Chapter 2:

"The most natural division of all offenses is into those of omission and those of commission." —Addison

Part I

Annoying. The wind, the cold, the fluctuating pink hair in her eyes… and then there was Naruto, naturally drawing closer for warmth.

Theoretically his body heat should have helped her warm up in turn, but his warmth at her back only seemed to accentuate the bitter freeze against her front. "It's cold!" the blonde whined obtrusively in her ear, as if stating the obvious would miraculously make the temperature rise.

Fingers rifting through the pages of a book, Sai reached for Naruto's hand. "If you're cold, I can help y--"

"No way, it's okay." Naruto muttered in a strained tone.

Skeptically surveying the blonde, Sai turned to Sakura with a small frown. "Naruto's voice is off… I think he's developing a sore throat. Are we much farther from our destination?"

"Sakura?" Kakashi chorused expectedly.

Catching his unusual input, the pinkette's eyes narrowed slightly. "Sensei... so you didn't bother to read over our mission either…" Sighing inwardly, the kunoichi condensed, "In a nutshell, we'll be posing as *watari ninja. Sai is my fiancé, and Kakashi is my father. Naruto… you're our right-hand man!"

You mean the slave… the blonde thought glumly.

Sai coked an eyebrow. Does this mean we're supposed to... kiss?

Do I really look that old? Kakashi cross-examined himself.

Seemingly satisfied with their reactions, the kunoichi continued, Under this guise, we'll be infiltrating the land of Waves in search of our objective, the Treaty of Verdun." Though Naruto and Kakashi seemed oblivious as usual, the pinkette caught Sai nod to himself ever-so-slightly from the corner of her eye. However, when he offered no remark on the subject, Sakura continued, "The treaty was signed less than 10 years ago—a pact between Mist and Konoha. After the incident with Zabuza, Konoha felt a duty to help the small village cleanse its name and rid itself of its barbaric Genin exams. Eager for reformation and the gain of a powerful ally, Mist accepted with open arms.

"However, before the treaty could be delivered, a rebel group who'd been openly against the alliance from the start intercepted and hid it. It's been several years since we've had any leads on it, but recently a newly-fledged chuunin team wandering around Waves, a neighboring land to Mist, heard rumors of this treaty, but were too inexperienced to investigate. We'll be meeting up with them in Waves tomorrow for details."

"Why don't they just make another treaty?" Naruto questioned sensibly, scratching at his chin. "All they have to do is write one up, right?"

Kakashi chuckled at his student's innocence, reasoning aloud, "If treaties were just ink and paper, there'd be countless frauds. I haven't any personal experience in this area, but given the liability concerns it certainly seems that alliances would have to be recorded with an irreplaceable one-of-a-kind value."

Sakura's head bobbed once in agreement, and, turning on her heel, hinted, "We'll die from hypothermia if we don't keep moving, and anyways, we're almost there."

Once the team was back on track, Sakura steered the conversation to its original point. "I've worked out the details for our mission... given Naruto's recklessness, that cast probably won't be off for another few weeks, and he's obviously in no condition to fight right now." Said blonde's jaw clenched with subdued anguish, but the kunoichi's tone left little room for debate.

"Because Sai is posing as my fiancé, we'll be scouting the treaty's whereabouts together. Meanwhile, you and Kakashi-sensei will investigate the village, interrogating the villagers on a more personal level. Besides, once they hear of my marriage to Sai, they'll only be too happy to open up to 'old man Kakashi' and lend a helping hand to Naruto," the kunoichi finished with a smug grin.

"I object!" Naruto retorted indignantly. "Sai doesn't really come across as trustworthy type, and you can't just marry—"

"It's just for show, Naruto! The mission is at all times to be the top priority, and this alliance would obliviously be invaluable to--"

"I'm following my own **nindo now, the blonde grumbled half-heartedly, sensing he was fighting a losing battle.

Chuckling to himself, Kakashi reminisced, "That's right. Ironically, it was here in this village that you first decided that too, remember? Team's 7's first real mission together. You and Sasuke were really at each other's throats trying to claw your way up that tree-climbing training…" wincing inwardly at his folly, Kakashi cursed his thoughtlessness as Naruto and Sakura lapsed into silence. Deciding it best to let the pair be, the graying man hastily tacked on, "Perhaps we'll see Inari again. I'd like to see how that kid has grown!"

"Yah…" Naruto intoned monotonously, shoulders visibly drooping. Turning away from his face, Sakura felt a familiar pressure behind her eyes. Turning her head to stare at the sky, the kunoichi forced the tears down before they overflowed. Besides, in this weather, they'd only freeze on her skin like the snowflakes falling from above.

