Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi left out of Konoha under the cover of darkness, before dawn\u2019s first rays cracked over the sleeping village.<\/p>\n
Kakashi explained briefly that he had a lead on something big and that they needed to go. Time was of the essence.<\/p>\n
They trusted Kakashi so they went. No questions asked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But as the sun grew higher in the sky and they churned up more distance from familiar places, it became clear that their destination was somewhere beyond the Fire country borders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura met Sasuke\u2019s questioning gaze just once, but she had no answers either.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kakashi must have known of their silent communication, because not long after he said, \u201cWe\u2019ll stop soon, and I\u2019ll explain more.\u201d<\/p>\n They nodded and tucked into their rhythm, moving over the land in chakra-enhanced blurs.<\/p>\n This desperate dash across the countryside for a secret emergency mission was the stuff of dreams for most academy kids. And here she was doing it. Sometimes it still surprised her. It wasn\u2019t her dream. At least\u2026not at first.<\/p>\n The chakra was the only thing that was easy. The rest was a challenge. School and learning skills. Friends and teammates. But her chakra was always there, a constant companion, even from the beginning.<\/p>\n She could not remember a time when there wasn\u2019t a \u2018green light\u2019 in her hands. She thought everyone had it. She could transfer it from hand to hand, like a play toy. And if she held a book long enough, becoming immersed in it, the glow might actually transfer to the cover, for the briefest moment. It was never strong. When she moved her fingers and tried to look for it, it would flicker away like a firefly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To her it was simply a game. But she was wrong.<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s memory of the first time she shared her \u2018green light\u2019 was still clear. She was on a play-date when she closed her eyes and put it on her friend\u2019s hand. She was amazed to \u2018see\u2019 the light still glowing there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It was different from inanimate objects. It was like she could feel both of them where they were connected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She looked up in amazement, but was met with horror. Green light reflected in the other girl\u2019s overly wide eyes. Her mouth was open, forming a scream, but the sound had not yet come out\u2014<\/p>\n It all caught up in one ear-splitting wail. The child ripped her hand away. Sakura, frightened by the reaction, extinguished her \u2018light\u2019 without even trying. When the two mothers came running in, big tears were rolling down the girl\u2019s plump cheeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The girl\u2019s mother nudged aside her fingers, inspecting the skin and asking what was wrong. The attention made the cries sharper. But between the gasps she was able to point to the source of her pain. Sakura.<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cShe tried to take my hand,\u201d the girl wailed. \u201cWith her green light\u2014 She tried to take it awaaayyy\u2026.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The mother frowned deeply, first at Sakura, then at Sakura\u2019s mother. Then Sakura started to cry too. Within minutes, the mothers were bidding each other tight farewells and the Harunos were on their way home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Walking briskly, Sakura\u2019s mother gripped her hand and quizzed her about what happened. Sniffling, Sakura repeated what she\u2019d done. Her mother was confused. \u201cSo, it was just a game then?\u201d Sakura nodded.<\/p>\n They passed the baker, and Sakura turned her head to sniff at the good smells wafting out the open storefront. Her mother didn\u2019t notice. \u201cSakura-chan,\u201d her mother said gently, \u201cwhat did she say about a green light\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Sakura nodded distractedly, trying to wriggle her chubby hand out of her mother\u2019s hand. She wanted to get closer, maybe even catch a glimpse of the sweet cakes\u2014<\/p>\n Her mother held her firm. \u201cSakura, what about the green light\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Sakura leaned toward the shop, content to drag her mother with her. \u201cThe green light\u2014\u201c\u00a0 <\/span>she said with a dreamy sniff\u2026.<\/p>\n \u201cYes honey. Was there a light in her room or something else green\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Sakura shook her head. \u201cNo, the one in my hand\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s mother was so surprised she loosened her fingers. Sakura tugged her little hand from her grasp. She ran toward the shop where the friendly baker gave her a smile, a tousle of her hair and a little cookie. The baker waved over Sakura\u2019s head toward her mother. Her mother hid her confusion with a cheerful wave. She was still smiling when she took Sakura\u2019s hand again after she\u2019d run back, delightedly showing off the cookie.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSakura,\u201d she said quietly when they were a few steps away. \u201cThe light. Was it\u2026just a part of the game?\u201d<\/p>\n Mouth full of cookie, Sakura beamed up at her mother and nodded effusively.<\/p>\n Relieved, her mother smiled down into her big green eyes. \u201cOf course. That\u2019s what I thought.\u201d Sakura took another bite of the crumbling cookie. Her mother smiled fondly. \u201cIs it good?\u201d<\/p>\n Constellations of crumbs sticking to each pink cheek, Sakura managed an enthusiastic \u201cMmm-hmmm!\u201d between bites.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Her mother laughed and tousled her hair, pushing her bangs away from her eyes, and they went home.<\/p>\n That night, her mother relayed the story to her father, about the girl\u2019s obvious temper tantrum and how she blamed Sakura. Her father laughed loudly. \u201cOur little Sakura? Never!\u201d The matter was completely forgotten.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, the second time Sakura shared her light it would not be forgotten. It would change everything for her.<\/p>\n A few years later, Sakura accompanied her mother to deliver a parcel of embroidery to an important clan. It was all very formal and important. They went to a house with a round gate in front \u2014 a \u201cmoon gate\u201d she heard her mother say \u2014 and she was thrilled to go through it. She turned her eyes upward in a big circle and slowly stepped through, wondering what amazing things might lay beyond it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It didn\u2019t disappoint. There was a beautiful walled courtyard lined with flowers and manicured trees. It was criss-crossed with pathways that lead to other archways, each with its own closed door. Sakura was certain that behind each one were even more beautiful courtyards. They waited there until a door opened.<\/p>\n An attendant welcomed them politely, then ushered them through the first one. The path led to a wing of a massive clan compound hidden behind the walls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There, beyond a sliding screen, sat a grandmotherly type with piles of silver hair and and milky eyes, waiting on a stack of cushions as if she were royalty. Sakura peered around her mother to gape. To her, the woman looked too perfect to be real, like a doll in a store window\u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The attendant stepped forward, blocking her view. Sakura\u2019s mother was shown toward the room, while Sakura was directed back out the door. She pointed out to the maze of buildings, and around to a garden where the sound of children\u2019s voices was echoing up. Sakura glanced at her mother, her mother nodded her head, and Sakura dutifully bowed back and followed the dark-haired woman.<\/p>\n The instructions were, in fact, too complicated for her to understand. She\u2019d never heard of words like \u2018dining wing\u2019 or \u2018ladies courtyard\u2019 or \u2018training pavilion.