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edenfallingThis is the sequel to "The Way of the Apartment Manager," which can be found in final form here on ff.net, or in beta draft with comments here on my livejournal. It also has fanart, which can be found here.
I still don't like the ending of this chapter, but it's much better than my first attempt. Also, it's been a couple months since I worked on "Guardian" -- I got stuck partway through Yukiko's scene, which kept trying to head off in untenable directions -- so finishing this chapter was sort of like trying to work finger-memory back into my conscious mind. I'm not at all sure how well I managed, so if things 'feel' weird, please tell me!
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The Guardian in Spite of Herself: Chapter 9
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Sasuke woke well before sunrise and spent ten seconds frozen in tense confusion before he remembered that his family was dead and he and Naruto were sneaking along after the kunoichi who was going to kill Itachi.
He got up, unlocked the door, and washed up down the hall in the tiny public bath. Then he folded his dirty clothes, put on a new inside-out shirt, and leaned over Naruto's bed to punch the moron in the shoulder.
"I didn't do it! Yukiko-neechan, tell them I didn't do it!" Naruto shouted, jumping out of bed and blinking furiously. Then memory seemed to smack him in the back of his head, and he scowled. "That's not how you wake people up, you jerk."
"You overslept," Sasuke said. "Besides, a real ninja would have noticed before I got close enough to touch you."
"Like you'd do any better," Naruto grumbled. "Hey, hey, wait here while I clean up, and then we'll sneak into a wagon. I wonder if we can get breakfast first?"
Sasuke stuck out his foot and tripped the moron. "No. You're supposed to be good at planning. Think about it -- if we eat and drink, we'll have to piss later on. There's no guarantee we'll be able to sneak out during the day, and we shouldn't make a mess in somebody else's wagon."
"Oh, yeah, right," Naruto said. He rubbed at his eyes and yawned. "It's too early. I'm gonna hit the baths, and then we'll go hide. If anybody sees us, remember your name's Ichiro, got it?"
"Yes. Put on another bandage, too." Sasuke wasn't sure what the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks meant, but they were too recognizable to leave uncovered. All the older Leaf-nin seemed to know something about Naruto and those marks, and it would be bad (not to mention embarrassing) if they got caught for such a stupid reason after getting this far.
Naruto sneaked back in five minutes later, his hair still dripping wet, and grinned at Sasuke. Sasuke looked out the window at the greying sky and tried to ignore the rustling and thumping behind him. "Are you done yet?" he asked after a minute.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready. Come on -- we need to pick a good wagon, with a bunch of cloth or boxes and stuff so we can hide and nobody will check too close."
Naruto led the way downstairs, past the empty dining room and kitchen, and along a covered walkway to a series of large storage sheds and stables. "I checked last night while you were doing target practice on the wall -- the Tengai caravan wagons are across the yard on the left," he told Sasuke in a whisper. "There's six wagons. I couldn't look inside 'cause that guard came around and said I had to learn what not to stick my nose into if I wanted to be a shinobi -- which is stupid, 'cause ninja are spies sometimes, right? -- but Yukiko-neechan says there's usually people trading cloth and food and stuff, so I bet we can find some bags and stuff to hide in."
He turned to start across the bare yard. Sasuke grabbed the idiot's collar and hauled him back. "There are guards around," he hissed. "Look first, moron."
"Oh, right," Naruto said sheepishly. "Whoops!" He stuck his head out from the shadowy corner of the walkway and looked ostentatiously in all directions, then up at the roofs, and then down at the ground. Sasuke made his own examination, not trusting Naruto to do it right. The shinobi with the bandana was nowhere in sight, and neither were any other ninja who might be helping Naruto's sister on her mission. Of course, that didn't mean much if they were shinobi skilled enough to kill Ita-- to kill that man.
If he weren't so slow, he might have awakened his Sharingan last year, like his brother had done. Then he would've been able to see anyone who might be hiding.
He had to get stronger.
"I don't see anyone. Let's go!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand and tugged him into the yard. Sasuke held his breath until they ducked into the shelter and slipped around behind the loaded wagons.
The first wagon was filled with boxes, each carefully strapped to the floor or to each other, so they wouldn't slide and rattle as the wagon moved. "Too organized -- somebody's gonna check this one," Naruto said, and moved to the next one. The second wagon was less tidy, and seemed more communal -- a stack of carved wooden clocks nestled against a pile of patterned rugs, which leaned on several sacks of dried plants. "Perfect," Naruto said. "Untie a rug or a bag, and let's hide in the corner, behind those big rolls of cotton."
Sasuke obeyed, but only because it was common sense.
Five minutes later, they were huddled in the corner, hidden by a carefully arranged pile of bags and three bolts of cloth leaning up against the wagon's walls. Sasuke breathed in the pungent, musty smell of herbs that seeped from the bags, and stifled a sneeze.
He was just starting to relax and drift off to sleep -- it was easy enough to tune out Naruto's restless shifting -- when voices and footsteps approached the wagon.
"---you here, Genma?" a woman asked. "We're not expecting any trouble with the caravans -- you're overkill as a station guard."
"Yeah," the guard agreed. "But Raidou and I had a hell of a mission two weeks ago, and I'm killing time while they patch him together at the hospital. I wanted something I don't have to think about." Wood creaked, and something rattled inside a box. "Akibana's wagon looks clear."
Sasuke froze. Naruto grabbed his hand and squeezed.
Their wagon's back wall creaked as Genma lowered it into the ramp position. "Seichi-san already checked the wagons this morning," the woman said. "I doubt anything's changed in the past hour, and we're traveling away from Konoha in any case."
"Point," Genma said. He didn't climb into the wagon. "But I got word that your mission's high priority, Kurenai, and this not thinking business is more boring than I remembered."
"My mission is classified, as you well know; stop fishing for details," the woman said. Sasuke scowled; he'd hoped to learn more about what Ita-- what that man was up to. "Anyway, Raidou is strong," Kurenai continued. "If he isn't dead or crippled, two weeks of healing should be more than enough to get him in shape for C-class missions."
