of the Jinchuuriki. However despite that fact we have succeeded in capturing and extracting eight of the Bijuu. It is now time to extract the final demon, the Kyuubi, and then our power will be absolute. The Nine Tails will be the most difficult to obtain as it is the most powerful. As we all know, the Kyuubi resides in Konoha and is well protected by the Leaf. Several attempts have been made to capture the vessel before now and all were…unsuccessful.”


Crimson eyes narrowed in the darkness, and several pairs of eyes looked in the owner’s direction.


Leader continued. “Despite their reputation for being soft-hearted and weak, Konoha shinobi have been responsible for the deaths of three of our comrades. The Leaf is not to be taken lightly. That leads me to the next bit of information: Uchiha Sasuke. Zetsu.”


The deep, gravelly voice of the plant man echoed in the cavern. “Sasuke has been seen again, traveling the towns and countryside with two companions. Juugo of Tenpin is no longer with them but the reason for that is unknown. After the demise of Orochimaru, it was a concern that Sasuke would be a hindrance to our plans, especially if he rejoined the Leaf. But after three years it seems he is not the threat we thought he was, though it is still most likely that he is after Itachi.”


“The capture of the Kyuubi is of utmost importance.” Leader spoke up again. “The extraction process of the other eight has taken far too long and it is only a matter of time before the sealing statue becomes unstable. Itachi is assigned to the Kyuubi, and any outside interference at this point will prove problematic. Deidara.”


“Hmm?”


“You and Tobi are closest to Itachi and Kisame’s location.” It was not a question.


“That’s right…yeah.”


“You will rendezvous with them and cooperate in the capture of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.”


“Understood…yeah.” Icy blue eyes glanced once at the shadowy duo to the right in curiosity.


“That is not necessary. Kisame and I can capture the vessel without assistance.” Itachi’s voice rang out quietly, a hint of irritation in the smooth tone.


“Yeah, we don’t need any help.” Kisame echoed, not bothering to hide his distaste for the idea.


“So far that hasn’t been the case.” Leader informed them coldly, and several eyes shifted to the pair now being put on the spot. “The four of you will rendezvous and work out a plan of action. That is all.”


The dark shapes began to shuffle and vanish one by one, their holographic projections flickering out like candle flames.


“Itachi. Kisame.” Leader’s voice echoed out to two of the remaining figures.


Both the large shadow and the smaller one next to it stopped their movements and turned to regard the Leader. Eyes of the departing shadows looked in their direction briefly before flickering out. Ice-blue lingered on crimson before vanishing as well, until only three figures remained in the vast cavern.


“Do you even know where the Kyuubi is?” Eyes cold as steel, empty and void of all light bored into the cloaked pair. His displeasure was evident and filled the air around them.


“We do not.” answered the smaller shadow, his voice as smooth as the Leader’s was menacing.


“If we did we would have said so when you asked the first time.” added the larger shadow, his beady silver eyes stared balefully at the tall figure before them.


The air seemed to chill around them, and the cold eyes of the Leader narrowed dangerously at the giant shape of the shark-man. “You may want to mind your tone, Kisame. The two of you have already tested the limits of my patience.”


The shark-man flinched minutely and he lowered his eyes as well as his voice before continuing. “The Kyuubi vessel was taken into hiding six years ago by the Sannin Jiraiya. We were unable to locate him at the time. Even if we had, battling the Kyuubi vessel and a Sannin at the same time would not be wise. We encountered him again three years ago but he was extremely well guarded then too, and it was in the middle of the Ichibi extraction. Our clones were not able to defeat the little bastard’s entourage.”


“I have grown tired of your excuses, Kisame. Itachi.” He turned to regard the smaller man, who returned his gaze with an impassive expression. The Sharingan user was the only one who could look him in the eye for any length of time, one of the reasons why he was one of Leader’s most trusted followers.


“You are one of the very best, and you have my trust, which is not given lightly. I assigned the Kyuubi, the most powerful of the Bijuu, to you for that reason. It has been nearly seven years and you have continued to fail in this task. Your family issues are causing too many problems for Akatsuki, and you have been unable to deal with that as well. You are beginning to disappoint me, Itachi, and that is not a wise thing to do. Uchiha Itachi does not fail. Do not make me begin to think otherwise.”


The Sharingan user did not reply, he was not expected to. The clench of his jaw was hidden by the darkness around them.


“I know that you are both highly capable, you would not be in this organization otherwise. You captured the Yonbi with no problems. I know that as the most powerful Bijuu the Kyuubi is the most difficult to obtain, and he is sure to be even more powerful now than the last time you encountered him. I am also aware that unlike most other demon vessels, this one is actually cared for and protected by his people, adding an extra level of difficulty. That is why I am sending Deidara and Tobi, who have no priority objectives at the moment, to assist you in the capture of the vessel Uzumaki Naruto. You have six months. If at the end of those six months you two have still not captured the vessel, I will be forced to reevaluate your usefulness to this organization.”