\u2019 And she\u2019d never dreamed that all those interesting sounding places might included in one single house. But it didn\u2019t matter. She just followed the sound of laughter instead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In a few turns, a large square courtyard was opening up in front of her. This one was informal family garden was lined by long family wings on each side. Several sliding doors were open to the green space. It had a large tree, several benches and a pond. Toys, balls and mock weapons were scattered across the trampled grass.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Several older girls were sitting under the tree, talking, braiding each other\u2019s silky black hair and watching the older boys throw wooden kunai at a target. They all had the same luminous pale eyes. The newcomer hovering at the arched entrance was not worthy of their attention. But a cluster of boys and girls closer to Sakura\u2019s age took notice. They paused their game of kick-ball to walk over and investigate the stranger.<\/p>\n Sakura went to the edge of the koi pond and was met there by the curious kids. They asked the normal rapid-fire questions of school-age children, jumping from topic to topic without waiting to hear her answers. They said lots of words she\u2019d never heard before, and when they determined that she was not, what they called, a shee-no-bee, they left her behind to find more interesting distractions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She was content to sit at the rounded edge of the pond and watch the black and orange fish dart beneath the lily pads. But suddenly, the surface of the water shimmered with reflected blue light. The fish disappeared.<\/p>\n Across the pond, one of the older boys was showing off his fist, completely cloaked in flames of glowing blue energy. All eyes turned to him. Even the older kids paused in their activities to acknowledge him. He looked around, face wreathed in pride, making sure everyone saw, including Sakura.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura didn\u2019t know anything about their world, but she knew this. Smiling back, Sakura cupped her hands together and filled up the space with a pool of green light. It glowed much brighter than the boy\u2019s hand\u2014<\/p>\n But before she could look up and see if they approved, a kick-ball smacked her in the chest, knocking her hands sideways, and sending her crashing into the pond.<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s top half was soaking wet. There was a scream. And then her mother was at the door. She looked aghast at Sakura, and Sakura looked down at what she\u2019d done. Water was everywhere\u2014 But that wasn\u2019t the worst of it\u2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tears immediately began to well in her eyes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The kids were drawing closer to see what happened, including the one who had kicked the ball.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSorry,\u201d he said when the attendant jerked him by the elbow. \u201cI meant to hit him<\/i>! Not her!\u201d<\/p>\n The grandmother with silvery hair and milky eyes appeared at the door next, looking very dour and unhappy. The sunlight made her suddenly look old, with skin look like paper. She frowned deeply, first at Sakura, then at Sakura\u2019s mother, then stepped back into the angled shade where her luminous, moon-lit radiance returned a little.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A few clansmen fresh from a training session appeared in the arch behind them. They stood at the back with sweat-tipped hair, their pale eyes looking over the wrecked garden scene before landing on the curious, dripping pink-haired girl in the middle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think you should leave,\u201d the old woman pronounced. \u201cBoth of you.\u201d Everyone bowed while she turned and left, head tipped up with the certainty that her orders would be carried out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The older boy who had been showing off muttered under his breath, \u201cWeirdo\u2014\u201d as he walked past Sakura.<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s chin crumpled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s mother opened her hand for her daughter, and Sakura ran to her mother, starting to sob. But Sakura\u2019s mother shushed her and refused to let her dissolve into tears. She held her hand, tipped her chin up and they walked out in silence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Exiting through the round moon gate, Sakura shut her eyes hard. She never wanted to see this place again.<\/p>\n By the time they got back to their neighborhood, the whole episode felt like a memory. Sakura\u2019s mother stopped at the bakery and got her a cookie, and spoke gently while they walked, asking her about the boy that threw the ball, if they were mean to her, or if anything else was said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura answered quietly no, in between bites, and that put her mother at ease.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was just a big misunderstanding then,\u201d her mother said decidedly. \u201cThose clan types can be very strange. Very proud and just\u2026different\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Sakura nodded. \u201cThe boy had the same kind of light as mine.\u201d She took another bite. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think he liked mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s mother nearly stumbled. \u201cWhat\u2026? What light?\u201d<\/p>\n Sakura smiled. \u201cMy green light,\u201d she said matter-of-factly, wiggling her fingers. \u201cIt was brighter than his.\u201d<\/p>\n Her father\u2019s voice boomed from the road ahead of them. \u201cOhayo Sakura-chan!\u201d Sakura broke off into a run towards her father, and Sakura\u2019s mother was left to watch the two, one thought cascading to another.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By dinner the whole incident at the clan compound was forgotten. The only mention was Sakura\u2019s mother declaring that she would never work for a clan again. Her father approved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBah, let them sew up their own designs. You shouldn\u2019t waste your talents on them.\u201d<\/p>\n Her mother smiled at his support and passed him another helping. Sakura swung her legs under her seat and curled her hair behind her ears and smiled too.<\/p>\n But after dinner, Sakura heard her mother\u2019s voice floating down the hall. Her mother and father were talking in more serious tones. \u201cTry to remember. Did your family have a hidden skill or something special, anything\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n His laughter overrode her worried voice. \u201cYou mean like some of the \u2018magic\u2019 these Konoha clans claim to possess? Ha! If we did, then we didn\u2019t put it to good use! My father and mother, and their father and mother, and all the family before them wouldn\u2019t have had to work their lives dying fabrics in icy mountain streams\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about anything\u2026green<\/i> in your background?\u201d There was a tone of desperation in her voice. \u201cLike in old family stories, anything you can remember\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I can\u2019t think of anything\u2026.\u201d A chair pushed back noisily. \u201cThat settles it. Now you can just put this whole thing out of your mind! Those clan people are strange! We\u2019ve never had their business before, and we don\u2019t need it now! I\u2019m just sorry that your trip over there was for nothing.\u201d He was satisfied, and his voice sounded like he\u2019d resolved the matter. If her mother felt differently, then she didn\u2019t say it. Only the clink of washing dishes remained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By the next afternoon, everything in Sakura\u2019s life had changed.<\/p>\n She returned home from her civilian school to find her father\u2019s downstairs workspace full of people. They turned in unison and looked at her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Her father\u2019s voice boomed. \u201cHere she is! Now she can clear all this up\u2014\u201c But Sakura\u2019s mother stood inside the doorway with the guilty expression of someone who knew more than she should. \u201cThere\u2019s no green light,\u201d he said, waving Sakura in. \u201cOur daughter\u2019s just a normal girl!