Genma's senbon clicked as he shifted it between his teeth. "C-class is for genin or lone operatives, not established chuunin teams. Besides, I need at least B-class to pay my rent."
"If you learned to cook, you wouldn't spend all your money on take-out," Kurenai said, with no sympathy. "You're twenty-five years old, Genma. Learn to do something besides fighting."
Genma laughed. "I'll learn to cook when you make jounin."
"I'll buy you a recipe book, then, since I have every intention of being promoted before I'm twenty." Someone raised the wagon's back wall and latched it shut. "Come on. Let's get breakfast."
Footsteps moved away, and the building's door clicked shut.
Naruto let out his breath in a long gasp. "That was close! I didn't think they'd check the wagons -- hey, hey, are we lucky or what?"
They were very lucky, but Sasuke saw no reason to talk to Naruto right now, not when the moron had almost gotten them caught. "I'm going to sleep," he said. "Don't bother me."
"Bastard."
"Shut up." Sasuke curled into a more comfortable position, his head resting on the corner of a lumpy bag, and thought determinedly of nothing until his consciousness drifted away.
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Shortly after sunrise, the caravan rattled out of the way-station and onto the Hokutou road, heading north. The Hokutou road connected Kame, a port on the southeastern coast, with Tengai on the northern bay, and then swung east into Cloud Country -- it was the main inland trade route in the eastern part of the continent. Foot travel and farmers hauling produce passed the caravan in both directions. Now and again riders on horseback swept past on business for one of the minor lords of Fire Country, raising small storms of dust in their wake.
Yukiko walked alongside one of the mule teams for a while, enjoying the breeze and the late summer sunshine. Seichi ambled beside her, giving a rambling account of various gambling tournaments he'd entered over the years. She was sure at least half of his stories were lies, but as for the rest, well, assassins did have to pass the time somehow while waiting for the opportune moment, and professional gambling wasn't the strangest cover she'd heard of. She wondered if he used ninpou to cheat.
After an hour or so, she cut him short in the middle of an involved story about the time he'd run into Tsunade-hime, one of Konoha's near-legendary Sannin, who was apparently so unlucky a casino had once tried to hire her to stand next to people on winning streaks, so her luck would cancel theirs. "That's fascinating, but we can't spend the whole trip talking about card games," she said. "Besides, you need to learn about trading, and I need to catch up with some acquaintances. Let's start with Yoshitaka-san."
Akibana Yoshitaka was one of Fire Country's main dealers in medical equipment and specialized tonics and herbal ingredients. He had a private wagon to carry his supplies, and spent most of the year on the road from one end of the country to the other. He was also a former friend of Yukiko's parents, and, during his stopovers in Konoha, a drinking companion to her uncle.
He waved as she and Seichi fell back along the caravan toward his wagon. "Yukiko-chan! No, wait, you're much too old for that now. Would you prefer me to use san, or should I--"
"Just Yukiko will do, Yoshitaka-san," Yukiko said, smiling. "How are you these days? I don't think I've seen you properly for three years now -- that time I ran into you and Uncle Yutaro last winter doesn't really count." It had been... interesting... to see her uncle wavering tipsily through the rain-drenched streets, his arm wrapped around Yoshitaka-san, both men attempting to make their way through an old love song.
Yoshitaka-san laughed. "I wasn't at my best that night, that's for certain. But enough of that -- let me introduce you to my son, Takahiro." He patted the shoulder of the gangly teenager beside him. "This is his first major trip, so if you'd help me keep an eye on him along the way, I'd be in your debt." He slid his eyes toward Seichi in silent question.
"Tsukene Seichi," Yukiko said, pointing at her partner, who stuffed his hands into his coat pockets and smiled engagingly. "He's new to Konoha -- he helped me with some building repairs when Yusuke was busy with schoolwork, so I agreed to take him out with a caravan and show him the ropes. If he suggests a card game, don't listen -- he was a professional gambler before he decided to go into a more honest trade."
"This is the return I get for my love, Yuki-chan?" Seichi asked, pressing his hand to his heart. "Cruelty, thy name is woman!"
"He's also an incorrigible flirt," Yukiko said dryly. "I'm not sure if I should be grateful he seems to like me."
Yoshitaka-san traded a grin with Seichi. "Even wandering men have been known to settle down, in time, Yukiko. My wife can give you some advice, if you decide to take on this rogue."
Yukiko crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Huh. That sounds to me as if you're implying that you were wild in your youth, Yoshitaka-san. I refuse to believe that -- you must have been born responsible and wise... except around good sake, of course."
"Alas, I must ruin your good image of me! It's true, I was notorious in my youth -- your mother could have told you hair-raising stories, I'm certain. She was particularly fond of the one about the hedgehog and the empty sake bottle... but on reflection, I don't think you need to know that story, and I'm sure Takahiro doesn't." Yoshitaka-san laughed at his son's disappointment.
"Be that as it may, I'm sure you can give Seichi some useful advice," Yukiko said. "May I leave him with you for a moment?"
Seichi pouted. "Abandoning me so soon, Yuki-chan? And after all I promised you last night!"
"Yes," said Yukiko. "Sit. Stay. I'll be back soon." She walked off toward Kurenai, ignoring Seichi and Yoshitaka-san's laughter.
Kurenai was currently at the front of the caravan, walking beside the siblings from Grass Country. Yukiko nodded politely to them and pulled Kurenai aside with a murmured excuse about security questions. Kurenai raised a mild distraction genjutsu as they drifted to the side of the road, and then asked, "Is anything wrong?"
Yukiko shrugged. "Define 'wrong.' Seichi may drive me crazy by the end of the mission, but he's Anbu, so crazy goes with the territory. Mostly I wanted to ask how you want to deal with any bandit attacks, on the off chance that we run into real danger..." Her fingers twitched, and she stuffed her hands into her pockets to make sure she didn't reach for her absent forehead-protector. "Seichi and I can't break cover, but I don't want unnecessary deaths. Can you think of a way to cover us if we have to jump in?"