"Look, Sai," Kakashi encouraged, trying to use the forgotten member to lighten a more suitable conversation. "Are you acquainted with that bridge on the horizon? It's called The Great Naruto Bridge."

Having struck lighter conversation, Sakura droned out the now-chattering teammates behind her, breathing in the heavy air. The Great Naruto Bridge, huh? Lips quivering with something like a smile, Sakura fancied the snow as Haku crying with her. So many had died to create that one bridge, that bridge where she herself experienced her first brush of death and true solitude. Tears still brimming in her eyes, the kunoichi forcefully exhaled through her nose. No use falling apart now.

Dipping her head to shift the bangs over her face, Sakura wiped the dampness from eyes, marveling how something so clear and pure could stem from the darkest of feelings. No, perhaps not pure…tears were more like glass. Once fallen and shattered, you could never quite fit them back together. No matter how hard you tried, there would always be cracks with inner scars.

Part II

"It's there, Suigetsu." The man's watery frame snapped into place, eyes zeroing in on two crosses barely protruding from the frozen earth. Two graves.

Plowing his way through the tundra, Suigetsu knelt by the first cross, solemnly examining the hilt behind it. "So that's where it was… hey there, precious," the sharkian murmured, and, with a single motion, swung the huge sword from its burial. "I'm going to take this, Zabuza-sensei."

Caked in years of hardened sediments, the blade still seemed to shine the entire two meters of its length. Hefting the hilt on impulse, the sharkian swung it about, his body pivoting around with it. "Heavy…" he breathed in satisfaction. "So this is the blood of the mist village… demon Zabuza's beheading sword."

"Can you wield that with your strength?" Sasuke questioned with a skeptical brow.

"For centuries the swords of 'The Seven Ninja Swordsman' have been passed down from generation to generation like this. I've always admired the seven; it was because of this tradition I first became a shinobi. Besides, if we're really stuck with Juugo and Karin on the team, my guts tells me this sword will come in handy."

"Then you, Suigetsu, will act as my sword,"

"Huh?"

"The others are waiting," was his only reply.

Rerunning that thought through his mind, Suigetsu resolved it best to leave the subject well alone. After all, Sasuke had left Karin back at the base with Juugo, so he couldn't really complain.***

Part III

The bridge had at least tripled in size. Stretching far beyond the horizon atop an ice-rimmed lake, one could only puzzle it actually did have an end. Beneath the bridge, the water and air temperature variances had condensed the water into a smog of mist, so progress was slow. Even Naruto, afraid of tumbling into the icy abyss, kept his quiet and concentrated.

Her perfect chakra control enabling her to glide fearlessly across the glassy surface, Sakura alone waited on the other side of the endless bridge. It was here, impatiently awaiting her team, that the kunoichi caught the tug of one, no, two chakras moving leisurely at a distance. Judging their signature, neither seemed immensely powerful, and, like the polarity of a moth to light, Sakura was intrigued.

After a quick mental debate, curiosity naturally trumped boredom, and the kunoichi decided it best to investigate the suspicious individuals wandering about in a snowstorm. Manipulating her appearance with genjutsu, Sakura illusioned herself as your typical blonde-hair blue-eyed sweetheart, knowing Ino's charm could effectively disarm the major percent of the male of population. Assuming the figures were indeed male, as most shinobi were, they'd immediately drop their guard. Besides, if she got lucky and they out to be natives, Sakura didn't care to be the newest village gossip as the young bride with pink hair.

Justifying her impulse with rationalizations, Sakura set off in pursuit, masking the most of her chakra so as not to alarm the two. It helped that the pair were heading towards her—team 7 wouldn't be far off—but even so they were closer than she'd originally thought; several minutes of maneuvering through the mist and she was suddenly affronted with their voices.

"What business do you have here?"It took her moment to realize question was directed to her… they were better than she'd thought—they'd sensed her approaching. When the kunoichi didn't react immediately to his words, a second voice chimed in.

"Cat got your tongue? It's no fun if you can't scream… C'mon, I want a playmate for my new toy," a shady outline peered closely through the fog, stepping lightly towards the girl. Given his shark-like features, Sakura figured he was indeed a native to this region, and warily let him approach. "Hey, you're pretty cute! Why don't you and I--"

"Suigetsu," a shady voice deadpanned.

Ignoring his companion, the sharkian man continued to draw closer till they stood within arm's reach. Densely wrapping her mind around the familiarity of the former's tone, Sakura's numbed senses broke as the sharkian raised a huge sword to her neck with a metallic chink.

