Chapter 5

Someone gently shook my shoulder, waking me, and my eyes crept open to see Sasuke kneeling beside the bed. He was fully dressed. The fog of sleep faded, and I remembered that he and Sai were about to visit Kirigakure.

"You're leaving?" I asked as I sat up.

He nodded, leaning down to kiss me, "Stay out of trouble while I'm gone."

Still tired, I nodded and pulled him down for another kiss before letting him pull away, "Be safe, Sasuke. I'll miss you."

He made a sound that I understood was his way of returning the sentiment before turning and leaving the room. When I re-awoke a couple of hours later in the morning, I frowned when I opened my eyes and saw his side of the bed was empty. It always sucks when he's away.

As I got up to get dressed for the day, I wondered if he misses me quite as much as I miss him when we're apart. My face warmed as I recalled our actions last night. Even after all this time, I still get embarrassed when he teases me. It's unlikely I'll ever be unaffected by his charm, but that fact made me happy. I'd still love him more than life itself if the sexual tension between us wasn't as strong, but it made things more exciting.

Once ready for the day, I crossed the hall and knocked on my sister and Sai's door, "Ino, do you wanna visit Naruto today?"

The sound of her retching had me opening the door and peeking inside. Sure enough, she was knelt in front of the toilet in the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and came over to hold her hair out of her face, "Hey, I thought you were feeling better."

A sheen of sweat dusted her flushed skin as she gave me a weak look, "Me too."

She eventually gathered herself and freshened up before we headed downstairs for breakfast. At her request, I didn't say anything to anyone else about her still being sick because she didn't want anyone to fret over it.

After the meal, I helped Tenten clean up a bit before joining Ino to visit her shop. Her skin was a bit pale, but she hid it well with makeup. When we arrived, we were stunned to see our mother outside, watering the flower boxes in front of the building.

My sister and I shared a look before approaching, "Hello, Mother. How are you today?"

Mebuki Haruno turned to look at us when Ino's voice met her ears, her green eyes narrowing, "Don't call me mother."

I grit my teeth, "Fine. Mebuki, how are you?"

The woman turned to continue her task, "The lord has blessed us all with another beautiful day."

My sister wanted to wait until we could check out Sonokuni Village before bringing it up, but I was fed up with our mother's terrible behavior. "Have you ever heard of a man named Tenji?"

Ino gave me a stern look, but we both jumped slightly when our mom said oddly, "Yes…I believe I've heard that name before, but I can't recall where or when." Just like that, my eagerness to check out the lead Konan had given us multiplied by ten. Once Sasuke gets home, I'll have to try and convince him again to let us investigate.

Naruto and Kushina argued loudly when we entered the shop, while Hinata and Minato listened with red faces. "It's none of your business if we have children, Mom!"

"What do you mean it's none of my business? I'm your mother! I want grandchildren!"

"We're not even married yet! Can't you wait to start pressuring Hinata? You're gonna scare her away!"

"I just think you two will have such beautiful babies! Is that so wrong?"

Ino snickered, pulling the room's attention, "What an interesting topic to step in on."

Everyone looked at her with red faces except for Kushina, who gestured wildly at her son, "Ino, Sakura, girls, don't you agree that they'll make adorable children?"

My face heated instantly, and I put my hands up defensively, "I'm probably not the best person to ask about that kind of thing."

Ino laughed at me before responding, "What if they don't want to have kids right away, Mama? It's normal for couples to wait longer these days." We often call her and Minato parental terms as a sign of endearment since they've known us for so long. Both of them seemed to enjoy it.

The red-headed woman's face paled, "Oh, how awful! Hinata, sweetheart, please tell me you want to have your children young! Don't wait 'til I have gray hair!" The Hyuuga girl just turned a brighter shade of red as she opened and closed her mouth and tried to form a response.

Naruto yelled at his mother again, "Mom, stop it! You're making her uncomfortable. Come on, Hinata. Let's get some fresh air before you faint." She accepted his hand and let him lead her outside with a humiliated expression on her face.

Minato made a tutting sound as he crossed the room to hug his angry wife, "You need to give them some space, Darling."

