Elusive {Book 2}

The Finale

Hey everyone! I know it's been a few years and I've already announced that I have decided to stop writing. This story and series was my first attempt at writing fanfiction and by going back through and rereading different parts of the story I can see how much my writing has improved over the years.

To those of you who read from the beginning and offered your support, thank you for making me feel confident in my writing. Writing has brought me genuine joy and excitement.

I can confidently say that I will not be picking up this story again. If anyone wants to pick this up they are more than welcome to but I've moved on.

Because it's been years and I'm definitely done with this story I will post along with this all my notes and plans for the future of the series. You know, just to give you guys an idea of what I had planned.

Enjoy!

So the original format of the books was meant to be

First Book: They run away and get introduced to the main villain of the story.

Book 2: They go on their own and train and get stronger.

Book 3: They reunite and go to Konoha where they will eventually have to fight the big bad.

That's not very descriptive but keep in mind, this was the very very very basic idea of the plot. The rough outline one could say.

This was all I had written for the next chapter:

"Aren't you the Mizukage?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow. The woman in front of her, Mei, gave her a smile that caught Sakura off guard.

"I am. And who might you be young girl?" Sakura leaned back cautiously at Mei's cheery disposition. She had heard about Mei when she had taken the Mizukage spot about a year ago. She didn't have much to go off on, only that she was a very progressive Kage. Sakura had heard of the improvements to Kiri's economy. Sakura vaguely remembered that Kiri was one of the villages that participated in Konoha's chunin exams.

"I'm Sakura," Sakura reluctantly answered. While Mei seemed nice, Sakura knew that she was the Mizukage. It had been about a year and a half since they left Konoha. While no one was actively looking for them, it was probable that Mei knew of their disappearance, especially considering Kiri's growing relationship with Konoha. The Mizukage either didn't care or didn't recognize her, she just relaxed back in her chair and nodded.

"Well, Sakura, as you already knew, I'm the Mizukage," Mei began. "and it's my job to ensure the safety of my village and its citizens." Sakura nodded in agreement. "So I hope you don't mind me asking you why you were outside the village gates, with weapons and no village affiliation."

"I was not intending to threaten you Mizukage-sama. My teacher was poisoned a while ago and I've been trying to find ingredients for an antidote." Sakura admitted to the Mizukage. Mei smiled softly at the girl.

"I'm sure we can help you with that. What are you looking for specifically? I can have someone collect it for you and then you can be on your way." The offer was generous. Very generous in fact. Which had Sakura questioning Mei's credibility as Mizukage. Was she being too trusting? Or was the offer double-sided? Would Sakura need to do something in return? Sakura gave Mei a weak smile.

"Ah, you see I don't really know," Sakura admitted glancing down at the table. "He was poisoned with something I've never encountered before and so I've been trying to ask around for help and ideas on what to try." Mei looked at the girl with a look of calculation.