“Understood.” Replied Itachi, his smooth voice emotionless as ever.


“We won’t fail this time.” added Kisame.


Leader said nothing more, merely fixing his cold grey gaze on each of them in turn and nodded once before his image flickered out.


The two remaining figures stood perfectly still for a moment before they too vanished, and the vast, empty cavern was enveloped in blackness once more.

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Under the large rock outcropping they occupied, Uchiha Itachi opened his eyes from his meditation and fixed his cold, crimson gaze on the large man across from him.


Kisame opened his own eyes a moment later and immediately a scowl fell across his shark-like features. “Fuck!” he spat out, slamming his fist into the ground at his feet. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He threw a disturbed look at his stoic partner. “We’re fucked.”


“Calm yourself. Your outburst is not helping.”


“Calm myself? You heard what he said. He’s going to kill us both if we don’t catch that little shithead Uzumaki in the next six months!” Kisame reached for Samehada and stood up. He began to pace in frustration.


“I understood his meaning as well as you did, there is no need to repeat it.”


“I know you’re pissed about the things he said to you.”


“I do not get ‘pissed’”


“Bullshit.”


Itachi didn’t dignify that comment with a reply. Kisame continued his ranting and pacing while his partner remained unmoving and expressionless. “This isn’t good, man. You may be the mighty Uchiha Itachi, but Leader can still rip you a new one.”


“I am aware of that Kisame.”


“I know it’s your thing and all, but how the hell can you be so calm?”


No answer.


The shark-man groaned in annoyance. “And now on top of this, your goddamn brother’s on the loose and looking for you. We ain’t got time for distractions from that fucked-up little reject.”


“Your observations are pointless.”


“Well you’re the fucking genius, you think of a way to save our asses.” Kisame seemed to finally run out of steam and sat down roughly on the ground.


Itachi remained silent, his brilliant mind working to come up with a solution. He knew the Kyuubi vessel and his brother were connected, so the best conclusion would be one that would take care of both problems, possibly even at the same time.


He recalled everything he knew about Uzumaki Naruto and his relationship with his foolish brother. Both from Konoha, therefore both were driven by the heart rather than the mind, and therefore easily manipulated by emotion. Sasuke tried to pretend otherwise, but Itachi had proven the vulnerability of his brothers’ useless feelings time and time again. Uzumaki was a blatantly obvious bleeding-heart type and could be driven to reckless and irrational behavior by even the smallest things.


His brother was actively hunting him, but hadn’t been able to find him. He never would, unless Itachi deliberately made the trail easier to find. He knew that capturing Naruto would bring his brother to him faster though he pretended not to care, but it was getting ahold of the Kyuubi vessel in the first place that was proving difficult.


Suddenly Itachi was struck by an idea: take a page out of Orochimaru’s book. The snake Sannin had lured Sasuke away from Konoha by manipulating him with something he wanted very badly, driving him to the point that he became reckless, ignoring the facts and everything inside himself that cried out in warning, consumed by his driving need to reach a single goal.


Itachi knew he was his brother’s ultimate goal and extra manipulation was not necessary, he had done enough of that already though a little extra push won’t hurt. If only he could push Naruto in the same way; bring him out of whatever hole he was hiding in and drive him straight into his trap.


There had to be something connected the two, something that would make them both come running straight for him. They were childhood friends, former genin teammates under the guidance of the Copy Ninja. But he couldn’t use Hatake Kakashi in his plan. His brother and the Kyuubi were going to be enough to handle without bringing him into it. Itachi was not so arrogant as to think he could handle all three of them without serious problems. Besides that, he didn’t think it would be enough incentive for either boy.


No, there had to be something else, something precious to both of them, something…


It hit him suddenly what that something was: the kunoichi. The little girl on Hatake’s team that had been too scared to even look at his clone when he confronted them during the Ichibi extraction.


Sakura. That was her name. All he knew of her now was that she had become some kind of medic. Of course she had. She was exactly the kind of soft-hearted, pretty faced, simpering waste of air that foolish, overly hormonal idiots with hero complexes like Uzumaki and his brother sacrificed themselves for. From what he had witnessed, she was a pathetic excuse for a ninja that should never have been let out of the academy. She was the ideal incentive to lure his prey.


They would be furious, and they would come for him like rabid dogs. Yes, the pretty little cherry blossom would be the perfect bait.


Itachi stood up finally, looking down at his partner to do the same. “Let’s go Kisame.”


“Where?” the tall man stood with a grunt.


“To meet Deidara and his useless partner.”


“You thought of something didn’t you?” an evil grin played across his shark-like features.


“Hn.”


“Well, what is it?”


“We will wait for Deidara, and then I will explain.” The corners of his mouth turned up just slightly. “We’re going to plan a party.”