Aaron Nowack wrote:

Just barely on schedule, but still on schedule.  Let's get the usual
preliminaries out of the way, shall we?

Previous chapters can be found at:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2663204/1/
http://www.narusaku.com/library/viewstory.php?sid=6
http://www.mimiru.net/fanfic/naruto.html

I really do welcome any and all C&C, long or short.  Silence is bad and
makes for a sad author.  You wouldn't want me to be sad, would you?

I'm not as good at this commenting stuff as I used to be.  Lost my edge.

One Hundred Days
A Naruto Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack

Chapter 14: The Darkest Hour

***********************************************************************
Disclaimer:  Naruto does not belong to me, strange though that may seem.
Instead it is Kishimoto Masashi's creation.  However, the text of this
fanfic is mine, and may not be used without permission.  Also, Japanese
dwarf flying squirrels!
***********************************************************************


[Day Eighty-five]

        The cave would have been a gold mine to a student of esoteric
ninjutsu.  Barely visible in the darkness, strange characters unlike
even those used in most sealing or summoning techniques had been carved
out of the stone.  An accomplished expert, trained in the standard
methods and practices, could have worked for years before uncovering the
purpose of the markings, something that the theories he or she would
have studied held was impossible.
        Impossible, he or she would have been forced to conclude, was
not a word in Akatsuki's vocabulary.  Hardly surprising when that many
of the world's most powerful ninja, possessing countless forbidden and
secret techniques and several powerful bloodlines among them, pooled
their formidable resources.  It was difficult, and dangerous for many
reasons, for Akatsuki to meet in person, and so they developed a way
around that inconvenient fact.

Teleconferencing is an abomination under the laws of gods and men!

        The stillness of the empty cave was disturbed as incredible
amounts of chakra flowed along the carved characters.  Two fuzzy images
of men in Akatsuki's distinctive cloaks appeared near the center of the
cavern.  They waited for some time, but then the larger snorted loudly
before speaking, his voice oddly distorted by the technique that allowed
him to appear here, far away from where his real body waited.  "It
figures, Itachi-san.  She wants us to check in with her, but she can't
be bothered to show up."
        The speaker's companion didn't stir, nor did he speak in
response for almost a minute.  Then, when an image of a woman wearing
the same cloak as the two men appeared before them, he broke his
silence.  Unlike the two of them, the forehead protector she wore was
unmarred. "You're late, Kaida-san," Itachi stated flatly, no sign of
irritation in his voice.
        Perhaps the woman rolled her eyes, but it was impossible to tell
through the distortion caused by the technique.  "There are
disadvantages as well as advantages to remaining in a hidden village,
Itachi-kun," she said.  "I cannot merely drop whatever I am doing when
you request my presence."
        "You're the one who wanted us to check in with you," grumbled
Itachi's companion.  "We told you when we'd be arriving in Lightning
Country."
        "I'm afraid an emergency has arisen, Kisame-kun," Kaida said.
"The Kyuubi has escaped my control, and I am forced to deal with it."
        Even through the distortion, it was easy to see Kisame baring
his teeth.  "That's unfortunate for you," he said.  "I'm not happy about
coming all this way for -"
        Itachi raised a hand, silencing his partner.  "Such a failure is
unlike you, Kaida-san."
        "Let's just say that I put too much trust in one of our
comrades' work."  Kaida paused.  "If you see the art freak before me,
tell him that I would have words with him about the loyalty of his
agents."
        Kisame laughed nastily.  "Which art freak?" he asked.  "We've
got two of them now, remember?"
        "You know who I mean," Kaida snapped, "or you would if you had
any sense."
        Kisame shrugged.  "I doubt we'll see him anytime soon," he
replied.  "Last I heard, he was locked up playing with that slaver woman
the new kid gave him."  He laughed again.

slaver or slave?

