Ripples

Chapter 12

                         Connecting

Sakura took a deep breath, grateful to taste fresh air on her tongue. It was good to be out of the tunnels.

After a quick breakfast and a last minute check of their supplies, Hebi had left the Uchiha hideout. Most of them had acquired new clothes, and all five were currently wearing black cloaks that Sakura assumed were meant to be some sort of unofficial uniform. Apparently, this was where the hunting-Itachi-down phase of Sasuke's plan came into action.

"So...where are we headed?" Sakura asked.

"To the Akatsuki," Sasuke said.

She rolled her eyes. "Gee, could you be a little more cryptic with that?"

He ignored her, and she frowned. He went from stroking her neck and staring at while she slept (when she'd awoken with his eyes on her she was fairly certain that was what he was doing) to outright ignoring her?

She decided not to think about it for the moment and to just enjoy the feeling of being above ground again.

She noted with amusement that a few birds were hovering above Juugo. The blonde man extended one large arm towards them, smiling gently as one settled on his wrist.

Sakura blinked. She'd never seen anyone do that with a wild bird before. Was this another of Juugo's strange abilities?

Juugo seemed to notice the direction of her gaze. "Do you want to hold one?"

"Can I?" she asked timidly. "I mean, if I'm going to scare it or something..."

"It's fine," he said, extending the hand the bird perched on towards her arm, tilting it slightly to urge the bird to move to Sakura's wrist.

A small flutter of wings, and Sakura felt tiny claws prick her skin. The bird observed her from its perch with small dark eyes.

"Wow..." she breathed. "How do you do this?"

Juugo shrugged.

"Better hope it doesn't shit on your hand, Princess," Suigetsu quipped.

Sakura let out a reluctant laugh.

"We're going," Sasuke barked, feeling needled somehow by her casual interaction with Juugo and Suigetsu.

Sakura rolled her eyes but started after him obediently, deliberately jostling her wrist so the bird took flight and winged back to Juugo.

-xxx-

It was only when they were practically on top of the small village that Sakura learned Sasuke was going to check out a small hamlet that had recently been having difficulties with a group that sounded very much like the Akatsuki, and they were going to meet with the lord. Sakura still didn't know how Sasuke had gained entrance, but figured the Uchiha name was a powerful one even outside of ninja circles.

Sakura's immediate impression of the lord had simply been 'creep'. She knew a lot of lords were fair, decent people who tried to consider the needs and wants of their subjects, but some of them were obnoxious idiots who were too accustomed to their money buying them anything and everything they wanted.