\u201d<\/p>\n Her mother however, gave her a wobbly smile and took her hand without speaking. Her cheeks were red as if she\u2019d been crying.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSakura,\u201d she said softly. \u201cThis man was at that big house yesterday. The one with the\u2026\u201d she swallowed, \u201cpond<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura looked up at the dark-haired, pale-eyed man. He did not smile at her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe says he saw<\/i> a green light in your hands,\u201d she continued, voice tinged with desperation. \u201cBut that can\u2019t be true can it? The green light, it\u2019s just part of a game isn\u2019t it, sweetie?\u201d<\/p>\n Sakura nodded at her mother, and her mother exhaled deeply, so relieved to clear it up, and was just reaching to hug her daughter, when Sakura opened her hand between them. Her palm was coated in a bright, luminous green. She squeezed it and watched it squish around to the back side. It was much stronger than the boy\u2019s light, and doing new things. She smiled down into the glow of it.<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s mother gasped and leaned back. The others leaned in. Frightened, Sakura\u2019s light suddenly snuffed out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s parents looked at each other, while the others in the room conferred quietly among themselves. The dark-haired man whispered to a figure in a milk-white mask leaning against the wall. Another man in a green vest spoke to a woman in a doctor\u2019s coat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd you are absolutely certain, there is no chance that she\u2019s a shinobi-born\u2014 Or adopted\u2014?<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d Anguish was seeping into her mother\u2019s voice. \u201cHow many times do I have to tell you\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s chin began to wobble and fat tears slid down. Her mother started to cry too. Her father\u2019s voice was hoarse. \u201cTell me! What\u2019s wrong with my<\/i> daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n The room went silent. Finally the masked figure stood from the wall. The voice was quiet but masculine. \u201cShe is a shinobi\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d Her father looked from face to face.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The green-vested man began to speak in friendlier tones, but the masked figure cut him off.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has powers abilities that are special. Unique even.\u201d He walked to the front of the room purposefully, as if he were taking control.<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s father looked to this strange man in desperation. \u201cWhat are they?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe do not know. She is, it seems, an anomaly. But we<\/i> are very interested in her future<\/i>\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n The green-vested man stepped in suddenly, pushing the masked man back with his clipboard. \u201cIt means the Kage<\/i> is interested in her well-being.<\/i> Her education<\/i>,\u201d he said warningly to the masked man before turning back to her father. \u201cShe might need to change schools if that\u2019s acceptable to you\u2014<\/p>\n The anbu agent turned to face the other man. He never raised his voice, but there was a dangerous edge to it now. \u201cThere are other interests here, and your Kage<\/i> may not have jurisdiction over it\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n The green-vested man turned to face him, responding through gritted teeth, \u201cShe is a citizen of Konoha and therefore under the jurisdiction of the Sandaime.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Neither man spoke. Neither man moved. Sakura\u2019s father stepped back to stand protectively with his family.<\/p>\n Finally, the one in the vest growled quietly. \u201cTell Root to go harvest their new recruits somewhere else. As you can see, she\u2019s no orphan. So she\u2019s ours.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Neither man backed down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Haruno parents watched the exchange with growing anxiety. But it was settled when the masked agent turned on his heel and left without a word. The clansman followed him out.<\/p>\n The green-vested man turned back to them, smiling brightly. \u201cTomorrow, we will have a doctor come by to determine her health, as well as other shinobi to determine her skill and where she should be placed.\u201d<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s mother\u2019s throat went dry. \u201cP-Placed?\u201d She grabbed Sakura\u2019s arm, pulling her close and refusing to let go. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to\u2026to\u2026.to take her away, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, of course not,\u201d he exclaimed with a cheery smile. \u201cBut there will be a new school, new gear, new things to learn. It\u2019s all so exciting!\u201d Clearly, he was much more excited than the two parents holding onto each other in the center of the room. \u201cYou\u2019re life is going to be very different from now on out young, uh\u2014\u201c he flipped back the clipboard, \u201cSakura!\u201d<\/p>\n Her father stepped forward, shaking his head. \u201cWait, there must be some mistake\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n But they were already leaving. \u201cNope,\u201d the man said, waving his clipboard. \u201cNo mistake! Please be home tomorrow. I\u2019m sure you will have lots of visitors\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Her father followed him to the door. \u201cBut she has to go to school\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh I wouldn\u2019t worry about that. A youngster with her talents will most certainly never need to go to a civilian school again.\u201d He gave a wave and was out the door, saying something about \u2018filing this report\u2019 and \u2018best to not keeping the Sandaime waiting\u2019\u2014<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s father closed the door. He ran his hand through his hair, leaving it standing up on end It did feel as if a whirlwind had swept through and blown them all around. Sakura buried her tired head in her mother\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The next day, a procession of official looking men and women filed through their little apartment. They sat at the kitchen table while Sakura sat, listened and answered. They tested her chakra, wrote in a file about the color, the consistency. They asked, then scribbled. Took her temperature, her weight, her height, her family background. They asked several times about her hair \u2014 \u201cPink is an unusual shade, it could mean she\u2019s very powerful!\u201d \u2014 and went over every detail of her birth and their family ancestry that might possibly be helpful. None of it was. She appeared to be an absolutely normal child in every way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Every way, except one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Green chakra dripped off her hands like water. Sometimes it cloaked them like oversized mittens. Other times it glimmered in the cup of her palm. And sometimes it stuck to things. But only if she thought about it really hard.<\/p>\n They put their pencil down, scratched their heads, looked at her worried parents, then picked up the pencil again. None of it made any sense. But she was as healthy and happy as any other shinobi offspring, so the doctors and nurses smiled bracingly and said there was nothing wrong with her other than having a little bit of extra ability.<\/p>\n When her parents asked what that meant, they just shrugged. \u201cThat\u2019s not for us to decide,\u201d they said with a smile.<\/p>\n Her mother stepped forward. \u201cWhat about school tomorrow,\u201c she asked. But they shook their heads. More tests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The next day, a few shinobi accompanied the doctors. They were not as friendly, didn\u2019t carry a clipboard, and were only interested in seeing how far she could throw things. But whatever they were looking for, they were satisfied. They went away with a single nod of thanks, leaving the doctors to finish up their work.