Sown

twenty-six

Hanae was approached again later in the day. She sat in the meal tent, reserving herself to a modest bowl of rice and charred boar intestines. A boy still in his teenage years with a sharp black ponytail walked up to the table and stood opposite of the woman.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. You're Hanae Umu-san, right?"

She covered her mouth with her hand, nodding because she was still chewing the rubbery meat. The spread of her reputation was quite impressive ; all Hanae could think of was how good it would be for business once Gishi was rebuilt.

"A couple of my friends and I want to talk to you. Could you come outside? When you're done, of course." She nodded again and he sat in front of her while she finished her small meal. Once done and after replacing the plates, the woman followed the young man outside the back of the tent.

Four others stood waiting outside. A woman with soft pink hair, a scruffy looking boy with red triangles stretching over his cheeks, a deathly pale boy in a crop top, and a familiar face - a boy with large eyes and a distinctive green jumpsuit. The woman took the front of the group and gave a polite bow which Hanae returned. She looked determined on the surface but deep down the elder could tell that she harbored a painful internal struggle.

"Umu-san, my name is Sakura Haruno. I'm sorry to pull you away from your meal." Hanae shook her head dismissively. "I heard you're from the Land of Iron, is that true?"

"Yes, I am a former samurai," she affirmed and motioned to the blade strapped behind her back.

Sakura allowed a small bit of relief to show across her face. "We need to go to the Land of Iron. None of us have been there before and since you're a native, we thought it would be best if you escort us."

Hanae crossed her arm. She stared Sakura down with a doubtful look, "we're not supposed to leave the village. Why do you have to go to the Land of Iron?"

The other woman deflated slightly. "It's personal," she murmured, confidence draining by the second.

"That's not a good answer if you want someone to help you, Sakura-san."

"Let me explain," the boy that led Hanae outside interjected. He made his way between the women and introduced himself as Shikamaru Nara. "A friend of ours has been declared a missing-nin and we need to tell another friend. Problem is, he's heading to the Land of Iron to talk with the Raikage. None of us know how to get there, and security will be tight with the Kage Summit, so we need someone who knows the land to help us. It's a pain in the ass, but it's something that we have to do."

It was a tough decision. Hanae valued the bonds between people like nothing else, but she also respected authority and the decisions said authority made. Leaving the village would be treasonous. But the redness rimming Sakura's eyes and the fact that they had come to her so forwardly were things that could not be ignored. She sighed, mulling over the information for a while before looking to Shikamaru.

"You're going to have to fill me in on some things before I say yes. Who are we looking for? What is your relation?"

Sakura inserted herself into the conversation again. "We're looking for Naruto. We were on the same team with Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke . . " she trailed off.

"Sasuke's been declared a criminal by the village elders. They've given the order that he should be killed on sight. We have to tell Naruto, he deserves to know," Shikamaru explained, voice slightly pained but steadfast nonetheless.

Slightly surprised, Hanae turned back to Sakura. "You're part of Kakashi's team?"

The younger woman looked up from the ground to her. "You know Kakashi-sensei?"

"We're," Hanae paused. "We're friends," she finally said, choosing her words carefully. It would be best that the man reveal such sensitive information to his students himself now that he was in the position (alive) to do it himself. "So you want me to break the rules with you to let Naruto know that your friend is a wanted man? You can't wait for him to get back?"

The pink haired woman again turned to the ground and bit her lip. She remained like this for a good moment before turning her face back up. Newfound determination was painted across her features. "If we wait for him to come back, Sasuke may have already been killed. I owe it to Naruto to let him know as soon as possible. The idiot is in love with me, so I should be the one to tell him."

Ah, there it was. Hanae's weakness. That damned L word that she felt could save the world from any and all evil. That knee-weakening feeling that she knew all too well. And if something was driven by love, there was no way Hanae could ignore it. She threaded her fingers through her hair, tossing the limp locks in frustration.

"Fine," she finally relented. "I'll take you to the Land of Iron." She held up her hands as Sakura nearly leapt on her. Raising a pointer finger, Hanae swept her vision across all the teenagers in front of her. "But I will only take you to the Land of Iron. While I am now a citizen of Konoha, I am still bound by honor to my clan and my country. If anything happens that jeopardizes the safety of either of my homes, I will have to do my duty as a samurai to protect others from the threat."

The teenagers nodded. Hope welled in their eyes all directed at the adult. While overwhelming, it also proved endearing and affirmed to the woman that she had made the right choice. "And just because this is your plan doesn't mean that I'm not older than all of you. When I say jump, I expect you to ask how high." They all nodded again and Hanae allowed herself to smile. "We'll head out tomorrow. It's too dark and patrols are going to be on high alert once the sun falls. Wear extra clothing and a cover, the Land of Iron experiences subzero temperatures at night."

She scanned the group once again with a pointed look, "who is the highest ranking shinobi among you?"

"We're all chunin," Shikamaru answered.

Hanae screwed her lips, "if for whatever reason you run into a samurai, do not engage them. Our armor and training is tailored to defeat shinobi and you will not stand a chance. Tell them you are with a member of the Umu clan. They shouldn't attack you, but don't make any funny movements and wait for me. Understand?"

Affirming her order, Hanae bid the youngsters goodbye after learning all of their names. They agreed to meet outside of the lumber yard the morning of the following day and Sakura offered to bring extra supplies for the other woman because she had no idea where they were stored.

Turning into her makeshift quarters, she found it hard to sleep. Why was Sakura so determined to go to the Land of Iron despite knowing all of the risks? What did Sasuke Uchiha do that made him Konoha's version of a ronin? Did it have something to do with Akatsuki? If it was something so important, why hadn't Kakashi said anything about it? Why didn't he say anything about his students? Why had he never spoken about himself? Worry about the situation she had allowed herself to fall into was turning into suspicion of her lover. Was he hiding something? He couldn't be.

She was moving too quickly like he always said, she wanted there to be no secrets between them. But while she had been so painfully transparent, he had been carefully opaque. There had to be a reason. Hopefully.