Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Closer ❯ Chapter 12

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Ino sat silently on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest, watching the sun slowly, but surely peek through the darkness. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.  She felt too drained to move and to empty to fall back asleep. Her eyes kept on traveling to the simple white box she had found on her pillow since she woke up.

She refused to open it because she knew who had left it. He had brought her to her room after he knocked her out, and left a present. If she opened it, what would she find? One of his short notes, asking her to trust him? A necklace to hang herself with? A valid reason for her to just sit here and cry her eyes out? Ugh, how could he just leave? How far away was he now? How many tears did she have left? She angrily wiped her eyes and fell on her side, still holding her knees. She didn’t know how long she stayed like that. Staring blankly at the wall made time flow by unimportantly.  

Someone’s urgent footsteps up the stairs made her slowly sit up on her hands. She waited for the person to enter, not really surprised when it was Sakura. She looked just as depressed, though not as much as she was Ino thought numbly and fell back on her bed.

“Ino. Sasuke…”

“I know.” She mumbled.

“Did you try to stop him?” Sakura cried in concern.

“Not really.”

“What?” She gasped and came around her bed, kneeling with unbelieving jade eyes. “Why?”

Why? She had asked herself that question so many times and still didn’t really know. Tears burned her eyes again and she curled up into a ball. “He told me it was his purpose.” She sniffed. “It will always be on his mind! I had to let him go!”

To see him so angry and despondent. He could never be Sasuke if he just let his past go. She was angry too! But his path was not hers. She could stay in the village and slowly become stronger. He couldn’t. It would take too long for him and his moods would become darker and more deadly. And, gods, he was going against Itachi! Someone who graduated the academy at seven and became and Chuunin at ten. Someone who killed his entire clan. One of the most powerful clans that ever walked in Fire Country.  She had no choice!

“Ino, do you know who he’ll go to?” Sakura demanded.

“Orochimaru.” She answered, hating the way his name tasted on her lips.

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Sakura! Of course not!” Ino finally exploded sitting up. “But what can I do? Who am I to compete with the power he craves? He made his choice! He has his reasons!” She glowered at her, but then crumbled noisily into tears. “I begged him to stay!” She hid her face in her hands and felt Sakura sit next to her.

“I’m sorry Ino. “ She soothed, wrapping her in a warm comforting hug. “I’m sorry.”

Naruto was nervous and angry. Mostly he was confused. He thought for sure that Sasuke would never seek out Orochimaru. He thought for sure that Sasuke was arrogant enough not to accept help from anyone else. As Shikamaru silently took in everyone’s weapon supplies, he felt detached.

Where was he when Sasuke left? What was he doing not to notice? True, he was still a bit sour on the little fight they got into yesterday, but they always got into fights. They always got past it too. He gritted his teeth. Damn it. Why Sasuke?

“Okay. Lets go.” Shikamaru rallied and Naruto replaced his pouch on his leg. He would bring him back no matter what.

“Wait!” The group turned to see Sakura running to them. Naruto felt the weight of her sad expression kick him in the gut. Maybe she was thinking the same thing he was.

“I already heard from the Hokage what happened. Sorry. I can’t take you on this mission.” Shikamaru said sternly and Sakura flinched a little. Shikamaru lowered his chin a little. “Not even Ino could convince him to stay right?”

Ino? Naruto looked back and forth between Shikamaru and Sakura. Not even her? She was the closest person to Sasuke besides his team. How could Ino not convince him? Where was she? Sakura looked away.

“There is no other choice but to use force to bring him back now.” Shikamaru said quietly.

If Ino couldn’t convince him then she must have seen him the night before. “That means…Sakura, Ino talked to Sasuke?”

Sakura nodded, tears gathering in her eyes and falling down her place, strained face. “Naruto…this is the only favor I will ever ask of you.” She said in a watery voice. “Bring Sasuke back. I hate seeing her like this. Ino never cries! She didn’t convince him to stay and couldn’t stop him. If she couldn’t do it, then I know the only person who could save him…the only person who could stop him is you. Only you Naruto.”

So many things were floating in his head and kicking around his insides. He looked over to Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba and saw that they looked probably how he looked. Sasuke was never a very social person, but when Ino was with them, they all got along rather well. From the late academy days, through the exam and missions they were all thrown into, somehow they got through it together. Everyone saw how close those two had got. It was the only time he saw Sasuke look like he had feelings, when Ino was around.