"Stop toying around," the kunoichi frostily demanded, batting away the tip with a gloved finger. "What kind of a greeting is that?"

Looking smug, the man took a meaningful step toward her. "Girly's got bite.. I like it! But hey, Sasuke's got this pet peave about repeating himself, so will give us the info? C'mon, you're acting tough, but—whoa, see what I mean?—you're heartbeat just went way out of synch!"

Sasuke!?? He can't mean—no, he.. that's—

Before the kunoichi could formulate a coherent though, Sasuke's patience expired, and he flash-stepped to her side. Though she didn't dare lay eyes on him—and not just for fear of the sharingan—Sakura knew it was 'that' Sasuke… like their reunion at Orochimaru's, she hadn't even felt him move.

Trying to still her racing heart, the kunoichi mentally kicked herself for not waiting on the rest of her team. Hadn't teamwork been the one thing Kakashi had infinitely tried to impress in their minds? But that wasn't her only mistake. She had ommitted her opponents as weak, and thus severely underestimated them … their chakra signatures weren't small, they were just being masked.

Before replying, Sakura took a breath and thanked her shishou for having trained her to react under pressure. "My name is Yumi, I-I'm from Suna," the pinkette lied, feigning terror at his sudden appearance, which in truth, wasn't totally an act.

"You're masking your chakra," Sasuke replied distrustfully.

Repressing a flinch at the sound of metal sliding against its sheath, Sakura scrunched her eyes shut, as if doing so would make him disappear. He leaned forebodingly closer, his breath warm beside her ear, but no less dangerous. "Drop the hinge. Are you alone? "

Despite his monotonous tone, his voice had gained a sharpness perilously bordering irritation… how typical of Sasuke to find her annoying. Working to speak in a high-pitched squeak, Sakura continued her façade. "My team's back in the village, I just came here to--"

"Don't lie."

"I'm not, I--!"

The annoyance she'd suspected quickly became evident. Without warning, his katana made a sudden slip upwards, just missing her face.. and her hitai-ate fell to the earth. When no metallic ting met her ears, Sakura knew it was too late. She was beyond hope; he had already seen the sign it held. "Konoha." His eyes slowed trailed to hers, a hint of detached fury replacing his irritation. "You lied."

A shiver slipped down her back, and Sakura tried to pass it off as the cold. Bracing herself for a detailed interrogation, Sakura mentally began inventing in the basics of 'Yumi's' life… but the Uchiha was done talking. Contentedly observing from the side grounds, Sakura heard Suigetsu give a low whistle as, almost in slow motion, the sharingan clicked in. It was like her own personal horror film.

If he found out it was her…

Sakura felt her knees buckle, and tried to look away as two fingers caught her chin. "Drop the illusion." Mind blank with fear, the kunoichi stood still, refusing to meet his gaze. Laughing humorlessly, Sasuke raised his katana through the air, poised for strike.

"Only a coward would try to frighten an innocent girl into submission," Sakura stated stolidly, hoping to avert the subject of her false appearence.

Deliberately letting his grip slip, Sasuke allowed the blade to tease her shoulder, just skimming the skin. The kunoichi swallowed as a warm trail of blood oozed from the mark, but otherwise stared defiantly at the floor. "Innocent?" the Uchiha raised a doubtful brow. "You've lied to me three times now… one of your teammates is coming."

No—

Caught off guard by the statement, Sakura's panicked eyes flashed to his, instantly caught in the sharingan, and her genjutsu dispersed.

"Pink hair… Sakura. I knew this wasn't be a solo mission...." It wasn't his words that triggered her reaction, but rather the way he looked at her as he spoke them... with a detatched indifference. She had only ever heard of one man like this, and that was Uchiha Itachi. He was turning into precisely the man he hated! Frustration bubbling in her chest, something inside the kunoichi snapped.

With an exaggerated cloud of smoke, a clone appeared in her place while Sakura swiped a kick at his legs. Nimbly stepping back, the Uchiha effortlessly dodged, though there she stood before him again, fist flashing foreword.

Her hand connected to his jawbone with a sickening crunch, though the temporary satisfaction was short-lived. Upon contact, Sasuke's framework melted into a doppleganger of snakes... a shadow clone. With the sharingan, he could easily pick her shadow clone's apart—he had an unfair edge from the start. Fuming his clan's bloodline, the kunoichi tried to withdraw her hand from the slithering masses, but found herself stuck fast. Snakes wove around her wrists and ankles, constricting movement till the kunoichi was rooted in place.