        "What is the current situation?" Itachi asked quietly.
        "The boy is being held by a rogue faction of Storm somewhere
inside the Cloud Village," Kaida replied.  "I have enough control of the
situation that he can't leave, but they're keeping him well-hidden."
        "I suppose we'll just have to show up and start killing Storm,"
Kisame proposed.  "Should be fun."
        Kaida ignored him, focusing on Itachi.  "I suggest you make
haste.  I except Jiraiya-kun to return soon, and that will make things

expect

difficult."
        "We'd best not attract attention, even so," Itachi responded
after a moment.  "Four days."
        "Very well," Kaida said.  "I'll try to keep things under control
until then."
        "What of your partner?" Itachi asked.  "Can we expect his
support as well if it comes to violence?"
        "That mercenary bastard?" Kaida replied, snorting.  "I've no
idea where in the world he is."
        "I see," Itachi said.  "In four days, then."
        A few moments later, the cave was empty and dark once more.

***********************************************************************

        Midori knew that she was dreaming.  How else could she have
found herself once more only five years old?  She stood outside the
familiar door of her family's home, near the center of the Haruno Clan's
small, walled compound on the outskirts of the Hidden Village of the
Mist.  She was too young to comprehend the reasons for this, too young
to realize that all clans did not segregate themselves so strictly from
the rest of the village.  She was too young to know the reasons for what
she was about to overhear, either.
        In one tiny hand she clutched a piece of paper, the force of her
grip needlessly crumpling the paper.  She had forgotten what it was in
the years since, but that detail had never left her.  Curiosity made her
want to look, but instead she merely walked forward, idly practicing
moving without sound like her teacher had been teaching her.    Her
more-skilled mind picked out the countless errors and missteps she made,
but she knew all too well that the two inside were much too distracted
to notice even a novice like she had been.  Her free hand went
carelessly toward the door, as though she was unaware that it would
freeze in mere moments at the sound of her name coming through a
cracked-open window.
        It was her grandmother's voice, and Midori had wondered whether
she was discussing a birthday present for her, and thus she crept closer
to listen, squatting under the windowsill.  Maybe they would get her a
baby brother like her best friend had gotten, she had thought, and now
Midori wanted to laugh at how oddly appropriate that inane wish had
been.
        "There's no doubt, then?" her mother asked, a strange tone in
her voice that Midori hadn't recognized.
        "None," her grandmother said firmly.  "She learned the Gaze of
Binding just from watching her teacher perform it once."  Midori grinned
proudly at that, but her expression faded as the old woman continued.
"She might have just been a genius, but she wasn't able to explain how
it worked, even at the level a girl of her age might be expected to.  We
believe her use of the seals was just mimicry of the physical motions."
        "I expected as much," Midori's mother said.  "Damn Amaya."
        "Shizuru-chan," the older woman said flatly.  "There's no
guarantee that her child would have been any different.  We knew we were
taking a risk with this pairing, and there's little practical difference
between your blood and hers."
        "So?"  Midori recognized the anger in her mother's voice and
shrank back.  "If she hadn't run off to avoid this marriage, it would be
her life being ruined by your stupid mistake!"  At the time, Midori had
been merely confused, but now she knew too-well the meaning of her
mother's words.
        "That's uncalled for," Midori's grandmother stated.  "Amaya-chan
is on a mission of vital interest to the Mist Village."
        "As you say."  There was a long pause, then the younger woman
spoke again.  "What is to be done?"
        "Hmm."  There was another pause, and Midori could easily imagine
the old woman calmly sipping tea before laying out her granddaughter's
future.  "Midori will be sent to the ninja academy once she's old
enough, of course."  Midori had been overjoyed to hear that, her
excitement cutting through the clouds of confused fear the rest of the
conversation had raised.  "Those hypocrites on the village council will
want her strength to be used."
        "Idiots," her mother snarled.  "A generation ago they would have
been wise enough to order the infection eliminated."  Now, Midori knew
just what her mother was advocating, and hot rage boiled inside her.  It
was her parents' fault that she was born with such cursed genes.  Why
should she pay with her life for their faults?
        Her grandmother made a noncommittal, wordless sound of almost-
agreement before speaking.  "There are precautions that we can take,"
