Leaving Her Alone

*Chapter 9*

"Oh for the love of...do you know why I chose midnight as the time to offload the explosives into this village, Aoru?"

"Well aware, boss. However -"

"In the two-and-a-half weeks that I had all of you gathering everything we needed, I did nothing but stake out this entire village."

"Yeah I get that, but -"

"It wasn't an easy feat, keeping myself confined and out of sight in that cramped old bell tower - especially after I discovered that they still use the damn thing! Thought I was gonna go deaf for sure..."

"Ok, but -"

"But in that effort, I learned three things...ALL of which practically guaranteeing our triumphant takeover!"

"I do not need to hear this again -"

"One, the people here go about their days in an almost dreadfully predictable routine; two, the dock at the northeastern corner of the village is 100% unused AND unmanned; and - most importantly - three, NO ONE is outside past midnight. I was able to literally walk around the ENTIRE VILLAGE after midnight every. Single. NIGHT!"

"Ugh..."

"We have nothing to worry about. Come this time tomorrow, we'll either be in complete control of this place, or we'll be rebuilding it from its fiery remains!"

"Please stop talking..."

It was all Sakura could do to keep her jaw from dropping to the floor as she processed everything she'd just heard. THIS is supposed to be the Yahagi gang's leader?! Absolutely UNBELIEVABLE... she mentally groused as she ducked behind the rooftop barrier and pressed a finger to her comm.

"Sensei, reporting in..."

"Go ahead, Sakura."

"Your suspicion was correct. Toru Yahagi and one other showed up at the village entrance; it doesn't look like they plan on entering, though."

"They're still there?"

"Yeah, they're still here. Also...this Yahagi guy might actually be a complete idiot."

She could almost hear the half-smile in Kakashi's voice. "Is that so? I'm assuming you managed to pick up some useful intel then..."

"Yeah, plenty of useful intel...and it all came straight from Mr. Yahagi's mouth."

"Alright then, good work. Continue your surveillance, and report back if their position changes in a way that could potentially jeopardize what we're doing here."

"Understood." she replied as she returned her attention to the village entrance just in time to see Toru and the other guy (Aoru, was it?) walk away from the village entrance and disappear into the trees lining the road. You'll never doubt me again...will you, Kakashi-sensei? She smirked slightly to herself, even more determined now to see this mission through successfully. And I bet you won't be able to keep ignoring me, will you...Naruto...

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A/N: This one takes the cake as the most difficult chapter to write, partly because I had a hard time deciding who I wanted to put more focus on in this chapter. I may go back later a fine tune some things, but for now, I think I'm ok with how it turned out. I hope you guys are as well.

Now, check out what I'm dubbing an "After The Credits" bonus scene. Just because I felt like it :)

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Toru snatched away from Aoru as they marched further into the tree line. "What the hell did we have to leave so quickly for?! I'd wanted to go in and check on the gang's progress."

Aoru rolled his eyes and groaned. "Seriously?! Boss that is the last thing you need to do, especially now! What are you, an idiot?!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me "boss" and to call me by my damn name! We're brothers for god sakes! And who the hell are you calling an idiot?!"

"And I told you that I call you boss as an act of solidarity, to show the other guys that you're not playing favorites in choosing me as your right hand simply because I'm your brother!"

Toru huffed as he folded his arms across his chest. "That argument is completely invalid, especially since everyone already KNOWS that you're my brother."

"Ugh...moving on..." Aoru muttered, heaving a deep sigh. "On another note entirely...does this grand scheme of yours have a contingency?"

"You mean aside from the explosives? No...why?"

"My eyes could've been playing tricks...but I could swear I saw movement on top of one of the buildings about 50 feet into the village."

Toru tensed for the briefest of moments before relaxing again and chuckling slightly. "Likely some sort of small animal, Aoru. Like I said, nobody ever stays out past midnight in that village."

Aoru rolled his eyes once more. "I certainly hope you're right about that - especially with all that uncouth spilling of your guts earlier."

"Hey!"

"Regardless, I'll devise a contingency to your contingency...just in case."

Toru nodded in understanding. "Yeah...to be on the safe side, I suppose that's for the best." he remarked; a grin spread across his face then as he threw his arm around Aoru's shoulder and all but drug the younger Yahagi into his side. "Ya see? This is why YOU are my right hand man!"

"Don't push it."

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I'll see you guys again soon!