“I understand Sakura. I will bring Sasuke back for sure. That is a promise of a lifetime!” He declared to her with a grin. Not just for Ino, but for her as well. He could tell Sakura was worried about him. He shook as he held out his thumb in a promise, because despite his determination, he was wary and unsure of his own power.

“Hey, Naruto. Are you sure you can keep that promise?” Kiba commented with a pat on his shoulder.

He didn’t know. “Of course. I never go back on my word.” He said, turning to Kiba. “That’s my way of the ninja. Let’s go!” He felt a little strengthened by that. Sakura looked back at him with a set jaw line that told him she trusted what he said. He was honored by that feeling.

“We just lost some time.” Shikamaru said in annoyance but then looked back to Sakura. “Tell Ino not to cry. Tell her I said so.”

Sakura wiped the stray tears from the corners of her eyes and managed a smile. “She doesn’t like to be bossed around.”

Shikamaru smirked. “I know.”

“Take care of her.” Choji called out and they left Sakura with Lee at the gate.

When Sakura told her that a team was sent out to retrieve Sasuke, Ino’s heart leapt in her throat. When she told her exactly who was on the retrieval team her blood ran chill and when she went after them she was stopped and brought to the Hokage tower.

Standing in front of the golden haired Hokage, Ino felt like she was a child caught in the cookie jar.  It was late morning and the whole village was abuzz with life just outside the windows of the tower. She felt like everyone in the room was caught in a huge secret. But it was the truth. No one but a select few knew of Sasuke’s defect. The village was dangerously low on available ninja and even Kakashi was unaware of what was going on with his team. She didn’t even know when Asuma was going to be back.

“Ino. There is no use in you going after them. They are hours into the mission and you won’t be able to catch up.” Lady Tsunade told her sternly.

She jerked her arm out of one of the tower guards that had brought her in. “Why send them? Do you know who Sasuke’s with? They could all die!” She cried in panic.

Lady Tsunade sighed dejectedly. “You know why. There was no one else.”

“But—”

“Ino.” Lady Tsunade cut her off with an angry fist slamming into her desk. “Why didn’t you tell anyone? You knew and you didn’t even try to stop him. I had to hear it from Sakura!”

Ino flinched guiltily, hot tears tumbling from her lashes. It was her fault that her friends were sent out on this mission she thought despondently. But what logical answer could she give the livid Hokage? There was none. She didn’t even try to stop him. She only begged half knowing that it was pointless in the first place. She had betrayed the village in a way by staying quietly in her room watching the sun lift from the horizon.

“I’m sorry.” Was all she could say, falling to her knees for forgiveness in front of the Hokage.  She didn’t expect anything from her action, but really, there was nothing more she could do. She ruined her trust with the new Hokage. She put her friends in danger. She let Sasuke become a missing nin. She gave her heart and soul to the monster Orochimaru and all she could do was say she was sorry. Even she didn’t understand why the Hokage enveloped her in a hug. It was something she didn’t deserve.

“Foolish girl. Why are girls so foolish when it comes to love?” Lady Tsunade whispered harshly to Ino like she was talking to herself as well. Ino’s sobs were muffled by the older blonde’s shoulder. She was foolish. Foolish and selfish. If anything happened to her friends, she would never forgive herself.

They pulled slowly apart, with Ino trying to calm her heaving sobs and Lady Tsunade giving her a sympathetic look. “Ino. I see the torment in your face. You should trust the boys. I called in a favor as well. Hopefully it will be paid in full before they get into trouble.” She stood and Ino shakily got to her feet as well. Ino tried to calm herself. Lady Tsunade was right. She needed to trust the boys and trust Shikamaru’s leadership skills. Even as she thought those things, the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn’t go away.

The Hokage ordered her not to leave her side the entire day so she could keep an eye on her. It flew by like a dream and by mid afternoon the next day she knew something was wrong. There wasn’t a single word on the boys and they hadn’t returned. Lady Tsunade sent out two teams of medic nins as soon as Jonins and Chuunins were available. She and Sakura sat on the roof of the Hokage tower, anxiously waiting for any kind of information. Their eyes were locked on the surrounding forest and on the main road.

