Chapter 9
Word From Home

Another three days pass. We get to know Harry, Ron and Hermione better and they're proud to call us their friends. Really, they're the only people we really interact with. The other students are still too cowed by our appearances.

Today we're lounging around the common room, some of us working, others simply contemplating their lives. I'm one of the latter, staring at the cover of my copy of Defensive Magical Theory, while Naruto cusses Snape out in all of the languages he knows. There's a bit of Japanese, and a few English insults I tuck away for future reference if I ever need to freeze someone out. Neji's meditating while Tenten is lying on her back, gazing at the ceiling. Harry, Ron and Hermione are making last-minute check-ups to their essays that are due in a few days.

"Did you have Potions back at your school in Japan?" Hermione asks curiously as Naruto furiously crosses out a few sentences, muttering darkly under his breath. He has extra Potions work because he ticks Snape off.

"You could call them that," I confirm, "but only certain people are qualified to take the course."

"Why's that?"

"Actually, our 'potions' are different from yours; ours are made mostly under pressure, so the people who train to become medics who'll then use the potions must be level-headed and have a clear understanding of all the elements inside."

Hermione frowns. "Why under pressure?"

"Back there everything's fast-paced," I reply vaguely. "You never know when you need to know when you'll need an antidote for a poison or something like that."

At that point the common room door opens and Hinata sidles in. She'd gone out for a brief moment to scope our surroundings. She smiles slightly and nods, indicating that nothing seems to be out of order; we sigh inaudibly and return to what we were doing.

It's already Friday, and we won't have classes tomorrow. But that doesn't mean we don't have homework – we have a whole buttload. There's Potions and Transfiguration, Astronomy and even Divination. Frankly I think all of it pretty useless for us – except maybe Potions – but it won't do for all five of us to stay after classes just because we don't do our work; it'll hinder the nightly recon. Naruto can take the punishment for us.

Speaking of, the blonde's sighing, highly irritated. "Sakura-chan, what's this Mandrake potion thing? I mean, did that guy say one or two ounces of porcupine quills?"

"Why don't you ask Hinata?" I suggest, winking at the suddenly red-faced girl. Her eyes are both alarmed and thankful as my best friend turns to her, demanding help. While the rest of them are working, I kick back and pretend to read the chapters Umbridge assigned us. My eyes roam over the pages, but I'm not really processing the words: I'm thinking about this past week.

There still hasn't been word from Konoha. I expected as much, since we're literally thousands of miles away from home, but a small part can't stop hoping that maybe Tsunade's already gotten our message and is writing back to us as fast as she can. Sasuke and company don't talk to us, but we're forced together in classes every other day. We ignore them, they ignore us – it's an unwritten agreement. But we can't help but sneak glances at each other every now and then.

I've made a lot of observations about them these past five days. Suigetsu's the flirty playboy type; he likes to tease all the girls he comes into contact to. We haven't talked to him before, but from what the whispers say, he's pretty arrogant and indifferent to anything that doesn't concern him. He also likes mocking Karin, even if it means he gets beaten up every second of the day. Karin's the typical fan girl I used to be: she follows Sasuke around everywhere and simpers all the time when she's around him. But when he's not there – say, he's gone to the loo or something – she's tough and pretty snarky towards the other students. Juugo, on the other hand, is the silent and gentle type. He barely speaks, but when he does he usually says something with a deep meaning and helps his peers if he can. He doesn't seem to be aware that there's a rivalry between the houses; I saw him helping a young boy with the Gryffindor emblem on his robes up the other day. He seems like a sweet man, but nonetheless we keep a wary eye out for him.

There's not much to say about Sasuke, except, well, he's psycho. He hasn't changed much personality wise, though: according to the swooning young women that Hinata, Tenten and I share a room with, he doesn't talk much either but has a "bad-boy" and "edgy" feel to him. By "bad-boy" and "edgy", I assumed they meant "crazy" and "homicidal". Back in our Team 7 days I'd assumed he'd started caring for us like family, but now, he's completely aloof again and displays a biting sense of cynicism. He's gotten pretty cocky too, according to the girls, but they claim that that's okay, as it makes him "hotter". I nearly gag at this but out of respect for our roommates I give them the benefit of doubt. What really bugs me more and more every day is that he lets Karin hang off his arm like some kind of leech without batting an eyelash; if it were me, I thought, he'd push me off and call me annoying. The red-haired girl seems to know this, because each time our eyes cross she smirks and presses his arm closer to her chest. At most Sasuke will sigh in a frustrated way and a slight frown will crease his features, but he doesn't move away.