she said, "to insure that no youthful indiscretions on your daughter's
part will spread the taint."  She sighed.  "As you know, that sealing
unfortunately requires that a close blood relative perform it.  I -"
        "No," Midori's mother interrupted firmly.  "I will do it."
        "Are you sure?  You will have no difficulty?"
        "Absolutely," Midori's mother said, then she laughed bitterly.
"You need not worry that a mother's love for her child will spare her,"
she promised, and even then Midori had heard the terrible honesty in her
voice, and at that she burst into tears.
        Then, Midori was older, less than a year before she began her
studies at the Hidden Mist's ninja academy.  Tears still streamed down
her cheeks, but for a different reason.  She knew without even looking
around that this was the day the increasingly bold taunts and jeers of
the other youth of the Haruno Clan had turned into open violence.  It
had started during taijutsu practice, when one of the boys had, perhaps
accidentally, hit her a little harder than he should have.  The second
blow, before the teacher moved to end the spar, had definitely not been
an accident.  Nor had it been accidental when he and his friends had
shoved her into a tree at lunch.
        Any other illusions she might have had would have been destroyed
after classes ended, when what seemed like all the children around her
age had ambushed halfway home.  Thanks to quick thinking and clever use
of the half-learned Replacement Technique - she had known better than to
use the doujutsu that came so easily to her - Midori had managed to get
away with just bruises and cuts, rather than more serious injury.
        Knowing that she'd get little sympathy when she arrived home,
she'd instead made for one of the places where a small child could slip
outside the walls of the Haruno Clan's compound and headed for a nearby
grove of tall trees.  Beat to get the tears out of her system, she knew,
her hands going to rub at her watery eyes.  "I won't let this happen
again," she promised herself as she stood on unsteady legs.  "I'll get
stronger, until I can beat all of them up."
        "Beat who up?" an unfamiliar voice said, and Midori looked up to
see a strange girl around her age standing in a tree overhead.
        Midori leapt to her feet, backing away cautiously.  "Who are
you?" she asked.
        The other girl jumped down to stand before Midori.  "Ren," she
answered.  "Shimano Ren."  She grinned.  "What's yours?"
        "...Midori."  She rubbed at her face, trying to wipe away the
tears.
        "Are you going to go to the ninja academy next year?" Ren asked.
Midori nodded cautiously, and Ren's grin widened.  "So am I.  Want to be
friends?  My family just moved here from the clan's island, so I don't
know anyone."
        At the time, Midori had eagerly accepted, old enough to suspect
that friends would be in short supply at the academy.  Now, Midori
wanted to snort.  The Shimano Clan hailed from the islands of the Water
Country's east, and it was likely that Ren had never heard of the Haruno
Clan or its shame.  If Ren had known as much then as she knew now, would
she still have become her friend?  Likely not.  Maybe even now she only
stuck to it because of habit and to keep the team functioning well.
        And Saburo... abruptly, Midori was in the academy, listening in
disbelief to his apology for a rather cruel prank she'd almost
forgotten.  Even then, she had thought it likely that he was doing it to
try and get in Ren's good graces - the other girl's almost-forbidden
association with "the Haruno girl" having bizarrely made her more
interesting to the boys, though that earned Midori herself precious
little goodwill with most of them, much less the other girls.  Or maybe
it had been the fact that the class had started studying genjutsu, a
subject Midori easily aced, and that Saburo direly needed help in.
        One way or another, at the time Midori had been willing to
overlook that, for just as she had expected when she met Ren friends or
even mere friendly acquaintances were hard for her to make.  Now, she
could see Saburo's discomfort and fear.  She could see the way he tried
to not look at her eyes, hear the unspoken question he so direly wanted
to ask.  "Do you really have a Bloodline Limit like they say?"
        Mitarashi Kimi was the first Mist ninja she had met who had
actually asked her that question.  It had been oddly satisfying to have
it out in the open for once, even though both of her teammates had been
horrified that their teacher would ask such a thing.  Midori had wanted
to laugh at their fear that she would be offended.  The unspoken
assumption that she was a freak that so many had was vastly worse than
actually being asked about it.
        The dream continued, though less coherently.  Oddly detached,
Midori floated through event after event, revisiting the countless times
when those sub-human bloodline freaks and the idiots in the Mist
Village's cowardly fear of them had ruined her life.  Yet, as those