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, Sakura\u2019s mother was fed up. She wanted answers, but they had none to give. \u201cWell then, what about school tomorrow,\u201d she demanded finally. They shook their heads.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This was the last straw. \u201cSo who should we expect to see tromping through here tomorrow, huh? A king or a queen? Or all the rest of the hospital? Or a whole army <\/i>of your ninjas?\u201d She slammed her hand down on the table in frustration. They jumped, including Sakura who looked up from her afternoon snack to blink at her mother with big tired eyes. \u201cHow much longer will this go on\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully not much longer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The soft rasp of an old man\u2019s voice at the kitchen door took them all by surprise. He had let himself in and silently walked up the stairs. He peered up at them from underneath his kage\u2019s hat, his eyes twinkling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI thought I might come see what all the fuss was about.\u201d The remaining medics bowed deeply as he entered they room but he waved them off. The doctor rattled off names and made introductions to the Sandaime, but it was clear he hadn\u2019t heard any of what the attendant had said.<\/p>\n He smiled at Sakura and took the seat opposite her. \u201cAlright, I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve done this a lot lately, but why don\u2019t you just oblige an old man. Let\u2019s see what you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n She wiped her hands on a napkin then brought them up in front of her. She pooled chakra in her cupped hands. It dripped through and disappeared into the air.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAh,\u201d he said, inspecting it, nodding. \u201cI see.\u201d The green light etched out every one of his deep wrinkles, and reflected back in his hair.<\/p>\n \u201cMay I?\u201d She nodded, and he held his hands up underneath hers, cupping hers in his larger ones. \u201cCan you feel my hands?\u201d She nodded. \u201cEven with your eyes closed?\u201d<\/p>\n She blinked her big green eyes at him. He smiled with a grandfatherly patience. \u201cGo ahead and close your eyes,\u201d he said, and this time she did.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNow, tell me if you still feel my hands.\u201d He moved them slowly away from her skin. \u201cNow?\u201d She nodded yes. He moved them to the edge of the green light. \u201cNow?\u201d Her nod was slower, but it was still yes. Then he moved his cupped hands away from her light altogether. \u201cAnd, now?\u201d She shook her head no with certainty.<\/p>\n He smiled. \u201cExcellent. You may open your eyes.\u201d She smiled and went back to her snack.<\/p>\n The Sandaime looked at her, inspecting her face and noting her eyes. \u201cHmmm, curious.\u201d He spoke quietly and almost entirely to himself. \u201cI\u2019m sure my apprentice would also find this interesting. He is somewhat of a specialist in unusual cases like this\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Her father cleared his throat. \u201cLike what, exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n The Sandaime smiled back at him. \u201cUnique abilities! And your daughter certainly has one! But it has to be cultivated to see if it comes to its fullest potential.\u201d<\/p>\n Her mother stepped forward. \u201cAnd\u2026what does that mean\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The Sandaime took out a card from his pocket and scribbled onto the back the address of a school and a man\u2019s name. He slid it out onto the table, but neither parent picked it up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSpeak to Ebisu, tell him I sent you. I agree, she needs to be back in school. And I think you will find this academy is a better fit. Of course\u2026it\u2019s your choice\u2026.\u201d But there was something in the way he let the words hang in the air that made it clear it wasn\u2019t a choice at all. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Her mother pursed her lips, but finally she reached over for it.<\/p>\n Her father swallowed thickly. \u201cAnd they will have special, um, powers<\/i> like hers?\u201d<\/p>\n The Sandaime smiled at Sakura. \u201cOh I assure you. She will fit right in.\u201d He opened his hand in front of her, and it was immediately covered in orange light.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura laughed with delight. \u201cLike mine!\u201d He nodded.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He stood and gave a half nod to both parents as he turned. \u201c10 o\u2019clock sharp. Don\u2019t be late.\u201d The steel had returned to the grandfatherly voice. It was an order. Her parents bowed as he left.<\/p>\n And at 9:45 am the next morning, the Harunos were well on their way, walking through an area of Konoha they\u2019d never once dared venture to, to a school they\u2019d never heard of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura was nervous. But the newness of the Shinobi District distracted her. Her big eyes couldn\u2019t take it all in. She held her parents\u2019 hands in turns, swiveling her head to see everything she could. The narrow streets bursting with activity. The colorful shops. The men and women who politely made way for them, nodding as they passed, and the children who darted by, clutching their books and wooden toy blades. She craned her neck to follow them, and was happy to see her mother was leading them in that same direction.<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s old school was forgotten for the moment, replaced completely by this new adventure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What she did not see, of course, was how the people on the street tracked them with their eyes. She did not see the heads lifting up from their bowls of ramen or the dark eyes from the back of shops as they passed their doorways. Or the lone figure on the rooftop, shadowing their movements through the maze of streets. Three civilians winding deeper and deeper into the shinobi district was sure to attract attention.<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s mother clutched the Sandaime\u2019s card in her fist so tightly it had crumpled. And if she hadn\u2019t looked so steadfast to her purpose, one of the throng of shinobi there might have stopped them and asked if they were indeed lost.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Her parents had come right through the heart of the tangle of streets, but the scant directions they\u2019d been given were of no help now. Eyes were following them, and both had an uneasy feeling of being woefully out-of-place\u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s mother stopped and looked at her father, suddenly uncertain of everything. Her father mirrored her concerned look. Sakura stood between them, looking back and forth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMaybe we shouldn\u2019t be doing this\u2014\u201d Her mother sounded utterly overwhelmed. \u201cWhat if\u2014 What if it\u2019s too much for her? Maybe we should just go back\u2014\u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A cheerful voice rang out suddenly behind them.<\/p>\n \u201cBeautiful day isn\u2019t it? Are you three looking for the school?\u201d<\/p>\n They all turned in a whirl, and Sakura\u2019s parents leaned together. But the sunny blonde woman was already grinning down into Sakura\u2019s face.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura looked up from between her bangs at the woman, uncertain if she should smile back or not. Behind her was a large building with flowers cascading from the windows, and a large sign reading \u201cFlower Shop.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy Ino-chan goes there too, and you look just about her age,\u201d she continued brightly, unconcerned with Sakura\u2019s shyness or her parents\u2019 silence. \u201cIt\u2019s just one more block down, then you\u2019ll see it on the right.