Deidara… I still haven't made up my mind if that man is psychotic, delusional or just plain weird. He follows me around whenever he sees me and chatters away, trying to get a rise out of me; more than once I wanted to punch him but restrained myself. He seems disappointed at that, but accepts it with a grin and tries another way of pushing my buttons. It's like he wants me to knock him into the middle of next week. If I didn't know better I'd say he has a death wish somewhere in his mind. I'm sure he's just trying to get an excuse to beat me up for what I did to his partner.

Harry, Ron and Hermione bid us goodnight then, yawning and rubbing their tired eyes. It's already way past midnight, but years of nocturnal hunting has gotten the five of us used to staying up in the late hours. As soon as they're out of sight, Naruto sighs, "I wonder when Gama's going to be back."

Before he can even finish his sentence, though, there's a poof of smoke and a loud croak. The toad he sent last week has returned, looking a bit worse for wear but still here. And he's got a bit of paper attached to him. It's a bit smaller than I expected, but nonetheless it proves that Tsunade has written to us. I hurriedly reach over and detach it from the amphibian, who croaks tiredly and disappears after receiving praise from his summoner.

"When you read this make sure no one is around," I read out loud, "I will meet you within two minutes." I frown. "Meet us? What does she –?"

At that moment the fire, which had been crackling lazily, burst into spirited green flames and Tsunade's head pops into view. I nearly shriek and back up; her lips are twisted in a smile, but her eyes are weary. "Good to see you all."

"S-s-s-s-shishou!" I stutter. My companions all have the same reaction as me. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"Something called Floo Powder. But listen closely, I don't have much time." She scowls. "Your letter's really disturbing, to say the least… are you absolutely sure that the Uchiha has joined the Akatsuki?"

"What would they be doing here with the explosives master if he didn't?" counters Neji.

"I know, I know. It's just to check." She bites her lip and turns on me. "Sakura, Tenten says that he has a particular interest in you. Is that true?"

I nod. "I don't know why, but he actually does."

"He might want revenge for what you did to his partner. But then – our information on him says he doesn't care about anyone, much less Sasori." Her brow furrows in concentration. "I'm not too sure what to make of this, frankly. But Shikamaru has told me over and over that we should keep our enemies close. Very close." She lets out a sigh. "Sakura… stay with him."

My jaw drops open. "W-what?"

"I don't like the idea either! But Shikamaru's got a valid point. This way, you'll be able to find out what they're doing there."

"What if he really is out to get Sakura?" Hinata asks quietly, eyes worried.

Tsunade nods. "Yes, I've thought of that. That's why all of you must stick together at all times, do you understand me?" We acquiesce silently, but there's an uncomfortable knot in my stomach. "As for Sasuke and his group –" Naruto stiffens considerably, expecting to hear the worst, "don't take him. Not just yet." The blonde relaxes, but his eyes are still serious. "You don't have the resources to take him down. So far, no one in the village knows that he is there, and I intend to keep it that way. Should the need come I will send reinforcements there if he causes trouble. Do not provoke him in any way."

"What if he returns to Konoha?" Naruto's whisper is soft and sad, filled with tentative hope.

The Hokage's eyes are sad and doubtful. "You know that's unlikely Naruto."

"There's always a chance."

"Then…" Her lips purse. "Then, bring him home. However," she stresses as he starts to beam, "that is not your priority. You are to protect the wizard boy for the next year. Everything else, including personal affairs, will take a back seat for now."

"Yeah, yeah, got it Granny," grins Naruto. His mind's already far away, imagining a future with him, Sasuke, Sai, Kakashi and me in the ramen shop.

"In a few hours you will receive a bit of news from Dumbledore," continues Tsunade, frowning in displeasure. "I told him it would not be a good idea, but considering this new course of action it might be desirable." Her eyes flicker back and she curses loudly. "Someone's coming. I have to go. Good luck." Before we can say anything she disappears with a small poof.

The five of us stare at each other, seconds ticking by. Finally Tenten says dryly, "I don't think this kind of thing should surprise us anymore, really." I laugh shakily.