events danced around her, it was to one fact that her scattered thoughts
return to, the puzzle she had pieced together over the months since her
teacher and Ren had returned from their mission into the Fire Country.
        Haruno Amaya was her aunt, the one who her mother had said was
supposed to have married her father.  It was Amaya's daughter who should
have paid the price for the idiocy of that decision.  It was Haruno
Sakura who should have suffered like she had suffered.
        "I can give you the power you desire," Orochimaru had told her,
his voice seductive despite - or perhaps even because of - its sinister
malevolence.  "The power to right all the wrongs you have suffered.  The
power to avenge yourself on those who made you suffer."  His words
sounded in her ears, even in the midst of her dreams, the painful images
fleeing before them and the dark, burning feeling that followed.  "I
will unlock your true potential, and under my guidance you will show
them all a strength far greater than that which they hoped to enslave."
        As the words faded, Midori found herself back in the infamous
ninja's throne room.  Her teacher, who had had an oddly thoughtful look
on her face after her private conversation with their host merely looked
at her, not offering any guidance one way or another.  After a long
moment, Midori had stepped forward, asking, "What must I do?"
        Both she and Orochimaru had ignored Saburo's quiet, nervous
warning, and the Sannin had stood.  "Merely take my hand," he said.
Once more, Midori reached forward to grasp the offered hand, and once
more painful, cleansing darkness consumed her.
        And then she awoke, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.  She sat
up in the bed she found herself in, her head strangely clear and empty.
Unthinkingly, she raised her right hand, staring at the three
interlocking black rings on its back that she had somehow known were
there.  She could feel the power sleeping in the seal, but there was no
sense of urgency to test it.
        Her stomach rumbled, and and it was like a cloud had lifted.  A
dreamlike detachment she hadn't realized still existed faded with the
remaining wisps of her odd dreams, and she forced herself out of bed.  A
change of clothes was neatly folded on a nearby table, and she quickly
dressed.  She found her packs carefully lined up along the closest wall,
and brief search confirmed that nothing was missing, even the weapons.
        After arming herself, her hand hovered briefly over her forehead
protector, which had been positioned next to the clothing.  Then it
jerked away.  What had the Mist Village ever done for her, to deserve
her loyalty?  The thought was liberating, and Midori wanted to laugh.
The dark markings on her hand itched, and she scratched at them with her
other hand for a moment.
        Then, without giving herself time to think the matter through
further, she grabbed the forehead protector and flung it aside.  It
landed with a loud clatter, and now Midori did laugh.  What a pointless
action that had been, but it felt good.
        There was a quiet knock on the door to the room, and Midori
started before saying, "Come in."
        The door swung open, revealing the strange, young medical ninja
who had brought her to the Sound Village.  "Ah, so you are awake then,"
Yakushi Kabuto said.  "For a while there I was afraid you wouldn't make
it, even with my help."
        Midori's eyes went to her bed.  "How long?"
        "You've been in and out of consciousness for a week," Kabuto
said.
        "Mitarashi-sensei?" Midori asked.  "And Saburo?"
        "Your teacher woke up almost three days ago," Kabuto said.  He
smiled slightly.  "Saburo-kun has been very worried about both of you."
        "Where are they?"
        "Eating lunch, I imagine.  I will take you to them after a
medical checkup.  Purely routine."  The medical ninja's eyes glanced
aside, and Midori's followed them to rest on her discarded forehead
protector.  "I see," Kabuto said after a moment, one hand adjusting his
glasses.  "Should I fetch you a new one, then?" he asked almost
casually, his hand raising slightly to brush the musical note on his own
forehead protector.
        The idea was strangely attractive, and Midori's left hand moved
to massage the dark markings on her other hand.  "Perhaps," she said
after a moment.  "If everything proves as was promised."
        Kabuto's smile didn't fade.  "After you meet with your
teammates, I will take you to the training hall and let Tayuya-chan or
Kidoumaru-kun help you learn about your new seal.  You'll find that
Orochimaru-sama keeps his promises."  He adjusted his glasses again.
"And after that, I believe there is a mission that you will find...
interesting."
        "Perhaps," Midori said again, but then her stomach rumbled once
more, and she laughed awkwardly.  "You said something about lunch,
Kabuto-san?"
        "Of course," the medical ninja said smoothly, his smile
widening.  "Right this way."