Saying 'we' was a big assumption -- Seichi very likely could and would stand by and watch the caravan die rather than break mission cover -- but even if she planned for the worst, she could still hope for something better.
Kurenai frowned, running a glance back along the caravan. "The obvious cover is to separate from the caravan so there aren't any witnesses when you deal with your targets. Second is to knock out any witnesses and blame that on the targets. Third is to kill the witnesses, but I assume you'd prefer not to." Yukiko nodded fervently. "Beyond that, I suppose either you or I could fiddle their memories with genjutsu -- actually, couldn't you make the merchants look the other way while Seichi-san works?"
Yukiko shrugged again. "If I had time to set it up beforehand, sure -- keeping people from noticing something is easy. But you can't count on having that time, and making people stop seeing something once they've already realized it's there... that's a lot harder. Besides, I'm not great at mid-range illusions unless I'm working one-on-one; my specialties are the really subtle stuff and physical-effect genjutsu."
Kurenai looked intrigued. "We should practice together sometime. I've never learned any physical-effect genjutsu, but I have a lot of experience with mid-range techniques, especially asserting an illusion in the face of disbelief."
"You're a combat shinobi; I'm a spy. Different emphasis," Yukiko said.
Kurenai nodded in agreement. "Still, there's no reason not to be well-rounded." Then she flushed, charmingly, and said, "I want to make jounin, you see, so I'm always interested in learning new jutsu."
Jounin, huh? Well, why not -- there were worse ambitions. "I assume you're already considered qualified for solo combat missions," Yukiko said slowly, "which is impressive for a genjutsu user, so you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Physical-effect genjutsu isn't that useful, really -- straight ninjutsu's more effective, four times out of five -- but if you're interested, I'll show you some techniques."
She caught the unspoken question in Kurenai's eyes and added, "I'm hopeless at ninjutsu, or I'd never have bothered with physical-effect genjutsu -- the backlash effect is vicious. The only benefit is that, because they work through the mind rather than the body, people often don't block them effectively. You just have to be able to cope with the rebound or have a partner ready to take advantage."
Kurenai considered that for a moment. "It would make a very useful element of surprise, but I can see why it's not a standard combat style. Thank you for telling me."
"No problem," Yukiko said. "Anyway, I should get back to Seichi before Yoshitaka-san starts telling embarrassing stories about my childhood. His cover persona's bad enough now -- I'd hate to see him with blackmail material."
"But Yukiko-sempai, blackmail is such fun..." Kurenai said with an overly innocent smile.
Yukiko stared flatly at her, and then headed back toward Yoshitaka-san's wagon. For the second time that morning, laughter trailed after her.
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Kakashi didn't bother setting a formal watch overnight -- both he and Naga had well-honed proximity senses, and they didn't have anyone else to guard, so, he said, they might as well just sleep in the trees and save themselves the annoyance of staring at each other for half the night. Naga agreed.
She still ached from Itachi's freaky genjutsu -- not enough to throw off her reflexes, but enough to be a persistent annoyance... and there was always the off chance that she might mistake a real injury for a phantom twinge, and miss something important. The ache had to be psychosomatic -- had to be -- but even if it was all in her head, a good night's sleep would probably go a long way to convincing her subconscious that she was getting better.
She woke with a dog in her face.
Naga blinked. The dog mirrored her. Then it licked her nose.
She body-swapped herself two trees over out of reflexive surprise. "What the fuck?"
Behind her, Kakashi was laughing his head off. "I see you met Hibiki. Hibiki, the kunoichi you just startled -- and please don't do that anymore; it's bad for your life expectancy -- is Tonoike Naga, my mission partner. Naga, this is Hibiki, one of my nin-dogs. Girls, play nice with each other."
Naga stared at the dog. The dog stared back, meeting her eyes in a calm, un-canine assessment. It looked a bit like a shar-pei -- square muzzle and wrinkly skin around its face and neck -- but its hair was long like a shitzu and its body was thin and rangy. Bit of a mutt, Naga concluded, and probably a sight tracker. Its collar was a miniature forehead-protector with the spiral leaf symbol of Konoha.
"Hi," Naga said.
"Hi yourself," the dog said in a scratchy voice. "Now get me down from here -- I'm not a damn cat and I can't climb trees." She glared at Kakashi, who held up his hands in mock-surrender.
"I'll call in a few more friends while you two get acquainted," Kakashi said, flipping a small scroll between his knuckles. "I'm sure you'll be great friends."
Naga and the dog exchanged a measuring glance, and then sighed. "You're lucky," Hibiki said as Naga scooped up her hind legs and walked down the tree-trunk. "You're only his partner on this one mission. I'm stuck with him for life, since my old pack leader was stupid enough to let the idiot sign a contact."
"He's not actually an idiot," Naga said, feeling strangely defensive of her fellow human. "Idiots don't make jounin. He just thinks it's funny to act stupid."
"It's damn annoying either way," Hibiki said with an air of finality. "Now put me down before you put my legs to sleep with your incompetence."
Naga dropped the dog. Hibiki stretched her long legs in midair and landed gracefully, then wagged her tail as if to say, 'I know what you were trying to do, and you'd have to bribe me to care less than I already do.' She trotted off toward Kakashi and a small pack of mixed-breed dogs, their numbers increasing in regular puffs of smoke.
Kakashi stopped with somewhere between ten and thirty dogs -- they moved around, under, and over each other, making their exact number hard to determine -- and knelt to hold a whispered conference with a stubby dog who seemed to be the pack leader. Naga couldn't figure why some of the larger dogs hadn't challenged for the position, but maybe the shrimp had hidden qualities. Or maybe nobody wanted the top job, since it probably meant spending the most time with Kakashi. Toss up, most likely.
"Okay. Here's a scrap of Uchiha Itachi's Anbu uniform -- he washed it in heavy chemicals, but there's a bit of scent left," Kakashi said as the stubby dog melted back into the pack. "Everybody get a good sniff, and then move out on Pakkun's orders. Report any traces to him, and then to me. We're heading northwest."