The first lining of silver in the clouds was the arrival of medic team 1 with Choji and Neji on stretchers. Ino bolted off the roof with Sakura calling after her. Choji! The world blurred in tears and her heart pumped loudly in her ears as she made her way to her teammate as fast as she could. When she first saw him up close she was taken back. He looked frail and thin. Thinner than she could ever imagine.

“Choji!” She screamed, but someone restrained her from behind. “I just want to see!” She begged, trying to shrug off the encircled arms keeping her in place.

“He’s in critical condition right now. We need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible.” One of the medical nins told her. Ino automatically stop struggling, wide mournful eyes watching as he was quickly carted from her view. Right behind them, she saw an unconscious Neji. He looked much worse with a huge gaping wound bleeding freely from his shoulder. Though she disliked the Hyuga, she couldn’t help but feel worried for him as well. She looked hopefully at the roads leading out of the village. Shikamaru, Kiba and Naruto are okay she thought, hugging herself. They had to be.

Ino paced in front of the ICU room where they were working on Choji. The Hokage was in and out of there, telling her he was going to pull through and to get some sleep. But she didn’t move from her spot. When early evening came around someone had shaken her awake. Instantly she bolted from her nap and then stared in mute awe at Shikamaru standing over her. He looked tired and a bit battered but other than that, he looked perfect.

“Shikamaru!” She cried launching herself at him and hugging him until he wheezed out a breath. “You’re okay. Thank god.” She mumbled, biting her lip to keep from crying yet again. It was all she ever did for the past two days.

“I’m sorry Ino. Sasuke—”

“Don’t worry about it.” She interrupted him. “I know you all did your best.” There was a little silence that followed, a comfortable one that made her feel better. Being so close to her team made everything else seem far away for the moment. They were all right. They were alive.

“How is he?” Shikamaru asked her when she slowly released him. He wearily collapsed on the waiting benches.

“They say he’s stable, but it’s still pretty serious.” She said quietly, sitting beside him and looking at the glaring red light above the ICU room. “Did you eat? Do you want me to get you something?” She asked.

“I’m okay.” He said with a little smile.

“I’ll get us some bottled water.” She ignored his answer and left down the hallway to the small cafeteria a floor down. The old man who worked there got used to her face, first with Sasuke and now with Choji. He even gave her a small discount. When she got back there was someone she was surprised to see. She sat across from a worried Shikamaru with an unreadable expression on her tanned face. Temari?

“Thank you.” Shikamaru said taking the water and placing it next to him. Ino took hers and offered it to the older blonde teen.

“So you were the backup Lady Tsunade was talking about.” She gave a little smile covering her confusion. Didn’t the Village of Hidden Sand try to destroy Leaf? Why did Lady Tsunade call them of all people?

“Yeah. My brothers are around her somewhere.” Temari said, accepting the water. Ino stiffened a little. That meant Gaara was here.

“Ino I heard Kiba is awake.” Shikamaru said and Ino turned to him. “Room 114.” He said, reading her eyes easily.

“Just for a minute.” She promised and left back down the hallway. His older sister was just leaving his room with a pack of ninja dogs. Ino paused in front of her, the gnawing shame taunting her with the stain of knowing it was fault her Kiba was in the hospital.

“Don’t take too long. He needs his sleep.” Kiba’s sister said with an even tone. Ino lowered her eyes and nodded. She waited until his sister was halfway down the hall with the dogs before knocking and opening the door. Kiba was bandaged neatly, with scrapes and bruises on his face. His dark eyes lit up a little and Ino managed a little smile.

“How are you feeling?” She asked, pulling a chair beside his bed.

“I’ve been better.” He mused gruffly, leaning back on his pillow. “I’m sorry about Sasuke.”

It hurt to hear him sound so guilty. “He made his choice.” She said softly, and took his hand into hers. “I’m just glad you guys made it back.” She followed his gaze to a small pillow beside him on the floor. “How’s Akamaru?”

“He’s gonna be alright. He’s strong.” Kiba said, not moving his gaze. “Will you be okay?”

Ino summoned a smile and gave his hand a squeeze. “Of course. Don’t worry about me.”

He finally turned to her. “Tch. That smile can’t fool me.”