***********************************************************************

        Sakura sighed as she locked the door to Naruto's apartment.  The
rather brutal sparring session with Tsunade had served it's intended
purpose, and she had managed to find the time after the Hokage had
dismissed her and Shikamaru yesterday afternoon to train some and get
herself back into practice.  She still felt sore, both from that
training and the spars, but it was a good kind of sore, and the physical
discomfort was usefully distracting.
        She was getting better at dealing with what had happened, and
she knew that it was a mark of significant progress that she could even
think about it in terms of "getting better."  Still, her mother was not
a subject she wished to dwell on, and when her mind wandered it
rebelliously sought out those dark and treacherous paths.  Even physical
pain was welcome when it brought with it an escape from that destructive
journey.
        Sakura shook her head firmly.  Musing about how awful it was
when she let herself linger too long on that was almost as bad as
thinking of her mother's death itself.  After checking the door to make
sure her thoughts hadn't distracted her from locking it, Sakura turned
about and headed for the stairs.
        As was usual lately, she passed several of her neighbors on her
way down.  As was also sadly usual, their inexplicable hostility was
obvious, and as always Sakura had to conclude that it had something to
do with Naruto.  Anko had told her that there might be some problems
because she could summon snakes, but when she thought back to her rare
interactions with her neighbors before the exams she recalled much the
same sort of reaction.
        Her mind welcomed the mystery, unconnected with any of her own
problems, and she considered it as she walked down the street, giving
the owner of the Ichiraku a distracted wave as she passed.  It was a
fact that Naruto was incredibly annoying, but his usual antics seemed
unlikely to have generated such deep animosity that it would carry over
so strongly to his teammate who was merely borrowing his apartment  It
had to have been something much more serious, to cause such a hatred.
        She had hated Naruto once, but that was a different sort of hate
that hardly deserved to have the same word applied to it.  The hatred of
her neighbors for Naruto was a darker thing, the sort of thing that
belonged to those who had truly been wronged, not merely driven insane
by Naruto's usual idiocy.  Yet it was hard to imagine Naruto doing such
a thing.  Even at his most annoying, Naruto had never, so far as Sakura
could recall, actually hurt anyone with his pranks or other bad
behavior.
        Sakura bit at her lip in thought as she turned down the road
toward the ninja academy.  Assuming for the moment that Naruto had done
something so hateful, as unlikely as it seemed, it had to have been
before they were teammates.  Sakura couldn't imagine that she wouldn't
have heard of such a thing.  It probably couldn't have been while they
were at the academy either.  The punishment for a deed so terrible would
have been memorable, and noticeable even if it wasn't made public for
some reason.  Even had she been doing her best to ignore everything
concerning Naruto - a not uncommon thing in those days - Sakura could
not have missed something so big.
        But what could a child too young to have even entered the
academy done?  Nodding to herself in satisfaction, Sakura discarded the
idea that Naruto had actually done something to deserve the animosity of
his neighbors.  It just didn't fit.  But then, why?
        The answer leapt at her, blindingly obvious thanks to her own
problems.  If Naruto himself was not the cause, it could very well be
his family.  She knew Naruto was an orphan, and had been as long as she
had known him.  She had never heard of an Uzumaki Clan or family beyond
Naruto himself, but that meant little.  There were numerous small clans
and smaller families of ninja that were affiliated with the Leaf
Village, enough that there were likely dozens she had never heard of.
For most of her life she had thought the Haruno such a family,
consisting of only two living members.
        If Naruto were the son of some infamous traitor like Orochimaru,
it would explain everything.  Sakura wasn't able to stop herself from
giggling at the ludicrous idea of Orochimaru himself being Naruto's
father - it wasn't like she knew what clan the renegade Sannin hailed
from, after all.  Then her mirth faded, as it was all too easy to
imagine how terrible it would be to be Orochimaru's son.  Even as
unlikely as that was, it seemed perversely plausible.