\u201d<\/p>\n Just then, a girl about the same height as Sakura darted past her mother, with a bag, books and a lunch bento swinging behind her. Some older girls were waiting at the corner for her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIno-chan, wait\u2014 This might be a new student at your school\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cBye mom! Love you!\u201d She blew her mom a kiss before realizing there was another child half-hidden behind the legs of the two adults. Never slowing down, she caught Sakura\u2019s eye, waved, then dashed off with her friends.<\/p>\n Ino\u2019s mother laughed, wiped her hands on a towel tucked into her apron with her flower clippers, and beamed at them. \u201cKids, right? But at least she\u2019s happy! The school is that way, just follow her!\u201d<\/p>\n Sakura\u2019s mother, who hadn\u2019t yet spoken, cleared her throat but paused to swallow as if her mouth had been dry, before starting again. \u201cW-We were headed just that way. Thank you.\u201d Any second thoughts she\u2019d had about their destination had been resolved. She nodded with deep politeness, which Sakura and her father copied.<\/p>\n They followed Ino\u2019s path to the corner, while her mother watched them, smiling. She waved at Sakura as they turned, but Sakura only looked back through her long bangs at her.<\/p>\n Ino\u2019s mother turned her face up to the edge of the building nearest her and caught the eye of the guard on duty \u2014 a slim man with a long yellow ponytail almost the exact shade of her daughter\u2019s hair. She nodded, silently communicating that everything was fine. He responded with a single curt nod before disappearing over the edge of the roof. Wiping her hands on her apron, she returned inside to cut more flowers for the day\u2019s bouquets.<\/p>\n Outside the tidy school, Ebisu, a no-nonsense instructor, was waiting for them. He escorted them upstairs into an empty classroom. It was pleasant, light-filled and still retained its recently-cleaned smell. He acknowledged Sakura, told her she was very welcome here, but said he did not need to see a demonstration. Instead she was encouraged to go out to the playground while he spoke to her parents. Talk to some students and give it a try, he said. Just to see if she liked it\u2026.<\/p>\n Sakura glanced nervously at her parents, but they nodded at her to obey. So she left.<\/p>\n She followed the noise down the hall, past classrooms where the smell of warm bodies and morning snacks hung at the doorways, down the bottom of the wide, sunlit stairs and out the open door.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kids were everywhere, some talking, some playing games. A kind woman in fatigues waved her out to a large tree where several kids stood around a swing. Sakura thought she reminded her of the nice teachers from her other school, and began to feel a little better and even began to walk over to her. But the teacher was suddenly called away, and Sakura was left by herself on the lawn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She glanced up at the window a story above. The teacher stood in clear view, hands moving in explanation. He smiled once. But her parents didn\u2019t smile. Frown lines creased her father\u2019s forehead. Her mother wrung her hands nervously.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura suddenly felt very alone and abandoned below them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A group of older girls walked by, laughing in her direction. The words \u201cnew girl\u201d distinctly floated over to her. Sakura looked down, letting her long bangs cover her face. She bit her lip hard to keep from tearing up. It wasn\u2019t working.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She thought of her old school, and the light in her hands that had brought her here. She decided that whatever trick it was, she wouldn\u2019t show it again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She told herself that if her mother looked down at her, just once, that she\u2019d wave and get her attention and ask to go. She\u2019d say she\u2019d forgotten how to do it. And then, she would. She\u2019d forget it. And she\u2019d never do it again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She wiped her palms down the sides of her dress, smoothing the fabric as if she were wiping away the traces of green light\u2014<\/p>\n But when she looked up, the window was empty. A door was closing inside the room, and they were gone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Voices were drawing closer. The kids were drifting over from the swing as one unit. Sakura nervously glanced up and saw they were her age. She hoped they\u2019d pass her by\u2014<\/p>\n But they were coming right for her, their questions reaching her before they did.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, she\u2019s new\u2014\u201d \u201cWonder where she\u2019s from?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The group formed a loose circle around her, still talking. They were her age, and the prospect of a new student was still endlessly fascinating to them. The questions took on a different tone. Not mean, but blunt. And persistent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\u201cI never seen her before\u2014\u201d \u201cDoes she talk?\u201d \u201cWhaddya think she can do\u2014\u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura had been ignoring them, but it only had the unfortunate effect of adding to her mystique. She closed her eyes while the questions bounced back and forth around the circle.<\/p>\n \u201cPink hair\u2026I bet it means something. Like she\u2019s got some wicked power or something\u2014\u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo, dummy. That\u2019s the eyes. Like the Hyuuga.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOoo maybe she shoots lighting with her eyes! Wouldn\u2019t that be cool?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOr she could make weapons, right? Some clans do that?\u201d<\/p>\n A girl with two buns in her hair answered, \u201cYes, of course they do\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Someone else said, \u201cIt could be bugs, right Shino?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d was that boy\u2019s flat response.<\/p>\n \u201cOr what if it\u2019s some other animal! Maybe she\u2019s got some control over cats or frogs. Or dogs\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Suddenly there was a tiny yip. Sakura glanced up. A fluffly white puppy barked at her from the arm of a scruffy boy. \u201cNah,\u201d the boy said. \u201cAkamaru says he would have smelled it on her\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t understand that dog! Quit lying, Kiba!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can too!!\u201d<\/p>\n The boy named Kiba launched at the other student, and they thrashed around a bit, the white dog barking and jumping back and forth on Kiba\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n The group roared. Even Sakura laughed softly, but she hid it when she realized she\u2019d drawn the attention of the inquisitive yellow-haired girl in front of her.<\/p>\n \u201cI know you! Your parents were talking to my mom this morning outside our flower shop!\u201d<\/p>\n The other kids turned their eyes to the blonde girl, and she tipped her head, proud to have a little inside information about the new girl. \u201cYou\u2019re the one the Kage sent right?\u201d<\/p>\n The group collectively went \u201cOoooo,\u201d and turned their big eyes back to Sakura.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard my mom and dad talking about it,\u201d the blonde girl whispered. \u201cI\u2019m Ino,\u201d she said, holding out her hand. Sakura was too nervous to take it. Ino wasn\u2019t offended.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Sakura,\u201d she said quietly. A few girls said it was a pretty name, and Sakura curled a hair behind her ear, but the boy with the white dog jostled back to the front.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, what can you do, then?\u201d Startled, Sakura frowned. Ino smacked him, but he shrugged it off. \u201cWhat? She must do something, right?\u201d<\/p>\n And with that, all attention focused back on Sakura. They waited for her answer.