The dogs crowded around, sniffing at the dark fabric in Kakashi's hand, and then faded into the forest, their grey and brown bodies vanishing against the fallen leaves and occasional underbrush. The stubby dog gave Kakashi a long, speaking look. "You'd better switch us out around noon, or I'll claim breach of contract," he said, before following his pack.
Kakashi made the fabric vanish, and then turned to face Naga. "He doesn't mean it, of course -- Pakkun just likes to make sure I don't take him too lightly. The old pack leader relied on stealth attacks, nips at the ankles and so on. Pakkun prefers guilt trips and nagging. It gets tiresome, but only if you actually listen." He shrugged. "So, you've met the pack. Thoughts?"
Naga grinned as she shouldered her pack. "You and Pakkun deserve each other. I'll stick with ravens."
She leapt back into the trees, heading northwest toward Grass Country.
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Sasuke slept through most of the morning, swayed by the steady rumble and creaking of the wagon. A few times he drifted awake to find Naruto's foot or elbow shoved into his back, but he didn't care enough to wake up and push the idiot away.
Sometime in the afternoon -- it was impossible to be sure of the time without a watch or a view of the sky -- he woke for good. Naruto was still sleeping, curled into a ball of black and orange cloth, hugging a sack of plants like a safety blanket. He looked like a civilian, like somebody's little brother who needed to be protected. He didn't look anything like a ninja.
Sasuke sat up behind their screen of boxes and cloth, and nudged Naruto with his foot. "Wake up, moron."
Naruto slapped ineffectually at Sasuke's toes. "Go 'way."
"No. Wake up." Sasuke prodded the moron harder, digging his toes into Naruto's stomach.
Naruto slivered his eyes open and glared at Sasuke. Then he spoiled the effect with a jaw-cracking yawn. "Bastard," he said amiably. "Hey, hey, what time is it?"
Sasuke shrugged.
Naruto scowled. "If you're not gonna talk, why'd you wake me up? I was having a great dream! Iruka-sensei took me and Shinnin and Sakura-chan and Yukiko-neechan out to Ichiraku, and we all got to try ramen for free 'cause it was a ramen festival or something, and I was just starting a bowl of cheese ramen when you kicked me, and I wanted to know what it tasted like! I wish there were a kami of ramen so we could have a festival like that for real." He sat up and stretched his arms over his head, then twisted so his spine popped and crackled. "That's better. So, jerk, what do you wanna do until we stop for the night?"
Sasuke stared at Naruto, wondering why he'd bothered to wake the idiot. He probably would have been better on his own -- at least he wouldn't have had to listen to crazy babbling about ramen, of all things.
Naruto eyed him suspiciously. "You're not plotting anything, are you? 'Cause if you are, I'll stop whispering and yell, and everyone will find us. I'll just get in trouble, but you'll never know what happens to your stupid brother."
"Itachi isn't stupid!" Sasuke snapped reflexively, and then clenched his mouth shut so tightly his teeth ached.
He shouldn't defend that man. He couldn't. He couldn't still care about Itachi. His brother was evil, a liar. He'd always been a liar, right? He'd never really cared, right? He couldn't have cared, not if he'd killed everyone! All that time Sasuke had looked up to him, that man had just been laughing and pretending he didn't think Sasuke was worthless. He'd left Sasuke alive because he was worthless, wasn't strong enough to matter.
Well, he'd show Itachi. He wasn't going to be worthless. He'd get strong, and when he killed that man, Itachi would regret not finishing the job when he'd had the chance.
"--listening to me? Hey, bastard!"
Sasuke looked up and caught Naruto's narrowed eyes. "What?"
Naruto relaxed, leaning against the wagon's frame. "You're weird, you know that? Of course your brother's stupid. Family's the best thing in the world, and anyone who throws that away is the stupidest person ever. He's beyond stupid -- he's crazy!"
"You're crazy, moron," Sasuke said, but it didn't sound convincing to his own ears, and Naruto just grinned at him. Sasuke crossed his arms and sighed. "So make a plan to keep us from dying of boredom."
Naruto's grin widened. "That's easy. We'll pretend we're friends, and we'll talk about stuff. I'll start, since you're a jerk and probably don't know about having friends." He waved his hands, and then leaned forward to tell a story. "So, so, a couple days ago me and Shinnin went over to Sakura-chan's house after school -- we don't go to Shinnin's house 'cause her dad's a worse bastard than you, and he always yells and makes Sakura-chan cry -- and we started practicing Bunshin for the test. I suck at Bunshin, even though Yukiko-neechan keeps trying to teach me, so I ended up failing anyway."
Naruto pouted for a moment, and then brightened again. "But that day, Sakura-chan said that maybe we could cheat, and she could Henge so she looked like me, and we could pretend she was my Bunshin and maybe Iruka-sensei wouldn't notice--"
Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to tune out Naruto's whispering without actually plugging his ears and showing how much it bothered him. If he couldn't ignore the idiot, he might go insane before they got out of the wagon -- but he'd be boiled alive before he let Naruto know he was getting to him.
If this was friendship, maybe his brother had the right idea after all.
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End of Chapter Nine
Back to chapter 8
Continue to chapter 10
Read the final version here on ff.net. (Trust me, you want to read the final version. The lj version is a beta draft, with all the boneheaded mistakes that implies.)
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In real life news, I will be heading down to NJ on Saturday night, to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family (and hopefully visit some friends too!). Then I have to be back in Ithaca by 4pm on Tuesday the 26th, to help close the store. *sigh* Well, a short visit is better than no visit, right?
In writing news, I seem to have been attacked by another Angel Sanctuary plot bunny, this one about how and why Belial decided to quit halfway through the process of becoming female, and maybe a little about how se ended up with such a strange attitude toward love and sex. I also get to trot out some theories about pre-war heaven and timeline issues, which makes me happy. *evil grin*
I think I may genuinely be drifting into a new fandom here, which confuses me a little because there isn't all that much of an Angel Sanctuary fandom that I've noticed. *sigh* Anyone want to write some fic for me to read? Pretty please???