"<heavy gasping> Naruto, I am your father.  Search your heart, you know 
it to be true.

But that's another fanfic.

        As she entered the academy grounds, Sakura put the puzzle of
Naruto's family firmly out of her mind.  There would be time to think
more on that later, but now was not the time.  She nodded at Shikamaru,
who apparently had been loitering in the surprisingly calm academy
ground for her to arrive.  They entered the building together, the ANBU
guards barely giving them even a cursory glance.

They've been highly trained in cursory glancing.

        When they entered the Hokage's borrowed office, Tsunade wasn't
there.  Instead, it was Shizune who sat behind what had been the
headmaster's desk, and for the first time since Tsunade had taken
possession of it, its surface was not covered by piles of paperwork that
needed attention.  "The war force left the village late last night,"
Shizune told the two chuunin without preamble.
        "Hokage-sama is with them?" Shikamaru asked.
        Shizune nodded.  "Of course."
        "So what do you want us to do?" Sakura asked.
        "I'm going to put you two to work on some more independent
projects," Shizune answered.  "I don't see a need for chuunin to waste
their time running my errands in this situation."  She opened a desk
drawer, pulling out a few pieces of paper.  "Shikamaru-kun, I want you
to start piecing together exactly what the Mist did while they were
inside the village.  You'll have access to the relevant raw reports."
        She pushed the papers forward, and Shikamaru cautiously took
them.  "Isn't it a little unusual for a single chuunin to be given this
sort of job?" he said as he skimmed the pages.
        "Yes," Shizune said flatly, and Shikamaru grimaced.
        "What about me?" Sakura asked after a moment.
        "Back during the Sand attack," Shizune said, "one of the
storerooms for the archives got hit, and there was more damage just now.
Nobody's gone through everything yet to sort it out and figure out what
was damaged or destroyed."  Shizune paused.  "Part of the reason is that
someone with really broad security clearance should do it, and all those
ninja have been busy with more important matters."
        "I don't have that sort of clearance," Sakura said.
        "No," Shizune agreed, "but if there'd been time for Tsunade-sama
to formally name you as her apprentice you would."  Shikamaru raised an
eyebrow at that, but didn't bother to comment.  "It's expected that
you'll be exposed to a lot of material above your usual clearance."  She
sighed.  "Even so, there's a lot of stuff in there that you shouldn't
read, but compromises have to be made.  I'm trusting you not to get
curious and read too much and to be discreet about what you do read."
        "I understand," Sakura said.
        "I'll go over with both of you what you'll need to know
privately," Shizune said.  Before she could continue, there was a quiet
knock at the door.  Shizune blinked.  "Come in."
        Sakura glanced backward to see the vaguely familiar sight of
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, the two advisers Tsunade had
inherited from the Third.  For a moment Sakura thought she saw something
odd in the way they looked at her, but she quickly dismissed the thought
as paranoid.
        After a brief exchange of greetings, Homura spoke.  "We've come
to discuss how we can be of help to you in Tsunade's absence, Shizune-
kun."
        The young woman nodded.  "Thank you."  She glanced at Sakura and
Shikamaru.  "You two wait outside, I'll be with you as soon as I can."