She pouted up at her husband, "But I want grandbabies!"

He grinned, "Me too, but we have to let them make their own choices. It's their life, not ours." The blonde man was the perfect ice to his wife's fire. A small smile tugged at my lips as I watched her calm down. I hope if Sasuke ever proposes to me, we'll be cute like that after years of marriage.

Ino went to her desk to finish some work, and I headed outside to check on the other two. Hinata had her face in her hands as Naruto sat beside her with an expression that clearly said he had no idea what to say.

I sat on the girl's other side and nudged her lightly, "Kushina only says stuff like that because she likes you so much, so you should feel flattered."

Pearl-colored eyes met mine as her hands fell to her lap. I grinned reassuringly, "One time, when we were fourteen, Naruto had a girlfriend for a couple of weeks, and she absolutely despised her. She was so against it that Naruto had to dump the girl for her own sake so his mom didn't make her life hell."

"Sakura! Don't tell her about that!"

Hinata let out a small giggle, bashfully reaching over to hold his hand, "N-No, it's alright. It makes me feel a bit better."

His tan face warmed with blush, and he looked away after a moment, squeezing her hand as he muttered, "Let's not worry about kids or anything until after the wedding, okay?"

She nodded in agreement before giving me a small smile, "It's nice to see you, by the way."

I returned her grin, "You, too!"

The young woman glanced at Naruto, and he gave her a quick nod before they both looked at me again. My eyes danced between them in confusion, only to widen in shock when Hinata spoke shyly, "W-Would you be my m-maid of honor?"

Suddenly, I was on my feet with a bright red face, "W-What! Really? You want me to do it?"

She brought a small hand to her mouth to muffle another giggle and spoke amusedly, "You're my first choice, yes, but please don't feel pressured if you don't want to. I-I won't be offended."

I hugged her tightly, making her squeak in surprise, "Of course, I'll do it! I'm honored, Hinata!" Naruto laughed at his fiancee's reaction, and I wiped at my eyes when I pulled back, suddenly feeling emotional.

"Don't worry, Hinata; I'll take care of everything! All you have to do is tell me what you want, and I'll make it happen!"

The bashful girl nodded with a soft smile, "Thank you!"

Later, after Ino and I returned to the castle, I trekked my way upstairs to the storage rooms to look for the totes containing the planning supplies that were used for both Ino's and Itachi's weddings. This would be the first time I'm completely in charge of planning, and I wanted to do the very best job possible.

Naruto's been my best friend for years, and the woman he chose couldn't be more perfect for him. She was sweet and caring but also strong and loyal. My heart warms when I think of how wonderful they are together.

Finally, after searching the tall stacks of storage bins, I found the ones I was looking for, only to frown when I realized they were stacked above my head, and I couldn't retrieve them because they were too heavy.

With a sigh, I returned downstairs to find someone who could help. I ran into Madara immediately after turning off the staircase on the second floor, taking a step back with an awkward feeling brewing in my chest. He gave me an understanding expression before walking around me and heading toward his room.

Feeling defeated, I stopped him, "H-Hey, can you help me with something?" Without saying anything, he followed me back upstairs and started easily grabbing the totes I pointed out.

The air was tense. We hadn't seen one another since the day of our return from Ame, and he was incredibly pissed at me for not being honest about how upset I was about all that had happened. He left for another city almost immediately. When I ran into him just minutes ago, I hadn't even known he was back in Konoha.

"Did Sasuke propose?" His hesitant voice snapped me out of my anxious thoughts, and I looked over to see him staring pointedly at the final tote I needed as he reached up to grab it.

My face warmed when I realized what this must look like, and I shook my head, "No. I'm helping Naruto and Hinata."

It would be nice if the prince had popped the question, though. I know I'm not the only one wondering what was taking him so long.

"He's an idiot."

My teeth gritted as I picked up one of the lighter totes and led the way downstairs, him following me with the two heavier ones. Neither of us said anything as we sat them down in the family room in front of the fireplace, but then I turned to give him as best a smile as possible, "Thank you for the help." He has been incredibly civil lately, and I didn't want to push my luck by mouthing off.