Ino’s lips trembled and she looked down at their hands. “I’ll be fine.” She said truthfully. “Eventually. So don’t worry. Just focus on getting better.” She looked up. “Okay?”

He was studying her with his sharp eyes. “Okay.” He finally said.

When she left his room she saw Sakura lingering by a blank wall just outside. “Naruto is awake.”

Back upstairs they both stopped by his door. Ino halted Sakura, her ears perking to the low murmurs on the other side. “So Sasuke…?” It was Shikamaru.

“Yeah. He went.” Naruto said sadly. Ino had prepared for that result the moment she learned of the retrieval mission. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Naruto or the other’s strength. But Sasuke was determined and when he made up his mind to do something, he usually succeeded. Naruto must feel like a total failure. Naruto…I’m sorry…

“Oh? Visiting? Word travels quickly.” They both turned to the Lady Hokage, stepping aside to let her pass. Ino took a deep breath. Shikamaru was sitting on his bed and Naruto was bandaged thoroughly. When he saw her, his blue eyes darkened and he avoided her eyes. It punched her heart seeing him look so defeated and ashamed. She was the one ashamed. She wished she could take all his burdens on her shoulders. It would be justifiable punishment.

“He came in with a severe wound but he looks okay now.” Lady Tsunade told she and Sakura. Ino looked at the Hokage, noticing that she had been studying her the whole time. She flushed a little.

“I’m sorry Sakura.” Naruto muttered. Sakura sneaked her a look.

“What are you talking about?” She said with a nervous smile. “It’s you so you probably went overboard again.” She walked across the room to the drawn curtains. “Sheesh, you look like a mummy.”

Naruto managed a look to Ino. “I’m sorry…I...”

“Come on.” Sakura interrupted him quickly. “The weather is nice today so let’s open the curtains.”

 “Sakura! I’ll keep my promise for sure! I told you it was a promise of a lifetime!” Naruto exclaimed leaning forward. Ino felt a little out of place in the room, but she didn’t leave. He turned to her. “Ino—”

“Naruto its okay. I know you’ll never go back on your word.” Sakura brought his attention back to her with a secret look that only Naruto understood. “It’s your ninja way.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Ino finally asked. It bothered her to see Sakura, Naruto and Shikamaru share a secret message between them. “What promise?” They didn’t answer. She gathered it probably had to do with Sasuke, but why not tell her?

“Ino, you’ve been here since Choji and Neji were first admitted. Go home and get some sleep.” Lady Tsunade said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“But Choji—”

“I’ll come and get you when he can see visitors.” Shikamaru told her sternly, standing up.

“I’m fine.” She insisted but a betraying yawn escaped her lips.

“You saw for yourself that everyone is going to be okay. Don’t stress us more by being stubborn.” Shikamaru said, pulling her arm to follow him. She allowed herself to be escorted out of Naruto’s room. She didn’t even get the chance to hug him she thought sadly looking over her shoulder at a very miserable and lost Team 7.

Ino didn’t know how exhausted she was until she woke up after sleeping a whole day and a half away. By late afternoon her dad finally woke her up and told her to come down stairs to eat. The sight to greet her left her a bit speechless. The whole table was covered with foods of all kind.

“There is no way you could have cooked all of this.” She said, sliding into a chair. Inoichi chuckled, looking comfortable in blue pants and a white shirt. “Of course not. The girls at the shop have been worried and they decided to make this for you.” He said, placing a clean plate in front of her and then settling in his own chair across from her.

“Oh.” She murmured, clasping her hands in her lap. She was making everyone else worry. Damn it, it should be the other way around!

“Enough of that. You’ll make me worry more if you keep acting like your world ended.” Inoichi commented softly, placing some rice, avocado sushi rolls and pickled vegetables on her plate.

“I’m sorry.” She mumbled, trying to banish her dark thoughts from her head. She summoned a smile and picked up her chop sticks, poising them over her vegetables. “This looks really good.”

It was a pleasant dinner after that with them both chatting idly about missions and happenings. She even laughed a few times when her dad told her stories of his days as the original Ino-Shika-Cho team. But he always knows how to lift my spirits. She thought sipping on some sweet tea after dinner was over. He was the only one who knew her best of all.

“Here.” Inoichi sat a glass bowl of vanilla pudding in front of her with carefully arranged vanilla wafers that made the dish look like a flower. Something he did when she was a child. It always made her smile.