***********************************************************************

[Day Eighty-six]

        "I still just see why you couldn't just have told me what was
going on instead of putting me to sleep," Naruto grumbled.
        Hatake Kakashi, once more masked and using a Leaf forehead
protector to cover his Sharingan, almost sighed.  "There wasn't any
time, Naruto.  Kaida was already on her way to the hospital, and there
was no way we could have fought her there and then."  The two Leaf ninja
were in a Storm safehouse deep in one of the poorer civilian districts
of the Cloud Village, one that Kiyomura Zeshin had assured them would be
a safe haven.
        The former Storm ninja himself was also there, though he kept
mostly to himself and gave little sign that he paid more than cursory
attention to his guests' conversation.  He too had not left the building
since Naruto had awakened, claiming that it wouldn't be safe for him to
be seen either.  He judged it too likely that Kaida had guessed his
involvement in the plan to remove Naruto from her control.
        Naruto gave the Cloud ninja a suspicious look.  "I also don't
see how Kaida-sensei could be one of those Akatsuki people.  Ero-sennin
isn't stupid, and he trusted her."
        At this, Zeshin abandoned his pretense of not listening, letting
out a bark of laughter.  "See, Hatake?  He agrees with Junhime-sama and
I.  The Toad Hermit had to know that he was giving the Kyuubi to
Akatsuki by leaving the boy with Kaida."
        Kakashi's visible eye glanced sideways at the other jounin.  "I
still can't believe it," he said, his voice sounding sick.
        "You sound like Junhime when she was trying to convince herself
that Kaida couldn't possibly have betrayed the Cloud Village by joining
Akatsuki," Zeshin said amusedly.
        Naruto blinked.  "You think Ero-sennin is in Akatsuki?  That's
insane!"
        "Junhime-sama and I have uncovered strong evidence," Zeshin
said, "even setting aside that he delivered you to Kaida.  Testimony of
his captured agents, intercepted communication between him and the High
Priestess, and more.  What makes you so certain?"
        Naruto glanced at his teacher, wondering what he should say.
Kakashi's expression showed no answer, and then Naruto realized that the
older ninja might not know about his proof.  After all, Kakashi had been
in a coma at the time.  After a brief internal debate, the genin spoke.
"Akatsuki has tried to capture me before.  Ero-sennin stopped them."
        "Internal conflict," Zeshin proposed, but he sounded uncertain.
"Our evidence -"
        "Evidence," Kakashi interjected, "that could very well have been
manipulated by Kaida for exactly this purpose."
        Zeshin frowned.  "That would imply that she has been aware of
our efforts almost from the start."
        "It would only have taken one mistake," Kakashi said gently.
"You know that.  Moving openly against you would have been too
dangerous, so instead she took steps to neuter you and turn you against
Akatsuki's enemies."
        Zeshin shifted in his seat.  "Well, we'll know one way or
another when Junhime-sama gets back."
        Naruto's eyes narrowed.  "What," he began, only to stop as there
was a quick series of knocks on the front door of the safehouse.
        After a tense moment, Zeshin nodded, standing and walking over
to the door which he unlocked.  A man wearing civilian clothes who
Naruto didn't recognize came in, carefully shutting the door behind him.
"This is Murai," Zeshin said in introduction, "a member of Storm who has
been working with Junhime-sama and I for some time."
        The man looked slightly uncomfortable, but he said, "Pleased to
meet you," before turning to Zeshin.  "The situation is pretty bad out
there," he said.
        "Oh?" Kakashi asked.
        "Thanks to the festival, the streets are crawling with Temple
guards," Murai said.
        Naruto blinked in confusion.  "Festival?"
        "The anniversary of the First Raikage's ascension is this week,"
Zeshin explained.  His attention returned to Murai.  "Did you manage to
reach the Raikage?"
        Murai nodded, but his face was grim.  "He can't do anything
openly.  Without firm evidence of Kaida's betrayal, moving against her
will only spark a civil war, particularly with all the pilgrims flooding
the city."  His frown deepened.  "She's openly accused you and Junhime-
sama of being Leaf agents, and my bosses are starting to suspect the
existence of our little group.  They're likely to start an
investigation, and this place won't be safe for you much longer."
        "Damn it," Zeshin snarled.
        Murai glanced at Naruto and Kakashi for a moment before speaking
again.  "There's also news," he said slowly, "from the south."
        Kakashi's visible eye narrowed.  "What?"
        "War," Murai said flatly.  "The reports are confused, but it
seems that the Mist, Sound, Valley, and Rain are going up against the
Leaf, Sand, Grass, and Waterfall."
        "The Rain?" Kakashi asked.  "Are you certain?"
        "That's what the reports say."  He shrugged.  "I said they were
confused, didn't I?  Last I heard the Valley and Sound were fighting,
too."  He sighed.  "There's rumors that the Leaf Village itself was
attacked again, too."
        Naruto paled.  Kakashi frowned behind his mask, but after a long
moment he spoke.  "There's nothing to be done about that now," he said.
"What are we going to do if this place is no longer safe?"
        Zeshin took a deep breath.  "Well, we knew that we couldn't
count on Storm staying out of things, and we do have a back-up plan.
Murai, I'm counting on you to clean up the evidence here."
        Murai nodded.  "I'll take care of it."
        "And us?" Kakashi asked.
        Zeshin grimaced.  "We're going to have to hide in plain sight,
at least until Junhime-sama returns."