Heart dropping to her toes, Sakura resisted a sudden surge of tears. It had been too easy; he'd beaten her in less than half a minute, not a mark on him. She had always been Team 7's kunoichi tag-along…

Returning his katana to its sheath with a concluding click, Sasuke silently observed the girl with the usual devoid of emotion. "I thought I'd made my commission clear. Go home." The words hit her like a fist, and breathlessly Sakura wished he had punched her, even if just to prove he was human also.

The second to cross the bridge and having found her gone, Sai broke the heavy air with a distant cry. ""No fair Ugly, you cheated!"

Sakura's head snapped towards the voice, but Sasuke was faster. Appearing before her with breakneck speed and raising a finger just before lips to silence her reply, the Uchiha casually remarked, "That voice… my replacement. Am I correct in assuming Naruto is here also?"

Hesitantly raising her eyes to his, the kunoichi cast away her dignity with a whispered, "Come back with us." Her words were more than enough answer for the Uchiha, and he signaled his partner to join them.

Oblivious to the danger and assuming the kunoichi was merely toying with him, Sai continued to jest, "Are you nervous about our wedding? It says here that it's normal for young brides to feel anxious before—" Visualizing Sai puzzling through his books, Sakura would normally have laughed at his words, but the breath was suddenly knocked from her lungs.

Sasuke's snakes had constricted painfully, the pressure relaxing almost as quickly as it had come. Snakes slackened around all but her ankles to prevent escape, but the kunoichi was now faced with a greater terror. Though only a head taller, Sasuke towered over her diminutive figure, face darkened in shadows with the exception of two bloodlusting sharingan. Closer now, Sai called again, though his voice seemed strangely distant, no longer reaching the kunoichi's ears.

"You're getting married." It was more of a skepticism than question. Sasuke's tone was blank with indifference, but something in his stature tipped her otherwise; if only by a hairline, his muscles had visibly tensed, and the way he hovered before her now, foreboding frame eclipsing the pale sun, Sakura felt a familiar spasm of fear, plain and simple.

Drawing a breath to explain the situation, the kunoichi was cut off by the sharkian's sudden approach. "Sasuke, we've got company. Can I have this one?"

The Uchiha's impossibly dark eyes blackened as he uttered a low curse. Shooting down his companion's request with a slight jerk of his head, Sasuke's sharingan haphazardly surveyed the perimeters, finally alighting on the kunoichi who, taking advantage of the distraction, had begun to claw at the snakes at foot. Obscurely annoyed with her actions, Sasuke released the jutsu, and as the snakes dispersed Sakura's apple-green orbs finally looked up to meet his gaze.

"They never know when to give up," the Uchiha murmured dangerously to no one in particular, irritably turning to his partner. "Suigetsu.. Return to the base, fight only if necessary. Inform her team.. tell them of the mishap that may occur if they try and follow."

Dawning finally lit as Sasuke grasped her upper arm in a steely grip, and Sakura opened her mouth to scream. But even as Sai appeared on the horizon with Kakashi's loyal cluster of hounds, even as Naruto screamed a heart-wrenching cry of fury, everything seemed washed in white. Through the swirling cloud of icy dust, Sasuke was the only color Sakura had eyes for, his raven hair and passive mask unchanged.

Only after they had disappeared did Suigetsu register the command and realize he'd been dumped with the leftovers. But if those leaf ninja disobeyed Sasuke's request and did come again, as, given the faces around him, he felt confident they would, his blade would get to see some action after all… and that price was worth any bargain.

"Yo! Come after us and she's dead, got it?" Ignoring the desperate protests behind him, Suigetsu hastened after the pair with newfound elation. Things are getting interesting…

Chapter 2: End

*watari- wandering

**nindo- shinobi way of life

***sorry I'm straying a bit from the manga, but Sasuke and Suigetsu are retrieving the sword together after having joined with Juugo and Karin for a great multitude of reasons, most of which are trite excuses. Thus, sorry if this offends anyone, but I'm skipping over this little detail, 'kay? Unless u feel strongly that I should write it otherwise, please leave a review expressing these feelings, and maybe I can modify the next chapter to your tastes

However, for those of you who don't care either way, please have a heart and keep the authoress from going emo with a review. It's not hard… just click that little purple button and tell me how you feel. Too detailed, too rushed, too slow…. I need feedback if you want me to improve! :o (Please?)

**Also, I'm searching for a beta for this story… anyone interested would have my eternal gratitude(and they'd get to read the chapter's ahead of time, soo.. any takers?^^;)

--Rima--