After their discussion about the sudden attack and assuring Sakura's safety, they decided to unroll the scroll about their highly confidential mission. The pinkette's safety was definitely important, but their mission was significant as well. Besides, the four of them are among the strongest ninjas in the Leaf Village, being together could very possibly be the safest place Sakura could be in.
"There really is no information about the person." Neji stated.
"Everything is written unknown, even the client is anonymous." Sakura said while thinking hard. "It's quite suspicious."
"We do receive such missions before, extremely secretive missions." Kakashi said.
Sasuke read the only informative sentence out loud, "On the night of 27th March, a woman will appear at the door of Pink Blossom Palace. The target must be killed in one move. If failed, return immediately."
Below that was a warning: 'Do not stay in the land after failed attempt. Escape.'
"Why would there be such a warning?" Sakura pondered.
The silverette nodded his head, "It is quite unusual."
"There's one more sentence." Neji added. "Assassination would be futile before or after the date."
The four of them exchanged glances, this was a mission that was unheard of. It was far too weird and suspicious. Could it be a trap? However, the client had paid a large amount of money.
"Anyhow, a mission is a mission. We'll know when we're there." Kakashi concluded.
After all, there was no point in overanalysing things when no answer would be found. Perhaps, they wouldn't receive an answer even if they reach the place.
==
Their journey to the Land of Keys was quite tense as they were on guard the entire time; thankfully, they did not run into any troubles, no attacks, no ambushes, nothing. The Hokage's message had also reached them. She said the matter will be looked into by the forces of both nations. The head of the Haruno clan was also informed of the attack because the heiress was involved, much to her dismay.
It was the night of 26th March; they had arrived a little earlier because Sakura was simply too nervous for the mission. Her father was hiding something from her, and she was sure it had something to do with this peculiar task. Whenever the team took a break, Sakura would stand up after 5 minutes and tell them to start moving. The men knew better than to stop the stubborn pinkette.
Jomae Village was rather crowded at a time this late. It was bustling and pink lanterns were hung above the streets. There was some sort of celebration, but they had no idea what. They don't recall some big events on the calendar, perhaps it was the village's special occasion. The villagers headed to the same direction and they decided to follow out of curiosity.
As they walked deeper into the village, a familiar scent reached them. A scent Sakura has. Cherry blossom. In front of the crowd was a cloud of pink in different shades. A signboard was written 'Pink Blossom Palace'.
The four ninjas from the Leaf Village exchanged serious glances. Kakashi nodded. It was where their mission would take place.
"That's the place." Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"Why the festival though?" Neji asked.
Sakura was the first to take a step forward, "We'll find out in the front."
The team squeezed through the crowd, trying their best not to separate from each other; especially leaving Sakura alone. Being far away from the location of the attack does not mean they were not followed.
Finally, they reached the front row with a gasp. They could breathe again. The two protective guys stood close to the pinkette, on each of her side. Once they got a clear view of the place, it was actually a hotel in a zen style. It looked almost similar to Sakura's home, but much bigger and more decorative. A lady in her early 30s walked out from the building which got the cheers from the villagers. When she opened her eyes, it instantly locked eyes with Sakura's.
A breath was stuck in her throat as she took in the lady's appearance.
Dark pink hair and emerald eyes.
"She's a Haruno." Sakura whispered, too soft for her companions to hear, aside from Sumire who was right by her ear.
The tigress purred softly and glared at the hostess.
The lady's eyes narrowed, but she smirked at the young pinkette.
Very quickly, she changed her expression into a very cheerful one and she greeted the villagers. Some men marvelled at her beauty and whistled. No lie, she looked stunning in that emerald coloured kimono she was wearing. It wasn't a traditional kimono, it looked modified and looked much more appealing. A kimono for performance purposes. Decorated with beads and sewed in lace.
She took out two fans from her sleeves and opened it while spreading her arms wide open. Very slowly, she began dancing as the cherry blossoms danced along with her. It swept the floor and swam in the air.
She was controlling the flowers like nothing Sakura had ever seen.
Her moves were elegant and graceful, almost like a flower goddess. Her performance ended with a rain of cherry blossoms which sparkled under the moonlight.
"Thank you for celebrating our Pink Blossom Palace's 70th anniversary. It is our pleasure to serve our customers with upmost hospitality. Because of your support, we are able to stand strong until this day. Have a good night everyone, and please enjoy our one night free hot springs!"
The crowd cheered and rushed into the hotel, following the older pinkette. While the boys looked at their mentor if they should follow them inside, Sakura's gaze was stuck on the Pink Blossom Palace.
Kakashi shook his head, "We're not here to investigate, it may hinder our mission. It's best we don't appear hear at all until tomorrow night."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei." Neji and Sasuke answered, but the girl was fixated on the building.
"Sakura?" Sasuke asked in worry and nudged softly.