Neji doesn't seem to be in the mood for joking. "What's this news she's talking about? And how come I get the feeling that it's not going to be good?"

"You worry too much," admonishes his bun-haired partner. "We'll think about that when tomorrow comes. For now we should be grateful that Tsunade-sama's even contacted us. Word came faster than expected."

"Tomorrow…" I sigh. Tomorrow I'll have to act buddy-buddy with a guy that I'm sure hates my guts and that I've spent the last week pushing away. All for the mission.

"Sakura, don't worry too much about it," Hinata smiles gently. "You'll do well, I know it. You're you, after all."

I grin thankfully at her. "Thanks, Hinata. I know I can trust you of all people."

She laughs lightly, then turns her attention back to Naruto. "Naruto-kun?"

He looks up and then I see he's grinning like a fool. "Bingo!"

"Tsunade-shishou says we can't focus on trying to find ways to bring him back," I scold him, even as a small flower of hope blooms in my chest. Then I remember how cold his eyes are and it's immediately crushed. "And, like she said, it's highly unlikely."

"I've spent three years believing that he'll come back, I'm not going to stop now!" he says, eyes bright. "I just know that Sasuke will –"

He falls silent immediately and, as one, our heads whip to the staircase on the girls' side of the tower, where we can hear soft footsteps. A moment later Hermione's bushy head appears. She's yawning and rubbing her eyes, but we can tell it's an act: her body is visibly tense. She's a pretty good actress, though. "Oh? You're still awake?"

"We're just writing letters to home," I lie nonchalantly, gesturing to the parchment in front of us. Thankfully we'd had some in our bags. Hinata hurriedly reaches over and scrawls some random words.

"Oh."

"What're you up to?" Tenten asks.

"Oh, uh…" Hermione seems to be searching for words. "I was thirsty, so I came down to get some water."

There's water in the dormitory; all of us are aware of that fact. After a silent minute she turns around and sprints back up. We exchange a glance.

"She's worried for us," I say in a low voice.

"Doesn't matter," Neji replies. "She's too smart for her own good. If she finds out what we are and why we're here, it's over."

Hinata bites her lip. "If you ask me, I really don't think she'll be a problem. Hermione's a sweet girl and I don't think she means us any harm."

"I agree," Tenten trills.

"Whatever," Naruto yawns, "we'll figure this out tomorrow. It's time to sleep, so when Dumbledore gives us that 'news' we'll be ready for it. G'night." He waves and blunders off. After a breath Neji follows him, his brow furrowed in thought. Hinata, Tenten and I shrug and make our way to our beds. Before I gave myself up to sleep, though, I glance towards where Hermione is. It looks like she's in a deep sleep, but she's awake. I smile softly and murmur, "Good night."

It seems like seconds later I open my eyes. I'm dreadfully tired and my stomach is twisted in a know of dread; it takes me a while to remember why.

Oh yeah. Operation Be-Deidara's-Best-Friend is on starting from today.

Within moments Neji. Naruto, Ron and Harry join us girls and we make our way to the Great Hall. Admittedly I'm feeling very tense and snappish; when Ron tries to ask me something I bite his head off. But I apologize later. He looks a bit reproachful but I do my best to appease his hurt soul.

They're not at their table when we seat ourselves. I let out an inaudible sigh of relief as I dig into my toast. Beside me Naruto is snarfing down eggs and sausages and everything he can reach. It seems that Tsunade has made him feel revitalized by giving him a somewhat approval to bring Sasuke back home.

Ten minutes pass and all shoulder our book bags, prepared to leave class. We have Care of Magical Creatures now, so we pull on our jackets; the September air is quite chilly. It's one of the classes that we share with the Slytherins, but I still don't see the ones I'm looking for. In a way it's good, I guess, since I don't have to immediately act. But it's making me feel more and more on edge.

Professor Grubbly-Plank starts the lesson by talking about something called a Kneazle; apparently they're cat-like creatures who are extremely aggressive and intelligent, and if they like you, they'll be the best pet you'll ever own. Hermione whispers to me that her cat, Crookshanks, is half-Kneazle. They're pretty interesting, really; they look like normal house felines, but with lion tails, but not all of us have luck with them. Naruto and Neji are immediately hissed and scratched at; last time I saw Ron he was sprinting away from a particularly vengeful-looking one, which makes me wonder what he did in a previous life.