I still don't like the ending of this chapter, but it's much better than my first attempt. Also, it's been a couple months since I worked on "Guardian" -- I got stuck partway through Yukiko's scene, which kept trying to head off in untenable directions -- so finishing this chapter was sort of like trying to work finger-memory back into my conscious mind. I'm not at all sure how well I managed, so if things 'feel' weird, please tell me!
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The Guardian in Spite of Herself: Chapter 9
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Sasuke woke well before sunrise and spent ten seconds frozen in tense confusion before he remembered that his family was dead and he and Naruto were sneaking along after the kunoichi who was going to kill Itachi.
He got up, unlocked the door, and washed up down the hall in the tiny public bath. Then he folded his dirty clothes, put on a new inside-out shirt, and leaned over Naruto's bed to punch the moron in the shoulder.
"I didn't do it! Yukiko-neechan, tell them I didn't do it!" Naruto shouted, jumping out of bed and blinking furiously. Then memory seemed to smack him in the back of his head, and he scowled. "That's not how you wake people up, you jerk."
"You overslept," Sasuke said. "Besides, a real ninja would have noticed before I got close enough to touch you."
"Like you'd do any better," Naruto grumbled. "Hey, hey, wait here while I clean up, and then we'll sneak into a wagon. I wonder if we can get breakfast first?"
Sasuke stuck out his foot and tripped the moron. "No. You're supposed to be good at planning. Think about it -- if we eat and drink, we'll have to piss later on. There's no guarantee we'll be able to sneak out during the day, and we shouldn't make a mess in somebody else's wagon."
"Oh, yeah, right," Naruto said. He rubbed at his eyes and yawned. "It's too early. I'm gonna hit the baths, and then we'll go hide. If anybody sees us, remember your name's Ichiro, got it?"
"Yes. Put on another bandage, too." Sasuke wasn't sure what the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks meant, but they were too recognizable to leave uncovered. All the older Leaf-nin seemed to know something about Naruto and those marks, and it would be bad (not to mention embarrassing) if they got caught for such a stupid reason after getting this far.
Naruto sneaked back in five minutes later, his hair still dripping wet, and grinned at Sasuke. Sasuke looked out the window at the greying sky and tried to ignore the rustling and thumping behind him. "Are you done yet?" he asked after a minute.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready. Come on -- we need to pick a good wagon, with a bunch of cloth or boxes and stuff so we can hide and nobody will check too close."
Naruto led the way downstairs, past the empty dining room and kitchen, and along a covered walkway to a series of large storage sheds and stables. "I checked last night while you were doing target practice on the wall -- the Tengai caravan wagons are across the yard on the left," he told Sasuke in a whisper. "There's six wagons. I couldn't look inside 'cause that guard came around and said I had to learn what not to stick my nose into if I wanted to be a shinobi -- which is stupid, 'cause ninja are spies sometimes, right? -- but Yukiko-neechan says there's usually people trading cloth and food and stuff, so I bet we can find some bags and stuff to hide in."
He turned to start across the bare yard. Sasuke grabbed the idiot's collar and hauled him back. "There are guards around," he hissed. "Look first, moron."
"Oh, right," Naruto said sheepishly. "Whoops!" He stuck his head out from the shadowy corner of the walkway and looked ostentatiously in all directions, then up at the roofs, and then down at the ground. Sasuke made his own examination, not trusting Naruto to do it right. The shinobi with the bandana was nowhere in sight, and neither were any other ninja who might be helping Naruto's sister on her mission. Of course, that didn't mean much if they were shinobi skilled enough to kill Ita-- to kill that man.
If he weren't so slow, he might have awakened his Sharingan last year, like his brother had done. Then he would've been able to see anyone who might be hiding.
He had to get stronger.
"I don't see anyone. Let's go!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand and tugged him into the yard. Sasuke held his breath until they ducked into the shelter and slipped around behind the loaded wagons.
The first wagon was filled with boxes, each carefully strapped to the floor or to each other, so they wouldn't slide and rattle as the wagon moved. "Too organized -- somebody's gonna check this one," Naruto said, and moved to the next one. The second wagon was less tidy, and seemed more communal -- a stack of carved wooden clocks nestled against a pile of patterned rugs, which leaned on several sacks of dried plants. "Perfect," Naruto said. "Untie a rug or a bag, and let's hide in the corner, behind those big rolls of cotton."
Sasuke obeyed, but only because it was common sense.
Five minutes later, they were huddled in the corner, hidden by a carefully arranged pile of bags and three bolts of cloth leaning up against the wagon's walls. Sasuke breathed in the pungent, musty smell of herbs that seeped from the bags, and stifled a sneeze.
He was just starting to relax and drift off to sleep -- it was easy enough to tune out Naruto's restless shifting -- when voices and footsteps approached the wagon.
"---you here, Genma?" a woman asked. "We're not expecting any trouble with the caravans -- you're overkill as a station guard."
"Yeah," the guard agreed. "But Raidou and I had a hell of a mission two weeks ago, and I'm killing time while they patch him together at the hospital. I wanted something I don't have to think about." Wood creaked, and something rattled inside a box. "Akibana's wagon looks clear."
Sasuke froze. Naruto grabbed his hand and squeezed.
Their wagon's back wall creaked as Genma lowered it into the ramp position. "Seichi-san already checked the wagons this morning," the woman said. "I doubt anything's changed in the past hour, and we're traveling away from Konoha in any case."
"Point," Genma said. He didn't climb into the wagon. "But I got word that your mission's high priority, Kurenai, and this not thinking business is more boring than I remembered."
"My mission is classified, as you well know; stop fishing for details," the woman said. Sasuke scowled; he'd hoped to learn more about what Ita-- what that man was up to. "Anyway, Raidou is strong," Kurenai continued. "If he isn't dead or crippled, two weeks of healing should be more than enough to get him in shape for C-class missions."
Genma's senbon clicked as he shifted it between his teeth. "C-class is for genin or lone operatives, not established chuunin teams. Besides, I need at least B-class to pay my rent."
"If you learned to cook, you wouldn't spend all your money on take-out," Kurenai said, with no sympathy. "You're twenty-five years old, Genma. Learn to do something besides fighting."