She snapped out of her daze and blinked in confusion. "Huh?" She looked at Sasuke.
"I saw a small hotel we can stay for the night. Let's go there." Kakashi said, keeping in mind of Sakura's odd behaviour.
They have settled in a room just enough for the four of them. The copy-ninja decided to call a meeting after performing a jutsu that would avoid the outside to hear them.
"Alright Sakura, you haven't been acting like yourself. What's the problem?" Kakashi asked sternly.
Sakura frowned as she hung her head low, but she can't lie to them. "That woman is from the Haruno clan, I'm sure of it. A pure blood." She added, "As you are aware of, the people who leaves their noble clan will have their clan's DNA drew out to avoid other clans sharing the same kekkei genkai and thus, the person would loose their kekkei genkai."
The Hyuga nodded, "That's right."
"Unless they leave the clan without any notice, they would still have their powers." She hesitated. "But according to my clan's records... There is no rogue ninja from the lady's heritage."
"..I don't get it..." Sasuke muttered.
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.
The pinkette began explaining, "You see, the colours of our eyes range from an emerald green to a dark green. The darker your eyes are, the further you are from the main bloodline."
Something clicked in Neji's mind as he gasped, "That lady's eyes were the exact same shade as yours."
She nodded, "Exactly. Nobody from any generations of the main family went rogue. Even if one did, they would need another Haruno who was close to the main bloodline to have those pair of eyes. So far, only one person from a close branch family went rogue and that was just a few years ago."
"Which means..." Sasuke started to connect the dots.
"Which means that lady is a direct descendant of Lady Sakura Haruno."
"That's if Pink Blossom Palace is a family business." Kakashi pointed out.
"That's true." The Haruno heiress nodded in agreement. "But its very likely because cherry blossoms are very deeply linked to our clan."
Sakura rested her chin on her index finger, something she does while thinking deeply. "That lady knows me, she saw me, and something about her felt sinister."
Suddenly, she felt a finger rubbing the spot in between her eyebrows. She opened her eyes and saw Sasuke's hand.
"Don't furrow your eyebrows, you'll get old." He teased.
She glared at him and swatted his hand away childishly. "Hmph!"
He chuckled and poked her forehead, a sign of affection he had learned from his brother who went rogue. Sakura lightly blushed at his actions and looked away.
Neji wasn't so enthusiastic about the Uchiha's little performance. He glared at the ground next to him, clearly envious that the pinkette was blushing at such a small action.
The team leader cleared his throat awkwardly, very aware of the feelings the boys had for the pinkette. There was not much they could do about the Haruno clan's problems, it was a question to be solved within themselves. The important matter at hand right now would be their mission.
He reminded them, "Our mission begins and ends tomorrow. We will head there once the sun is down and wait for the lady to appear at the door." He laid out a piece of paper and scribbled a layout of the entrance. "In front of the main door is almost a forest of cherry blossom trees, we could hide on each tree since the flowers are thick."
"Do you think the lady from earlier is our target?" Neji asked.
"It's a possibility, but leave that out of your mind to avoid any hesitation if a different woman appears." Kakashi said clearly.
He took out earpieces from his bag and gave one to each of the them.
"We will corner her once I give out a signal."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei." They said in unison.
The silverette stared at Sakura straight in the eye, his eyes were full of compassion and empathy. "I know it'll be hard to kill your own kin, you can stay out of it if you want to."
She shook her head, "No, Kakashi-sensei. I am a professional kunoichi and I will execute my mission perfectly."
He sighed but nodded, "Very well."
While he was proud, he was also worried.
On the other hand, the Uchiha wouldn't stop looking at the pinkette. Back when they were in the Forest of Death, there was something he had left out. An information Itachi told him about the Haruno clan.
Bloodshed among the Haruno clan.
He was awfully worried, that the two main bloodlines would cause that fight. If that's what it was, rebirth of the Haruno clan probably meant a change of heir.
Would Sakura be alright?
==
Dedicated to LIVINGdaPANDAlife for your votes and hilarious comments! I truly enjoyed talking to you in the comments section.
Here's a new element to the story! As I've explained in the last chapter, this part of the story creates a bridge to the next series!
Updates may be slow or none at all.. My semester starts tomorrow and I'll have hell to look forward to. While I was inactive, I was busy with exams and getting used to college. I wasn't in the mood to write at all today, but I did late at night because I want to give you just one more chapter before I start my hellish semester.
I honestly don't know if I can spare the time to write. It takes me at least 2 hours to write a chapter. I really don't want to let you down now that I'm finally seeing support ever since I started being active again.
To be honest I felt like my existence in Wattpad had been forgotten because I was inactive for over a year, nearly 2. Now that I'm finally seeing progress again, I really don't want my efforts to go in vain. :/
~Joelle
Published: 20 May 2018