Hermione, as expected, is respected by them, but they still don't approach her willingly; same with Tenten. Harry and Hinata are carefully greeting the Kneazles who'd neared them. I stick out my hand to the furry group and regret it as soon as I did: they're looking at my fingers like they'd be a good exercise for their claws. I withdraw them very slowly and to my surprise, one of them follows.

It's tiny thing, maybe the smallest of the pack. It still looks like a kitten. It's a fiery orange-blonde and has green eyes that sparkle with intelligence. I still my hand and it approaches it cautiously, mewling. Behind it the other Kneazles hiss in disapproval. The kitten swats at me experimentally and I jerk my hand away, teasing it. Yowling, it hurries forward and jumps around happily.

"It seems that the little one likes you." I turn around and see Professor Grubbly-Plank smiling down at me. "He's never reacted to anyone like that before."

"I like cats," I reply, smiling, "even though they aren't exactly cats." She laughs and walks off to where Naruto's nursing scratched hands.

It's around this time that the kitten manages to latch on to one of my fingers. I exhaled in surprise: his claws are sharp. Withdrawing my hand quickly, I glance around to see if anyone's watching and let my chakra heal the wounds. The Kneazle looks at me forlornly, as if he's wondering why I won't play with him anymore. I grin down and offer my arms; it jumps in and starts purring wildly. I cradle him and walk off to where my friends are.

Neji's gotten a tentative truce with a haughty-looking white Kneazle who's glaring at him but allowing him to move towards him. Hermione's chattering away about her Crookshanks to Tenten, who's warily petting a grey, fully-grown Kneazle. Harry and Hinata are cautiously offering their hands to one that has fur as dark as night while Naruto watches enviously, sucking on his bleeding fingers. And Ron's cowering behind Hermione, watching the Kneazle in front of him with wide, distrustful eyes.

The Slytherins and Gryffindors make two distinct groups in this class; we can tell who's in which house easily. The Gryffindors are resting on the left side of the yard while the Slytherins stay on the right; every now and then there would be a glaring competition between students of opposite houses. I shake my head and coo down at the blissful Kneazle I'm holding.

Suddenly arms wrap around me from behind; I squeak but manage to keep my grip on the kitten. They disappear as abruptly as they'd appeared. I whirl around and see a grinning Deidara, hands up in the air as if to calm me. I'm ready to chew him out but then I remember, Oh right. Keep your enemies closer. I glare at him and clutch onto the Kneazle tightly so I won't lunge at him. "What do you want?"

He smirks. "I was expecting to see your temper. I hear it's only second to that lady Hokage's, yeah."

"It is," I admit. "So?"

"Don't you know it's sexy when girls are angry?" He winks. When I glower at him he laughs. "I joke, I joke. Don't be so uptight about everything, yeah." He leans down and stares at the Kneazle. "He's a cutie, isn't he?"

"Yeah." I tense guardedly as he cocks his head to the side.

"Can I pet?"

"Depends on him."

Deidara reaches out and stops right in front of the Kneazle; the kitten looks suspiciously at the fingers offered and mews. He seems to be debating whether or not Deidara's a bad person. After a moment he seems to think that maybe the bomb specialist isn't that bad and shoves his head against Deidara's hand. Grinning, the blonde pets him and says, "I'm sexy to cats, yeah. What can I say?"

I suddenly get the urge to laugh, but stifle it. It comes out as a strangled sort of half-snort, half-grunt. He raises his eyebrow. "What was that, yeah?"

"I was just thinking about how stupid you are," I answer flippantly, smirking.

His eyes narrow infinitesimally. "You did not just say that, yeah."

"What if I did?"

"You might not know this, but I'm not only a bomb specialist, but a tickle specialist too, yeah." He wiggles his fingers; I glare at them, amused.

It's weird. I'm actually supposed to hate Deidara and maybe be afraid of him, but I don't, and I'm not. Kneazles are supposedly able to tell the difference between the good and the bad people, and the kitten in my hands seems to think that he isn't that bad. Maybe it's because it's only a kitten, I try to reason, but it seems like a lie. Despite Deidara being a part of the most dangerous S-Class organization, he just doesn't seem like a bad guy.

But that doesn't mean I trust him.