Genma laughed. "I'll learn to cook when you make jounin."
"I'll buy you a recipe book, then, since I have every intention of being promoted before I'm twenty." Someone raised the wagon's back wall and latched it shut. "Come on. Let's get breakfast."
Footsteps moved away, and the building's door clicked shut.
Naruto let out his breath in a long gasp. "That was close! I didn't think they'd check the wagons -- hey, hey, are we lucky or what?"
They were very lucky, but Sasuke saw no reason to talk to Naruto right now, not when the moron had almost gotten them caught. "I'm going to sleep," he said. "Don't bother me."
"Bastard."
"Shut up." Sasuke curled into a more comfortable position, his head resting on the corner of a lumpy bag, and thought determinedly of nothing until his consciousness drifted away.
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Shortly after sunrise, the caravan rattled out of the way-station and onto the Hokutou road, heading north. The Hokutou road connected Kame, a port on the southeastern coast, with Tengai on the northern bay, and then swung east into Cloud Country -- it was the main inland trade route in the eastern part of the continent. Foot travel and farmers hauling produce passed the caravan in both directions. Now and again riders on horseback swept past on business for one of the minor lords of Fire Country, raising small storms of dust in their wake.
Yukiko walked alongside one of the mule teams for a while, enjoying the breeze and the late summer sunshine. Seichi ambled beside her, giving a rambling account of various gambling tournaments he'd entered over the years. She was sure at least half of his stories were lies, but as for the rest, well, assassins did have to pass the time somehow while waiting for the opportune moment, and professional gambling wasn't the strangest cover she'd heard of. She wondered if he used ninpou to cheat.
After an hour or so, she cut him short in the middle of an involved story about the time he'd run into Tsunade-hime, one of Konoha's near-legendary Sannin, who was apparently so unlucky a casino had once tried to hire her to stand next to people on winning streaks, so her luck would cancel theirs. "That's fascinating, but we can't spend the whole trip talking about card games," she said. "Besides, you need to learn about trading, and I need to catch up with some acquaintances. Let's start with Yoshitaka-san."
Akibana Yoshitaka was one of Fire Country's main dealers in medical equipment and specialized tonics and herbal ingredients. He had a private wagon to carry his supplies, and spent most of the year on the road from one end of the country to the other. He was also a former friend of Yukiko's parents, and, during his stopovers in Konoha, a drinking companion to her uncle.
He waved as she and Seichi fell back along the caravan toward his wagon. "Yukiko-chan! No, wait, you're much too old for that now. Would you prefer me to use san, or should I--"
"Just Yukiko will do, Yoshitaka-san," Yukiko said, smiling. "How are you these days? I don't think I've seen you properly for three years now -- that time I ran into you and Uncle Yutaro last winter doesn't really count." It had been... interesting... to see her uncle wavering tipsily through the rain-drenched streets, his arm wrapped around Yoshitaka-san, both men attempting to make their way through an old love song.
Yoshitaka-san laughed. "I wasn't at my best that night, that's for certain. But enough of that -- let me introduce you to my son, Takahiro." He patted the shoulder of the gangly teenager beside him. "This is his first major trip, so if you'd help me keep an eye on him along the way, I'd be in your debt." He slid his eyes toward Seichi in silent question.
"Tsukene Seichi," Yukiko said, pointing at her partner, who stuffed his hands into his coat pockets and smiled engagingly. "He's new to Konoha -- he helped me with some building repairs when Yusuke was busy with schoolwork, so I agreed to take him out with a caravan and show him the ropes. If he suggests a card game, don't listen -- he was a professional gambler before he decided to go into a more honest trade."
"This is the return I get for my love, Yuki-chan?" Seichi asked, pressing his hand to his heart. "Cruelty, thy name is woman!"
"He's also an incorrigible flirt," Yukiko said dryly. "I'm not sure if I should be grateful he seems to like me."
Yoshitaka-san traded a grin with Seichi. "Even wandering men have been known to settle down, in time, Yukiko. My wife can give you some advice, if you decide to take on this rogue."
Yukiko crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Huh. That sounds to me as if you're implying that you were wild in your youth, Yoshitaka-san. I refuse to believe that -- you must have been born responsible and wise... except around good sake, of course."
"Alas, I must ruin your good image of me! It's true, I was notorious in my youth -- your mother could have told you hair-raising stories, I'm certain. She was particularly fond of the one about the hedgehog and the empty sake bottle... but on reflection, I don't think you need to know that story, and I'm sure Takahiro doesn't." Yoshitaka-san laughed at his son's disappointment.
"Be that as it may, I'm sure you can give Seichi some useful advice," Yukiko said. "May I leave him with you for a moment?"
Seichi pouted. "Abandoning me so soon, Yuki-chan? And after all I promised you last night!"
"Yes," said Yukiko. "Sit. Stay. I'll be back soon." She walked off toward Kurenai, ignoring Seichi and Yoshitaka-san's laughter.
Kurenai was currently at the front of the caravan, walking beside the siblings from Grass Country. Yukiko nodded politely to them and pulled Kurenai aside with a murmured excuse about security questions. Kurenai raised a mild distraction genjutsu as they drifted to the side of the road, and then asked, "Is anything wrong?"
Yukiko shrugged. "Define 'wrong.' Seichi may drive me crazy by the end of the mission, but he's Anbu, so crazy goes with the territory. Mostly I wanted to ask how you want to deal with any bandit attacks, on the off chance that we run into real danger..." Her fingers twitched, and she stuffed her hands into her pockets to make sure she didn't reach for her absent forehead-protector. "Seichi and I can't break cover, but I don't want unnecessary deaths. Can you think of a way to cover us if we have to jump in?"
Saying 'we' was a big assumption -- Seichi very likely could and would stand by and watch the caravan die rather than break mission cover -- but even if she planned for the worst, she could still hope for something better.