He stared down at me in silence for a moment, lips in a firm line, before suddenly speaking in a more hushed voice, "I'm leaving for Kumo in the morning. You're welcome to join me, and we can visit Sonokuni on the way."

My eyes widened in surprise, and an uneasy feeling ate at my chest, "I-I don't think that's a good idea. Sasuke's away, and he asked me not to leave town without him."

"Well, I want to go, Saku!" We both turned to see Ino standing in the doorway with her arms crossed defiantly over her chest, "Can you take us home before going to Kumo? The boys won't even know we were gone if so." I gave her a warning glare, and she returned it, "What? Sasuke's not your boss, Sakura. We'll just tell Mikoto that we're staying the night at Hinata's to help her start planning her wedding."

I shook my head, extremely uncomfortable with this conversation, "He'll be so angry if he finds out, Ino. I don't want to go behind his back."

My sister looked between the tall vampire standing nearby and me, "Well, I'll go by myself then. You'll take me right, Madara?" We both looked at him expectantly, and he put his hands up in defense, refusing to get in between our argument.

"Even if he doesn't take me, I'm going. I'll have one of the Militia do it."

My hands clenched into fists at my sides, "It's too dangerous, Ino. Just wait until the boys return and have Sai come with you."

Her eyes narrowed, "He doesn't want me to go, either, but it's my choice, and I've decided that I'm going: with or without you."

Guilted into coming along, we got into the car with Madara the following day and left Konoha. Feeling betrayed, I glared at my sister, "This is dirty, and you know it."

She grinned smugly, "Well, I knew you wouldn't let me go alone, and I know you're just as curious as I am."

None of us were stupid. There's nothing I can do to assist her if danger comes our way, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened, and I'd let her go alone. The drive there was relatively uneventful, and by the next morning, we arrived at the entrance of Sonokuni Village.

"This place looks abandoned. I wonder if Konan's friends were mistaken," Ino mused.

Madara wordlessly parked the car in front of a large building that appeared to be an inn, and we all got out. He and I shared a look before I looked away awkwardly and let Ino hold my hand as she led the way inside. If the rundown building wasn't so clean, it would look abandoned.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" my sister called out as we stood at the front desk and saw no one behind it.

After a couple of moments, a frazzled man came out from behind the office door with a surprised expression, "Oh, hello! I'm sorry for keeping you waiting! We don't usually get a lot of visitors. My name is Usotsuki. How can I help you?"

Ino grinned politely, "That's alright. We're looking for a man named Tenji. Do you know where we can find him?"

It was immediately evident that Usotsuki knew who we were talking about, and he seemed hesitant when he replied, "Pardon my manners, but who are you?"

We glanced at one another, unsure if we should answer honestly because news of our lineage was spread by Orochimaru back when he was trying to rally supporters. Madara surprised us by intervening, eyes glowing as he glared at the innkeeper, "Tell us where to find the vampire named Tenji."

Usotsuki responded immediately, "I don't know where he's located, but I know how to summon him."

"Then tell us that."

"If I turn on the streetlamp outside, Tenji or one of his sons will come."

"Why is that?"

"Sonokuni doesn't get a lot of visitors, so local blood is scarce."

The awful, skin-crawling feeling I'd gotten in Oto suddenly returned, and I shook my head quickly, "I don't like this," I turned to look at Madara with pleading eyes, "Please take me home. Something bad's going to happen; I know it."

Ino interrupted, and I frowned when I noticed her eyes glowing, "Light the streetlamp now and let us use a room while we wait."

My limbs shook nervously as we entered a small hotel room, and I turned to hiss at my sister, "Ino, we need to leave. This is a terrible idea." Every fiber of my being was on alert, telling me to vacate the premises.

"He said only one person shows up when the lamp is lit. No matter who comes, we can take them, right Madara?" she gestured at the oddly silent royal.

He glanced at me, and I shook my head, wordlessly begging him to listen to me. Before he could respond, I argued with her, "Since when do you put so much faith in Madara!" That probably stung the vampire in question a little, but I didn't care. I'd say it much worse if it'd make her come home with me.