"Deidara." Ice trickles down my spine at this new voice and my blood runs cold. I stiffen, a feeling of déjà-vu washing over me, and glance over my shoulder. Sasuke's there with Karin hanging on his arm again, Suigetsu and Juugo standing behind them. He doesn't even bother to glance my way and levels his gaze at the blonde beside me. "Come."

"Who're you to tell me what to do, yeah?" Deidara grimaces. "I'm the older one, yeah."

"It's better off if you don't talk to her." His eyes flicker towards me for the briefest second and there's an emotion there, something that's completely unfamiliar and that sends shivers down my spine. But then it's gone, he's gone, and he's talking to Deidara in that deadpan manner again. "You know what he said."

My brow furrows and I clutch the Kneazle closer to me. Who's he? I wonder. Then a comforting hand places itself on my shoulder. I recognize it without even turning around. Naruto's grinning, but he's tense. "Oh hey, if it isn't the Sasuke-teme."

To my utter surprise, Sasuke actually replies. His eyes find Naruto's. "Naruto."

The fox-boy keeps his voice light. "How's life? I see you got new teammates to replace us." I gape at him at that, wondering where on Earth he's going with that. "But I gotta say, your taste is pretty bad." His blue gaze drifts towards Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo. The white-haired boy sneers and makes a rude hand gesture.

"Hn." There's silence between us for a full minute; no one dares approach us. I can just imagine how this looks to an outsider and how intimidating it must be for them. We're giving off a very hostile feeling. Neji, Tenten and Hinata are a little bit behind us, knowing not to intrude. It's a meeting between former Team 7 members, of course, so they think it's none of their business; on the other hand, Karin presses herself closer to Sasuke, glaring at us without saying a word.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispers at last, his voice sad, "until when are you going to be like this?"

For the first time his calm façade breaks. Sasuke's angry. "My revenge is not yet completed."

"Itachi's already dead!" Naruto's voice is heated, urgent. "Wasn't that your goal from that time? So why won't you come home?"

"You don't know anything," Sasuke says. It looks like the blackness of his eyes is starting to bleed into red. "You don't know anything, so don't tell me to go back to that place!"

"We're all waiting for you. After all these years, we're still waiting for you." Naruto shakes his head. "This new 'power' of yours… isn't even really power. True strength comes when you realise just how much you have, how many people rely on you… when you find out what those around you mean to you."

"Naruto…" I murmur. I turn back to my former teammate, who's still looking furious. "Sasuke…"

And then he finally, finally looks at me. Although he seems resentful, there's something in his eyes – desperation, hope, sadness. "Sasuke, I – we –"

"Sasuke-kun," Karin whines suddenly in a loud voice, "we should go now." She glares at us from underneath her glasses and her grip on his arm tightens.

Sasuke blinks and then all emotion is gone from him, and he's that unfamiliar Sasuke again. My heart twists and I bite my lip, looking down. "Deidara, stop dawdling around." He turns on his heel and strides off.

The longhaired blonde whistles. "What an ass, yeah. Guess I'd better go." He waves and saunters after his teammates.

"Don't worry about them, Sakura-chan," whispers Naruto. I nod, but continue to stare down at the Kneazle kitten in my arms. He takes my face in his hands and gently lifts it up, forcing my to look at him. I blink the wetness in my eyes away. "I made you a promise, remember? I'm going to bring Sasuke back, no matter what."

"At this rate… at this rate, he won't want to –"

"I'll make him, then. Sasuke is a pain, but he's ours. I won't give him up easily to creeps like that!" His blue eyes gaze into my green ones earnestly. "Trust me, Sakura-chan. That's all I'm asking you to do. That's all I want you to do. I'll get all of us together again – you, me, Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-taichou, Sai and Sasuke. It'll be okay, we'll be okay… so just trust me, alright?"

His blue eyes are so serious, so confident that everything will turn out fine. I want to believe him, I really do, but what happens if…?

But Naruto has never let me down, not once. He's always come back alive from his dangerous missions, like he promises me. He might return battered and beaten, but he always has that bright smile on his face and greets me with, "Sakura-chan! I did it, just like I told you I would!"

This is what turns in my mind as I stare back at him, chewing my lip. Naruto is my best friend, my brother – and he's right. He'll fix everything. I nod and he hugs me. The Kneazle yowls in protest, but I shush it; I'm too busy thinking about the things that might happen. It's alright, though, because just like Naruto says, everything will fall into place… eventually.