***********************************************************************

        Sakura wanted to groan as she stared at the piles and piles of
boxes piled all over half of the classroom that had been given to her
for the project Shizune had assigned to her.  She briefly winced as she
thought of the poor genin who had carted them all to the academy, but
more of her thoughts were on her own plight.  For all of Shizune's
warnings about classified material, most of the records she had seen
thus far were at best only slightly more interesting than watching grass
grow.
        The worst part was that she'd been sorting all morning, and it
looked like she had barely made a dent in the piles.  Thankfully, most
of the records she'd looked at so far were intact; in that case all that
was needed was to scan through the pages quickly to make sure none were
damaged or missing, then stack the folder with others of a similar
nature.  The last task was made easier by the fact that the archives
used a simple numerical categorizing system which meant she didn't even
need even to skim most of the files.
        The handful of damaged files she'd laid out against one wall,
making notes of the number of missing or damaged pages.  These she had
to at least skim, so that she could identify which files loose pages
went with.  Sakura's eyes swept the row of open folders, wondering
whether anybody would notice if the record of gate guard duty for two
weeks in the middle of the summer three years ago stayed missing.  There
couldn't possibly be any reason to look that up, could there?
        The pink-haired chuunin's stomach rumbled, reminding her that
she'd barely had any breakfast.  It was time for her to take a lunch
break.  Taking another despairing look at the forest of boxes, she
slipped out of the room, carefully locking it behind her.  The last
thing she needed was another lecture on how important those documents
were, all evidence to the contrary.
        Her route to the exit took her past the open door of
headmaster's office, and Shizune looked up from her desk as the younger
kunoichi passed.  "Going to lunch, Sakura-chan?"
        Sakura paused, nodding.  "Is that all right, Shizune-sama?"
        "Of course."  Shizune reached into a desk drawer.  "I brought
this for you, by the way," she said, pulling out a small book.
"Tsunade-sama wanted me to give it to you."
        Sakura stepped into the small office, frowning as she accepted
the book.  "An anatomy textbook?"
        "You can't fix what you don't understand," 

Although admittedly, It's fun to try.

        Tayuya snorted.  "Don't waste your strength," she said.  "It's
over."
        The two Naruto exchange a glance, even as behind them the boy he
didn't know disrupted the third Naruto and stepped forward to help
Kidoumaru to his feet.  "What do you mean?" he asked.

Hm.  "exchanged".  And who says that line?

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