Kurenai frowned, running a glance back along the caravan. "The obvious cover is to separate from the caravan so there aren't any witnesses when you deal with your targets. Second is to knock out any witnesses and blame that on the targets. Third is to kill the witnesses, but I assume you'd prefer not to." Yukiko nodded fervently. "Beyond that, I suppose either you or I could fiddle their memories with genjutsu -- actually, couldn't you make the merchants look the other way while Seichi-san works?"
Yukiko shrugged again. "If I had time to set it up beforehand, sure -- keeping people from noticing something is easy. But you can't count on having that time, and making people stop seeing something once they've already realized it's there... that's a lot harder. Besides, I'm not great at mid-range illusions unless I'm working one-on-one; my specialties are the really subtle stuff and physical-effect genjutsu."
Kurenai looked intrigued. "We should practice together sometime. I've never learned any physical-effect genjutsu, but I have a lot of experience with mid-range techniques, especially asserting an illusion in the face of disbelief."
"You're a combat shinobi; I'm a spy. Different emphasis," Yukiko said.
Kurenai nodded in agreement. "Still, there's no reason not to be well-rounded." Then she flushed, charmingly, and said, "I want to make jounin, you see, so I'm always interested in learning new jutsu."
Jounin, huh? Well, why not -- there were worse ambitions. "I assume you're already considered qualified for solo combat missions," Yukiko said slowly, "which is impressive for a genjutsu user, so you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Physical-effect genjutsu isn't that useful, really -- straight ninjutsu's more effective, four times out of five -- but if you're interested, I'll show you some techniques."
She caught the unspoken question in Kurenai's eyes and added, "I'm hopeless at ninjutsu, or I'd never have bothered with physical-effect genjutsu -- the backlash effect is vicious. The only benefit is that, because they work through the mind rather than the body, people often don't block them effectively. You just have to be able to cope with the rebound or have a partner ready to take advantage."
Kurenai considered that for a moment. "It would make a very useful element of surprise, but I can see why it's not a standard combat style. Thank you for telling me."
"No problem," Yukiko said. "Anyway, I should get back to Seichi before Yoshitaka-san starts telling embarrassing stories about my childhood. His cover persona's bad enough now -- I'd hate to see him with blackmail material."
"But Yukiko-sempai, blackmail is such fun..." Kurenai said with an overly innocent smile.
Yukiko stared flatly at her, and then headed back toward Yoshitaka-san's wagon. For the second time that morning, laughter trailed after her.
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Kakashi didn't bother setting a formal watch overnight -- both he and Naga had well-honed proximity senses, and they didn't have anyone else to guard, so, he said, they might as well just sleep in the trees and save themselves the annoyance of staring at each other for half the night. Naga agreed.
She still ached from Itachi's freaky genjutsu -- not enough to throw off her reflexes, but enough to be a persistent annoyance... and there was always the off chance that she might mistake a real injury for a phantom twinge, and miss something important. The ache had to be psychosomatic -- had to be -- but even if it was all in her head, a good night's sleep would probably go a long way to convincing her subconscious that she was getting better.
She woke with a dog in her face.
Naga blinked. The dog mirrored her. Then it licked her nose.
She body-swapped herself two trees over out of reflexive surprise. "What the fuck?"
Behind her, Kakashi was laughing his head off. "I see you met Hibiki. Hibiki, the kunoichi you just startled -- and please don't do that anymore; it's bad for your life expectancy -- is Tonoike Naga, my mission partner. Naga, this is Hibiki, one of my nin-dogs. Girls, play nice with each other."
Naga stared at the dog. The dog stared back, meeting her eyes in a calm, un-canine assessment. It looked a bit like a shar-pei -- square muzzle and wrinkly skin around its face and neck -- but its hair was long like a shitzu and its body was thin and rangy. Bit of a mutt, Naga concluded, and probably a sight tracker. Its collar was a miniature forehead-protector with the spiral leaf symbol of Konoha.
"Hi," Naga said.
"Hi yourself," the dog said in a scratchy voice. "Now get me down from here -- I'm not a damn cat and I can't climb trees." She glared at Kakashi, who held up his hands in mock-surrender.
"I'll call in a few more friends while you two get acquainted," Kakashi said, flipping a small scroll between his knuckles. "I'm sure you'll be great friends."
Naga and the dog exchanged a measuring glance, and then sighed. "You're lucky," Hibiki said as Naga scooped up her hind legs and walked down the tree-trunk. "You're only his partner on this one mission. I'm stuck with him for life, since my old pack leader was stupid enough to let the idiot sign a contact."
"He's not actually an idiot," Naga said, feeling strangely defensive of her fellow human. "Idiots don't make jounin. He just thinks it's funny to act stupid."
"It's damn annoying either way," Hibiki said with an air of finality. "Now put me down before you put my legs to sleep with your incompetence."
Naga dropped the dog. Hibiki stretched her long legs in midair and landed gracefully, then wagged her tail as if to say, 'I know what you were trying to do, and you'd have to bribe me to care less than I already do.' She trotted off toward Kakashi and a small pack of mixed-breed dogs, their numbers increasing in regular puffs of smoke.
Kakashi stopped with somewhere between ten and thirty dogs -- they moved around, under, and over each other, making their exact number hard to determine -- and knelt to hold a whispered conference with a stubby dog who seemed to be the pack leader. Naga couldn't figure why some of the larger dogs hadn't challenged for the position, but maybe the shrimp had hidden qualities. Or maybe nobody wanted the top job, since it probably meant spending the most time with Kakashi. Toss up, most likely.
"Okay. Here's a scrap of Uchiha Itachi's Anbu uniform -- he washed it in heavy chemicals, but there's a bit of scent left," Kakashi said as the stubby dog melted back into the pack. "Everybody get a good sniff, and then move out on Pakkun's orders. Report any traces to him, and then to me. We're heading northwest."
The dogs crowded around, sniffing at the dark fabric in Kakashi's hand, and then faded into the forest, their grey and brown bodies vanishing against the fallen leaves and occasional underbrush. The stubby dog gave Kakashi a long, speaking look. "You'd better switch us out around noon, or I'll claim breach of contract," he said, before following his pack.