She couldn't respond before we heard the front doorbell ding. Instantly, the Uchiha elder grabbed my arm and pulled me back behind him, further away from the door.

A small scream passed my lips when the door to the room shot open, and suddenly Ino was fighting with a pale man with shoulder-length brown hair. To our surprise, she struggled to gain the upper hand, and Madara had to step forward to assist her in pinning him to the ground before they shut the door.

"You are Tanaka women, the both of you," the vampire's voice was strained as Madara held him still.

Ino spat at him, "Are you Tenji?"

His brown eyes narrowed, "I am. Are you the children of Kizashi?" My eyes widened in disbelief. That's our father's name.

Still on edge, I hesitantly spoke up as I took a few steps closer, "Why did you kidnap our mother?"

Chocolate brown eyes suddenly glowed bright red, and he hissed at me, "Come closer."

My eyes narrowed at the familiar pain of disobeying orders, "Answer my question."

He looked stunned but turned his eyes onto Ino, "Get this man off of me." I was stunned to the core when his glow worked on her, and she tackled the Uchiha to the ground. This vampire had to be incredibly powerful to control someone with our blood.

I didn't have time to react before Tenji was on his feet and coming my way, only for a hand to shoot through his chest a millisecond before he could lay a finger on me. The red faded from his eyes as he looked down in disbelief, and then he was dead.

Blood was splattered all over my face and clothes, reminding me of the time Kayuya had been killed similarly. Madara threw the dead vampire's heart on the ground and let his corpse follow as he removed his arm from his chest.

"When I said to get him, I didn't mean fucking kill him! I meant, like, pin him down again or something!" My legs gave out from under me, and I fell to my knees with wide eyes.

"H-Hey Saku! Get up!" Ino helped me up before attempting to wipe some blood off my face. It finally clicked what they'd done. She'd told Madara to play along as she pretended to be affected by Tenji's orders to throw the vampire off guard. Not only did their plan backfire, but he even died.

Anger made red bleed into my vision, and I shoved her hands away from me, "What the hell has gotten into you, Ino? This place is dangerous, and you're being reckless!"

She glared at me, stepping back, "I didn't mean for him to die, Sakura."

Bristling, I searched her face in disbelief. Ever since we got back from Ame, she's been acting weird. It's like she was having a rebellious phase or something.

I stepped around the corpse on the ground and her to look up at Madara, who glared back at me, "If you don't take me home right now, I'm going to start walking."

His gaze hardened further, and I knew it was because he hated it when anyone talked to him so disrespectfully, but Ino interrupted before he could say anything, "Wait! We haven't even found anything out yet!"

I turned on my heel to throw my arms out from my sides, "And we're not going to because you guys killed our lead!"

"Madara killed him, not me!"

"You didn't give him much choice, Ino!"

There was a loud bang, and we both turned to face the door, only to see a large hole in the Uchiha in question's rib cage, going entirely through where you could see to the other side.

My body moved on its own, and I rushed forward to try and catch him as he fell forward, "M-Madara!" My knee hit the ground under his weight, and I heard him suck in a breath.

His voice was raspy and gargled as he undoubtedly tried not to choke on his blood, "Get your sister and go!"

There was another bang, and I turned to see my sister fall backward to the ground with her hand trying to cover a massive wound through her shoulder.

My eyes shot to the doorway as I shakily laid the Uchiha on the ground and attempted to get to my feet. My gaze landed on the innkeeper as he aimed some sort of handheld weapon at me. "N-No, wait! Don't-"

Searing pain erupted in my stomach, and I looked down to see a wound similar to those on my two traveling companions; my brow furrowed as I looked up at Usotsuki in disbelief. His eyes were glowing red. He'd pretended to be glowed, just like Ino just had.

Somehow, Madara softened my fall when I lost the energy to stay upright, and I stared at him wide-eyed as blood poured effortlessly onto the ground from the hole in my stomach. "S-Save Ino, okay?"

His eyes narrowed, but I couldn't stay awake long enough to see the rest of his reaction.