“Thanks dad.” She happily ate the chilled dessert and crispy cookies with a smile. A real smile. A smile that disappeared when he sat a familiar white box in front of her.

Ino stared at it silently. “Did you open it?” She asked, slowly placing her spoon down.

“Unintentionally.” He admitted and held up his hands in defense against her offended glower. “It fell off of your bed and the top popped open. Did you open it?”

“No.” She bit back. “I don’t want to.”

Inoichi sighed. “You should.” He finally said, sliding the box closer to her. “It will make you feel better.”

Ino stared at her dad. “How would you know?”

“I know.” He insisted and pulled the top open. Ino stilled, her heart pounding hard in her chest as the gift peeked out. Nestled in lavender paper was a silver chain and pendent. Her dad lifted it and Ino stared in wonder at the swinging leaf shining in the overhead dining lights. “It’s a cedar leaf.” He murmured. Ino cupped her hands and allowed him to place the necklace in her palms. “Tell me the meaning of a cedar leaf.”

The spiny leaves were carved delicately so that the edges were round and it could lay flat. He really picked this out for her?  “I live for thee.” She whispered, answering her dad’s question. It warmed in her hands like it was brought to life by her touch. Sasuke…

Lady Tsunade summoned her to the Hokage tower a few days later. Ino was glad because she had wanted to see her. Naruto and Sakura were gone and no one knew where they were. Choji was still recovering and Shikamaru had been training relentlessly with his dad. It was kinda surprising to her that he was actually putting a willing effort into it. The Sand Siblings had gone silently back to their own village and Asuma was nowhere. It felt a little lonely with so many people gone. Maybe the regular citizens didn’t feel it, but the ninja of Leaf felt it.

Shizune brought her in and Ino stood quietly in front of her, wondering why she was summoned in the first place. Lady Tsunade laced her fingers together and placed her chin on them looking at her curiously. It made her fidget.

“Tell me what happened the night Sasuke left.” She asked after a little while. It had been almost a week since that happened and she found out rather astonishingly, that time did heal wounds. It still made her sad to hear his name or remember his face, but the tug on her heart strings wasn’t gut wrenching as it had been. So when Ino told her, she didn’t leave a thing out. Not about the exams, not about the time they were alone, not about her mild Sharingan exposure. Nothing. Oddly, she only felt a little better when she finally said everything she had to say. Lady Tsunade nodded at half the stuff she said, telling Ino she already knew. But the private stuff, it peeked the older lady’s interest.

“I wasn’t here when the massacre happened but I could understand why Orochimaru’s offer interested him. Itachi was a rare genius. Sasuke figured if he needs to be strong enough to kill him, giving himself over to Orochimaru is the price he has to pay for power. Power that killed the Third Hokage. Power to protect the one thing he has placed a high value on.” She leveled her gaze. “Orochimaru is very smart. So is Kabuto. No doubt that your place in Sasuke’s life will be used as leverage.”

Ino felt the air shift and from the corner of her eye she saw Kakashi leaning lazily against a bookshelf. “Remember when I said we needed to talk?”

Something was up. Ino thought watching Kakashi push himself to stand and walk next to the Hokage’s desk. “I remember.” If Kakashi’s appearance wasn’t unnerving enough, the door opened and Asuma entered.

“Sorry I’m late.” He said, pausing for a moment before shoving his hands in his pockets and standing on the other side of the Hokage’s desk. She stiffened, almost preparing herself for what she knew as going to be shocking. Asuma gave her a calming smile, but even that didn’t full pacify her like it usually did.

“Good. Everyone is almost here.” Lady Tsunade said and not even two seconds later the door was loudly pushed open again.

“Arrived!” Came the boisterous announcement of Anko, followed by a slightly amused Ibiki. Both adults entered, and Ino shrank back at Anko’s devious little grin. Ibiki’s shrewd eyes only added to her discomfort. What were they going to do to her?

“Ino, this is going to be a lot to hear, but I think you can handle it.” Lady Tsunade stood from her chair. “Orochimaru wanted Sasuke for one reason and that was to take over his body.” She began coming around her desk to the front. “He uses an Immortality Jutsu to transfer his soul and mind into various bodies so he can learn more jutsus and become stronger.”