<\/p>\n Sakura looked down. Her palms were sweaty. She wiped them down her skirt again. She wanted to fit in. She didn\u2019t want to stand out. But most of all, she didn\u2019t want anything to go wrong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At least there weren\u2019t any fish ponds around.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She took a breath and thought maybe she\u2019d try again to show her green light. It was why she was there, after all. And they did seem interested\u2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She closed her eyes and cupped her hands, thinking that at least if it scared them, then they\u2019d leave her alone and she could just go home\u2014<\/p>\n There was another chorus of \u201cOoooo\u201d and Sakura opened her eyes. Her hand was filled with a pool of green chakra. It was the brightest yet. The group closed in around it, their faces reflecting the light. Even the white dog\u2019s fur had a green tint to it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They weren\u2019t afraid. Sakura heard \u201cCool!\u201d \u201cWow!\u201d \u201cOh yeah, I\u2019ve seen that before\u2014\u201c \u201cMy mom\u2019s does that, but it\u2019s blue, and it only comes out when I\u2019m in trouble\u2026.\u201d Even the dog barked happily at her.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so pretty,\u201d Ino said from directly in front of her. \u201cIt matches your eyes!\u201d She started digging around in her pockets, looking for something.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Filled with surprised relief, Sakura smiled. She forgot about the light in her hand, and it extinguished itself. Satisfied, the group of kids started to slowly disperse.<\/p>\n One boy who had been standing at the back looked up from eating his bag of chips and tipped his head in thought. \u201cSo what do you do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n Sakura shrugged her shoulders. \u201cUm\u2026I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n He shrugged back. \u201cThat\u2019s ok. They\u2019ll teach you.\u201d He crinkled the bag. \u201cChip?\u201d<\/p>\n She smiled but shook her head. \u201cNo, thank you.\u201d He smiled back and continued eating.<\/p>\n Suddenly Ino was in front of her again. She studied her face. Sakura\u2019s big green eyes moved with Ino\u2019s hand as she reach up and pushed her bangs from one side to the other. Satisfied, Ino slid a barrette into her hair, sweeping it prettily off to one side.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura ran her fingers down the clip, her cheeks warming under the special treatment.<\/p>\n \u201cThere,\u201d Ino beamed. \u201cNow we can see your eyes!\u201d<\/p>\n Another boy came up and waited next to the one with the chips. He scowled at the girls. \u201cGeez, stop playing dress-up, Ino,\u201d he whined. \u201cLet\u2019s go play the ribbon game!\u201d<\/p>\n Ino stuck out her tongue at the boy. \u201cShut up, Shikamaru!\u201d She took Sakura\u2019s hand. \u201cCome on, do you want to play?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She pointed to an older student leading several younger ones through the playground with a long red ribbon. Eyes closed, the kids were trying to hold on and follow each other, when the leader jerked hard around a tree, and the ribbon slipped out of the grasp of the last two. They fell back laughing, eyes blinking in the light.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWinner stays on the longest,\u201d Ino said, laughing along with her friends. \u201cIf you don\u2019t know it, I can teach you\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Sakura smiled brightly. \u201cI know this game! I\u2019ve played it at my school. I mean\u2026my, uh, old school. It\u2019s one of my favorite games!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood! Come on then!\u201d She took Sakura\u2019s hand and they ran to catch up with the other students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When Kakashi finally flashed his hand to stop, they were nearing the well-worn road that crossed the territories at their western border and dropped down into the vast Wind country. The shadowed green forests of the Fire country were already ebbing, making way for the thinner woods and wind-blown grasses that thrived in the borderlands between the two great nations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Though Sakura wasn\u2019t certain of their destination, she knew this road was the easiest and most direct route to the Sand village. Its precise location was disguised \u2014 as were all hidden villages, including their own \u2014 but there were enough small towns, outposts and landmarks to provide clues. There were no great rivers of trees out there. Instead the Sand village was hidden among a maze of sandstone cliffs and a shifting sea of dunes. The relentless wind meant that it could be hidden or revealed at a moment\u2019s notice. Like Konoha, the Sand village wouldn\u2019t be found if it didn\u2019t want to be. Or unless you had a Sand escort.<\/p>\n Pine forests marked the beginning of the territories. Sakura and Sasuke watched as Kakashi looked at the road, kicked a tree, put his hands in his pocket, then squinted up at the jagged patch of blue sky beyond the bristly tree tops.<\/p>\n They looked at each other, then at their perplexing teacher. Was he waiting for a Sand envoy? Or someone else? Or were they even going to the Sand at all\u2026?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Sakura looked down at the wide road, the brown grass growing in tufts in the middle. Perhaps they were just going to the territories. They had stopped several feet short of the marker, so they were technically still in their home country. Sakura noticed that he had not set one foot outside of the land of Fire\u2026.<\/p>\n Kakashi slowly began to walk down the line of trees, but he never crossed the border.<\/p>\n Frustrated, Sakura put her hands on her hips and looked around sharply before turning back to Sasuke. Who is he waiting for? Just what are we doing out here?<\/i><\/p>\n Reading her thoughts, Sasuke snorted at her growing impatience. He took a deep breath and stepped back to leaned against a tree. But he smirked when he caught her tracking Kakashi with her eyes again\u2014<\/p>\n He shrugged at her, conveying his unspoken opinion. Who cares? We\u2019ll find out soon enough.<\/i><\/p>\n She rolled her eyes. He laughed to himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Just when he was going to open his mouth and tell her to come over, sit down with him and rest while she had the chance, a thunderous pounding echoed up the road. It was drawing closer.<\/p>\n Kakashi and Sakura turned immediately ready to engage. Sasuke stepped away from the tree, alert now too, even though he was still a few steps behind them.<\/p>\n A clouds of dust rolled up, and Sakura expected to see a merchant\u2019s cart wildly swinging in the middle. But there was nothing. The thundering was almost upon them when the clouds began to part to reveal\u2026<\/p>\n A blur of paws. Dirt-covered legs. Slobbering jowls. Wet, sniffing noses. A parade of wagging tails\u2026. It was a pack of the most unusual wild dogs she\u2019d ever seen, from enormous to small\u2014 The last one was just then cresting the hill, still far behind the pack, panting hard and going as fast as his short legs could carry him. They were clearly on the hunt, tracking something\u2014<\/p>\n Sakura stepped back to give them room to pass, but Kakashi didn\u2019t move.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She watched him with dawning understanding. Was this what he was waiting for?<\/i><\/p>\n She looked back over her shoulder at Sasuke, expecting another shrug at their sometimes-strange sensei. But instead, Sasuke was watching the scene closely, as if he was remembering something.<\/p>\n Kakashi squatted down, but he did not extend his hand to give any of them a pet. And the dogs didn\u2019t seem to expect it. They turned off the road at the border stone, pausing for a sniff as they passed, and came over to him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sasuke broke the silence. \u201cShinobi dogs, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Sakura snapped her surprised gaze from Sasuke to Kakashi who was nodding, confirming it.