Kakashi made the fabric vanish, and then turned to face Naga. "He doesn't mean it, of course -- Pakkun just likes to make sure I don't take him too lightly. The old pack leader relied on stealth attacks, nips at the ankles and so on. Pakkun prefers guilt trips and nagging. It gets tiresome, but only if you actually listen." He shrugged. "So, you've met the pack. Thoughts?"
Naga grinned as she shouldered her pack. "You and Pakkun deserve each other. I'll stick with ravens."
She leapt back into the trees, heading northwest toward Grass Country.
---------------------------------------------
Sasuke slept through most of the morning, swayed by the steady rumble and creaking of the wagon. A few times he drifted awake to find Naruto's foot or elbow shoved into his back, but he didn't care enough to wake up and push the idiot away.
Sometime in the afternoon -- it was impossible to be sure of the time without a watch or a view of the sky -- he woke for good. Naruto was still sleeping, curled into a ball of black and orange cloth, hugging a sack of plants like a safety blanket. He looked like a civilian, like somebody's little brother who needed to be protected. He didn't look anything like a ninja.
Sasuke sat up behind their screen of boxes and cloth, and nudged Naruto with his foot. "Wake up, moron."
Naruto slapped ineffectually at Sasuke's toes. "Go 'way."
"No. Wake up." Sasuke prodded the moron harder, digging his toes into Naruto's stomach.
Naruto slivered his eyes open and glared at Sasuke. Then he spoiled the effect with a jaw-cracking yawn. "Bastard," he said amiably. "Hey, hey, what time is it?"
Sasuke shrugged.
Naruto scowled. "If you're not gonna talk, why'd you wake me up? I was having a great dream! Iruka-sensei took me and Shinnin and Sakura-chan and Yukiko-neechan out to Ichiraku, and we all got to try ramen for free 'cause it was a ramen festival or something, and I was just starting a bowl of cheese ramen when you kicked me, and I wanted to know what it tasted like! I wish there were a kami of ramen so we could have a festival like that for real." He sat up and stretched his arms over his head, then twisted so his spine popped and crackled. "That's better. So, jerk, what do you wanna do until we stop for the night?"
Sasuke stared at Naruto, wondering why he'd bothered to wake the idiot. He probably would have been better on his own -- at least he wouldn't have had to listen to crazy babbling about ramen, of all things.
Naruto eyed him suspiciously. "You're not plotting anything, are you? 'Cause if you are, I'll stop whispering and yell, and everyone will find us. I'll just get in trouble, but you'll never know what happens to your stupid brother."
"Itachi isn't stupid!" Sasuke snapped reflexively, and then clenched his mouth shut so tightly his teeth ached.
He shouldn't defend that man. He couldn't. He couldn't still care about Itachi. His brother was evil, a liar. He'd always been a liar, right? He'd never really cared, right? He couldn't have cared, not if he'd killed everyone! All that time Sasuke had looked up to him, that man had just been laughing and pretending he didn't think Sasuke was worthless. He'd left Sasuke alive because he was worthless, wasn't strong enough to matter.
Well, he'd show Itachi. He wasn't going to be worthless. He'd get strong, and when he killed that man, Itachi would regret not finishing the job when he'd had the chance.
"--listening to me? Hey, bastard!"
Sasuke looked up and caught Naruto's narrowed eyes. "What?"
Naruto relaxed, leaning against the wagon's frame. "You're weird, you know that? Of course your brother's stupid. Family's the best thing in the world, and anyone who throws that away is the stupidest person ever. He's beyond stupid -- he's crazy!"
"You're crazy, moron," Sasuke said, but it didn't sound convincing to his own ears, and Naruto just grinned at him. Sasuke crossed his arms and sighed. "So make a plan to keep us from dying of boredom."
Naruto's grin widened. "That's easy. We'll pretend we're friends, and we'll talk about stuff. I'll start, since you're a jerk and probably don't know about having friends." He waved his hands, and then leaned forward to tell a story. "So, so, a couple days ago me and Shinnin went over to Sakura-chan's house after school -- we don't go to Shinnin's house 'cause her dad's a worse bastard than you, and he always yells and makes Sakura-chan cry -- and we started practicing Bunshin for the test. I suck at Bunshin, even though Yukiko-neechan keeps trying to teach me, so I ended up failing anyway."
Naruto pouted for a moment, and then brightened again. "But that day, Sakura-chan said that maybe we could cheat, and she could Henge so she looked like me, and we could pretend she was my Bunshin and maybe Iruka-sensei wouldn't notice--"
Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to tune out Naruto's whispering without actually plugging his ears and showing how much it bothered him. If he couldn't ignore the idiot, he might go insane before they got out of the wagon -- but he'd be boiled alive before he let Naruto know he was getting to him.
If this was friendship, maybe his brother had the right idea after all.
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End of Chapter Nine
Back to chapter 8
Continue to chapter 10
Read the final version here on ff.net. (Trust me, you want to read the final version. The lj version is a beta draft, with all the boneheaded mistakes that implies.)
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In real life news, I will be heading down to NJ on Saturday night, to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family (and hopefully visit some friends too!). Then I have to be back in Ithaca by 4pm on Tuesday the 26th, to help close the store. *sigh* Well, a short visit is better than no visit, right?
In writing news, I seem to have been attacked by another Angel Sanctuary plot bunny, this one about how and why Belial decided to quit halfway through the process of becoming female, and maybe a little about how se ended up with such a strange attitude toward love and sex. I also get to trot out some theories about pre-war heaven and timeline issues, which makes me happy. *evil grin*
I think I may genuinely be drifting into a new fandom here, which confuses me a little because there isn't all that much of an Angel Sanctuary fandom that I've noticed. *sigh* Anyone want to write some fic for me to read? Pretty please???
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 10:59 pm (UTC)yay! i got guardian for xmas!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-23 03:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-24 12:46 am (UTC)Specific parts I thought were wonderful: Naruto waking up, swearing he didn't do it and calling for Yukiko, a person who might actually believe him; Naga and Hibiki sizing each other up; and Sasuke reflexively defending his brother.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-24 03:38 pm (UTC)