“What?” Ino asked in alarm. The Hokage held up her hand to halt her bubbling questions.

“Unfortunately for him, Sasuke came too late so he had to transfer into another body. It will take three or four years before he can use that technique again. By that time, he will have trained Sasuke enough to be rather unstoppable. I know the kind of skill Orochimaru is capable of and Sasuke’s power will be ten times greater that Orochimaru’s at his prime. He will most likely come back to Leaf and try to destroy it.”

Ino shuddered to think about Orochimaru’s dark soul looking at her through Sasuke’s eyes. It made her ill. Did Sasuke know what he was getting into? She knew about the Cursed Seal and the affects of that if he didn’t control it. The Sound Four never said anything about this. She thought Orochimaru wanted Sasuke as another solider for his village.

Lady Tsunade continued.“Naruto and Sakura are with Jiraiya right now, gathering information on Orochimaru’s bases in the surrounding areas. After they come back, Naruto and Sakura will be separated.”

“Separated?” Ino frowned, her other thoughts scattering to the present.

“Naruto will go with Jiraiya to train. There is a powerful organization after Naruto and that kid needs one on one attention. And no, I can’t tell you about that just yet. Anyways, Sakura will be placed under my guidance when she returns. That leaves just you.”

“It’s true that Naruto and Sakura will always be part of Sasuke’s life. Those three have been through a lot together, but you have an even more important role. Sasuke had everything taken away from him so he kept apart from everyone, only living to better himself. That’s still true to an extent even now. When he was added to my team he created bonds. Naruto will always be his best friend, Sakura will always be his important teammate and I will always be his teacher. But you, he placed an even greater value on your life.  Greater than his bond with us. If he didn’t know about what Itachi did to you, he probably would have never left.”

“But he found out.” Lady Tsunade interrupted Kakashi. “Orochimaru and Kabuto found his weakness.”

Ino winced. “I don’t want to be a weakness for him.” She murmured with guilt eating at her. He thought she needed protection from the world. From Itachi. He thought she was weak.

“We know. That is why we are going to prepare you most of all.” Lady Tsunade told her. “This is going to be the beginning of your first S-rank mission. You will begin training with Ibiki today. He is very familiar with you family jutsus and you will need to unlock their secrets faster than you planned to. Anko will be training you as well. She is very knowledgeable about Orochimaru’s cursed seal. Asuma has agreed to let you be separated from your team while you are going through this process. You will need to become familiar with everything Sasuke will learn while in Orochimaru’s care. You will need to become stronger.”

Ino was confused. “What kind of mission am I preparing for?”

“Infiltration and information gathering. You are the best person to send out to be knowingly captured by his men. He will know who you are.” The Hokage said.

A little taken back, Ino glanced at each person in the room. “What makes you think that once I’m captured, he won’t kill me?”

“He won’t. You are important to his next vessel. If Sasuke were to find out Orochimaru did anything to harm you he would not sit still.” Lady Tsunade assured her. “This is going to be dangerous, that is why you are going to prepare for it first. Once you are brought to Orochimaru’s base, you will not leave right away. You will probably have to live there for a couple of months.”

Ino stilled, her skin prickled. “Live there?”

“Yes. Until Naruto comes back to the village. I know he will ask me to send him out to look for Sasuke. That will be the time you will be rescued and brought back to the village.” Lady Tsunade told her knowingly. She must have thought this whole thing through a hundred of times Ino thought. “He and Sakura will not give up on him and I expect that once Naruto returns with Jiraiya he will feel like he is strong enough to go and get Sasuke. Sakura will feel the same way.”

“The question is will you be accepting this mission?” Kakashi asked her. Merciless training, staging a capture, living with Orochimaru and Kabuto until Naruto and Sakura could rescue her…It was crazy. But they were serious about this Ino thought looking at each of their expectant faces. It was kind of ironic. Part of Orochimaru’s plan was to use her to lure Sasuke from the village and now the village was going to use her to try and lure him back.

“Ino?” Asuma prodded.

Ino took a deep breath. “I’m in.” She vowed, staring directly into Tsunade’s caramel colored eyes. She was a bit wary of this whole plan. But they had three or so years to sort out the details. Best of all, she would be able to see Sasuke again…that made her more determined than ever. Naruto and Sakura didn’t need to do this alone. She was with them one hundred percent…