<\/p>\n \u201cVery good, Sasuke. Someone else studied hard in academy too, it seems.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura knew he was ribbing her about her good grades. It was the only time Sasuke came in second.<\/p>\n But Sakura was frowning. \u201cI thought that was only a\u2026a\u2026.\u201d The dogs all turned their heads at the same time, comically, like they were listening to her too. \u201cUh.\u2026\u201d She regrouped. They were only dogs<\/i>. \u201cYou know, a myth or a trick or something\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n The largest shook its head with a thunderous snort, as if a bee had suddenly flown up its nose. But the timing made it seem almost like an indignant response\u2014\u00a0Then the other dogs looked away, and Sakura could swear they looked offended.<\/p>\n But these were just dogs!<\/i><\/p>\n Kakashi squatted, shoulders bouncing with a silent laugh, but he didn\u2019t elaborate. Instead he pulled out a map of the territories and unrolled it. At least, that\u2019s what it looked like from a distance. But a closer inspection showed Sakura it was entirely different than she expected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The borders were there, but it was criss-crossed with roads she\u2019d never seen, landmarks she didn\u2019t recognize: A dashed line looped around and around a big stump. A solid line ran along one side of a large pond full of fish. A penciled-in line led to what looked like a chicken pen. But the end of that line was erased and redrawn several times as the location of the chicken pen kept moving around on the map.<\/p>\n The biggest dog and few of the next ones in size gathered around, sniffing and pawing at the map. To Sakura, it just looked like they wanted to wallow on it and were just trying to figure out how\u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Suddenly, a low gruff bark started from back behind the largest one\u2019s haunches. The sound was muffled, but shoved its way forward between the beasts. A droopy-faced dog pushed his head between the bigger dogs\u2019 legs. This one was the last of the group, and the smallest by far, but when he snarled up at the others, they bowed their heads and made room.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kakashi laughed softly. \u201cHe-Hey Pakkun. Didn\u2019t see you there.\u201d<\/p>\n He growled unhappily, almost as if he understood, then flattened his belly down onto the cool ground and looked at the map with all the enthusiasm of a grumpy old man. The other\u2019s gave him space as they pawed and snuffled at the map. They barked at each other and occasionally at the humans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kakashi watched all this in perfect seriousness. And finally, when the dogs sat back on their butts, a few licking their paws, a few scratching their ears, and the one named Pakkun flopped over with great effort and began rolling his back in the dirt, Kakashi nodded at them.<\/p>\n \u201cRight. This could work.\u201d His voice was as serious as if he\u2019d just had a meeting with real nins. He rolled up the scroll and turned back to Sakura and Sasuke. Both were looking at him like he\u2019d really gone too far this time.<\/p>\n He scrubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the dogs then back at them and smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re tracker dogs, good for catching those who don\u2019t want to be found. And good for hiding those,\u201d he motioned to the three humans, \u201cwho don\u2019t want to be followed.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura and Sasuke still looked skeptical.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey will get us where we need to go,\u201d Kakashi added. \u201cWe just have to fall in line then\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Sakura interrupted. \u201cSo we\u2019re not<\/i> going to Sand?\u201d<\/p>\n There was a bemused light in Kakashi\u2019s eyes. \u201cWell\u2026not the traditional way.\u201d<\/p>\n Sakura frowned at her cryptic teacher. Usually she could decipher his strange ways, but this time, she was at a loss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The dogs were up and whining, ready to go. Even Pakkun. His droopy face still had the look of being extremely put-out by this whole venture, but his eyes were alert. He stamped his paws impatiently.<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, lead the way,\u201d Kakashi said to the largest one. Sakura could have sworn it nodded at him.<\/p>\n They started forming a line, but suddenly Kakashi stopped. He jogged to the back, picked up Pakkun, who immediately started grumbling, then dropped him unceremoniously on the neck of the largest one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSorry Pakkun. Time is of the essence, this trip.\u201d<\/p>\n Pakkun harrumphed and flopped his head onto the enormous head of the lead dog.<\/p>\n Kakashi was satisfied. \u201cFall in, when you see an opening,\u201d he said back to Sakura and Sasuke, then took off at a run just behind the largest dog. The pack around them was thinning as, one by one, the dogs were dashing by to follow them up the trail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura shook her head, but Kakashi\u2019s orders became clear when the line of dogs slowed and a gap opened. The dog on the other side whined a little, unwilling to move until a human got in. Sakura and Sasuke exchanged glances, then she stepped in. She and the dogs moved on. A few moments later, a gap opened up for Sasuke, he stepped in and the remaining dogs closed the line behind him.<\/p>\n The pack led them down the nearly invisible animal paths that ran over the border into the territories and zig-zagged through the wide, flat forests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They moved at a fast pace, with the humans ducking and weaving around a trail that was meant for creatures half their size. They followed the sounds of sniffing noses, and leapt down rocks and over fallen logs, never stepping out of line and never breaking ranks with the pack.<\/p>\n Sakura thought perhaps they were leading them into the Wind country. But they followed the dogs for hours and hours more, running parallel to Wind\u2019s borders, as they wound through the unnamed territories that separated the great nations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kakashi may be quirky, but she never once questioned him. If they needed to run down animal paths to their destination, then she would do it. She\u2019d known him long enough to know there was always a method to his madness. Usually a very good one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She saw no reason to doubt him now.<\/p>\n Even when she stumbled and the dog behind her barked at her heels\u2026although she would definitely remember this as one of the stranger missions she\u2019d been on. Especially when she started thinking she could understand the dog\u2019s staccato barks. Once for hurry up, two for slow down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Or maybe she was becoming more like her old sensei than she\u2019d care to admit\u2026.<\/p>\n Hours later, long after the sun had set, they were still running through the pine barrens. But she could feel that they were closer to the Wind country now. The air was dry. The pine needles crackled under her feet. And there was a cool bite in the breeze that meant it was blowing through the trees from a vast open space. Like across a cold desert\u2014<\/p>\n The dogs ahead of her stopped suddenly, and so did she. The walked slowly into a natural clearing where the other dogs were panting and milling around, sniffing the bases of trees. Across the open space, Kakashi was speaking with someone in the shadow of a tree. Sasuke came even with her. The dogs panted and circled around them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura thought this might be their destination, or at least their next contact, when Sai stepped out. He gave them a short wave,\u00a0 <\/span>but didn\u2019t come closer. Sakura noticed Kakashi pocketed a slim scroll as he turned.<\/p>\n Before they could cross over and greet their teammate, Kakashi produced a stack of water bowls and water out of a storage scroll for the tired pack. Expecting this, the dogs filled in the space between them and waited eagerly. Kakashi handed the water and bowls to Sai, who immediately turned and walked some distance away to set them out and pour them full.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The noisy sounds of gratefully lapping dogs soon filled the area.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sai turned away from them to watch the dogs, while Kakashi walked over to them, back turned on the din.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura took advantage of the noisy cover. \u201cSensei, did Sai give you our mission scroll?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou saw?\u201d She nodded. He looked at her for a moment before his tone turned light. \u201cNope! Not a mission scroll\u2014\u201d He pulled out the edge of the scroll from his pocket, showing off a large ink wash of the setting sun over the now hidden desert landscape. The sun was dropping between two enormous rock outcrops. \u201cJust some art! I\u2019m a big fan, you know.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She was at a loss. \u201cI-It\u2019s pretty, but\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n He pocketed it, turning serious again. He glanced over, watching Sai refill the water for the smaller dogs, before speaking again. \u201cDon\u2019t worry. We\u2019re on the right track. We keep going from here west. Into the Wind country.\u201d<\/p>\n Sasuke frowned. Sakura spoke what both of them were thinking. \u201cSensei, there\u2019s nothing there! Just some rocks jutting up, and then\u2026nothing.<\/i> There are no roads, no settlements. And it\u2019s cold now, but tomorrow it will be a furnace\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Kakashi nodded. \u201cI know. It\u2019s a deathtrap out there. But I think we\u2019ll be alright. We\u2019ll get as far as we can before dawn, then rest a few hours. We\u2019ve taken every precaution, and the element of surprise is still on our side\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other. Kakashi gauged the dog\u2019s loud drinking before he continued, voice dropping low.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has been a kidnapping. From the Sand village. No one yet knows\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s a search and rescue?\u201d<\/p>\n Kakashi shook his head. \u201cNo. The body\u2019s not our problem. That\u2019s for Sand to worry about.\u201d He flashed a serious look at Sasuke. \u201cBut we have an idea who might have done it.\u201d<\/p>\n Sasuke stiffened. \u201cItachi,\u201d he growled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAkatsuki,\u201d Kakashi clarified. \u201cIt\u2019s the only solid lead we\u2019ve had in months\u2014 No, years.\u201d He shook his head with a grimace, revealing a deep regret he rarely let show. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford not to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n Sasuke\u2019s face had sharpened into an alertness as if he\u2019d just woken up, not been running for almost a full day and night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The picture was becoming clear to Sakura. Sai alerted Kakashi to the top secret intel. Kakashi had them run with the dogs to hide their scent. Both concealing their approach, and their escape from Konoha\u2026.<\/p>\n She turned suddenly to Kakashi. \u201cThey would never let Sasuke come on something like this.\u201d She pieced it all together. \u201cThat\u2019s why\u2014 That\u2019s why you hid our scent coming out of Fire. So we couldn\u2019t be followed.\u201d Kakashi nodded approvingly. \u201cTsunade doesn\u2019t know then? We\u2019re on our own?\u201d<\/p>\n Sai had finished with the dogs and was walking up.<\/p>\n Kakashi had a dangerous twinkle in his eye. \u201cIn a manner of speaking. I was give freedom to chose the best squad.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He flashed his palm at them. \u201cWe\u2019re Team 7. We move as one.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They nodded, feeling the compliment. They repeated him softly, even Sai. \u201cWe move as one.\u201d<\/p>\n The dogs were moving around, restless to be going. There would no more talking here.<\/p>\n Kakashi took the bowl from Sai in silence and dropped it back into the storage scroll. It had a paw etched on the end.<\/p>\n He pointed to the vast darkness beyond the treeline. It was black. Impenetrable. As if the world had fallen away. In a manner of speaking, it had.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The pine forests of this part of the territories grew atop a vast, sweeping ridge of land. The border with the Wind country was a natural one. Beyond the trees were sandstones cliffs that tumbled down, one after another, into a giant bowl of sand that stretched for miles and miles without water or shade.<\/p>\n The land really was a deathtrap. And it was the perfect place for an Akatsuki member to hide.<\/p>\n Sakura looked nervously at Sasuke, but he didn\u2019t see her. He gaze was fixed on the darkness, where the horizon might be if they could see it.<\/p>\n She wanted Sasuke to catch his brother, to make him pay, but truthfully, she was more concerned with who might be traveling with him\u2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But perhaps they wouldn\u2019t see Itachi at all. Like Kakashi said, it was the first lead in years. And in her experience, most leads never panned out. In her heart, she could only hope this would be the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sasuke\u2019s fist was tightened at his side, and she knew he was envisioning the final battle, the one he\u2019d always wanted, where he\u2019d finally defeat his brother.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sakura looked out too. Just this once, she hoped for a different outcome. That they\u2019d find the remains of a campfire, perhaps even the body of whatever nobleman they were ransoming. They\u2019d be too late. She\u2019d console Sasuke, and they\u2019d go home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then he wouldn\u2019t have to confront his darkest enemy. And she wouldn\u2019t have to confront her biggest mistake. The one she\u2019d buried so deeply and promised herself she\u2019d forget about\u2026some day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She never said his name. Not even to herself. She didn\u2019t want to see him. He\u2019d left her life, and she didn\u2019t want to find him again. Just like he\u2019d never come to find her, even though he once promised her\u2014<\/p>\n She made a fist, locking away the errant thoughts again. She just wanted to hold onto the peace she and Sasuke had managed to find for themselves in Konoha. Just a little longer\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d Sasuke said darkly. Then with two bounds, he disappeared into the darkness over the edge. Kakashi nodded and followed, then Sai leapt over.<\/p>\n Sakura watched their backs disappear. A twig snapped softly behind her. The last dog, Pakkun was there, watching her go with his mournful, old-man face. Even though it felt a little silly, she waved and was rewarded with a raspy \u2018woof.\u2019 He turned and trotted off in the opposite direction, following the animal path into the darkness.<\/p>\n Sakura took a breath. Their footfalls echoed back to her with each chakra-enhanced leap down the sandstone ledge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She really hoped they were too late\u2014<\/p>\n Sakura leapt over the edge and disappeared into darkness.<\/p>\n Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi left out of Konoha under the cover of darkness, before dawn\u2019s first rays cracked over the sleeping village. Kakashi explained briefly that he had a lead on something big and that they needed to go. Time was of the essence. They trusted Kakashi so they went. No questions asked.\u00a0 But as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-voice-in-the-wind","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hctF-VH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3577"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3583,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3577\/revisions\/3583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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