Shadow of the Night

Bonus Chapter- Suna

"Hey kiddo, wakey wakey. We're almost at the gate." I jostled Naruto awake as we neared Suna's gates. He yawned, blinking big blue eyes at me. 

"Wha- I fell asleep? And we're almost there?" The little genin jumped from my back and ran ahead to join Sasuke and Sakura. He then began to excitedly toss his small bundle of fabric in the air, catching it after two rotations midair. I shook my head good-naturedly at the funny boy.

"He's an odd one isn't he? I can't deny he has spirit." 

Kakashi chuckled. "And here I was thinking you didn't like him at all. Careful, or you're going to grow fond of those pesky kids."

"I think there's still a long ways to go before that happens."

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The village of Suna was quite lovely. Really. I could've enjoyed it had it not been for the blazing sun and suspicious glares we received from villagers. 

After showing our permit to the gate guards, our small group made our way to the clothing shop that the fabrics were supposed to be delivered to. Noriko, the woman who owned the shop, didn't mind us; in fact, she was the only civil civilian we had encountered today. Her strong arms and squat stature were quite matronly, and she even offered the kids glasses of cold lemonade before we left. We agreed to take a short break before embarking on our return journey. Kakashi and I sat, surrounded by piles of woven fabric, and chatted amiably with Etsuko, Noriko's husband. 

"So, are they your kids?"

Kakashi and I both stared awkwardly at the man beside us.

I finally broke the long silence. "Sir, I'm twenty-two... Those kids are twelve..."

Etsuko did a little mental math, and realized that if I was their mother, I'd have been ten and raising kids. He blushed and apologized. Thankfully, Naruto decided now would be a great time to run over. "Kaka-sensei! Hika-sensei! Sakura is gone!" 

I pushed aside the warm feeling the honorific gave me glanced quickly around the small shop. Sure enough, Sakura was no where in sight. Sasuke was hurrying towards us, a slightly worried look on his normally apathetic face. "I saw her look out the window for a minute, then she just bolted out the door." the Uchiha scowled. "Can we go get her and leave? I want to get back and train."

Ignoring Sasuke, I rushed out the door. Sakura could get herself in trouble in a somewhat hostile environment like this. 

It took mere seconds to locate the pink-haired kunoichi. Sakura was standing defensively over a skinny woman huddled on the dusty ground. A small child was crying, holding the woman's hand, obviously terrified of the hulking man currently looming over the leaf genin. The man brandished a short knife at Sakura, obviously telling her to stand aside. In that moment, I was surprised at how firmly Sakura stood, her eyes fearless in the face of the agressive male. However, being brave would not stop the man from stepping on her like a bug.

I cautiously approached the fight, and stood next to Sakura. The man stopped snarling at her, and instead turned to face me. Catching the look in my eyes,  he suddenly didn't look so tough. If my 'wolf stare' could scare Orochimaru and Pain, I doubt this random civilian was unaffected.

"Is this your little girl? She's in my way, and if you both don't want to get hurt, I suggest you be on your way." Why does everyone assume I'm their mother? We don't look anything alike! I ignored the man, instead turning to Sakura. "What's going on here?"

Sakura never took her eyes off the man in front of her. "He was beating this woman in front of her child for stealing a loaf of bread." 

I nodded, and turned back to the man. "If you don't want to get hurt, I suggest you be on your way."

Sneering, the man ran forward, but not at me. Reaching out, he snatched at Sakura's arm. In a flash, I summoned a shadow kunai and slashed a deep cut into the man's arm before he could grab the surprised girl. He howled in pain and lashed out at me. 

Before anyone knew what happened, I grabbed the man's outstretched hand, twisting his whole arm around and breaking it in three places. I brought him to the ground with a quick elbow to the stomach and a few swift kidney jabs. I squatted on the winded man's chest, roughly grabbing his throat and forced his focus on my face. 

"Never do that again, you worthless piece of shit." I whispered, then delivered a hard slap to the man's temple, knocking him out instantly. 

I stood, aware of all the eyes watching me. Crouching before the woman on the ground, I smiled and spoke gently. "Hey, are you okay miss? Any injuries on you of your boy?" I frowned as I notices large bruises on the woman's forearms, and several cuts. My hands blanketed in glowing green light, I healed the woman, then her son, who had a nasty looking cut on his cheek.

"Who are you?" The woman's voice was scared and thin. Her eyes were that of a cornered animal.

"Just someone who wanted to help." I stood and placed a protective hand on Sakura's shoulder. Before we left the scene, I dug a wad of bills and pressed them into the frail woman's hand. Shooting her a wink, I turned and walked away. A soft voice trailed after me. 

"Arigato, hogo tenshi." (AN: hogo tenshi is protecting angel I think in Japanese) 

I smiled at that. 

Kakashi's visible eye was wide as Sakura and I approached, but plastered on a bored look as we drew closer. "That was quite a scene you two just made there. How about we go before anything else happens, yes?"

The three males turned and started walking in the direction of the gates, but I was stopped by a slight pull on my sleeve. Sakura was looking serious, and a bit apprehensive, as if scared I would yell at her. 

"I'm sorry for getting into a bad spot. I should've thought it out before running into a situation like that. Thank you for saving me." The young girl wouldn't meet my eyes, so I crouched down and grabbed both of her hand in mine.

"Sakura, what you did was very brave. Sure, you should've maybe had a game plan for when things would inevitably get violent, but you still stood up for that woman and her child. You protected them, even if that man was much bigger than you, stronger than you. You've got heart kid, the fact that you needed me to get you out of a tight spot doesn't diminish that." I stood and brushed dirt off my pants. "Now you just have to work on not being obsessed with the Uchiha." Sakura blushed at that. 

Kakashi was waiting for us at the gate, hands in his pockets. His masked expression was hard to read, but he might have been surprised.

"So," He started quietly when the genin were out of ear shot "Are you starting to grow fond of those pesky kids?"

I playfully glared back at him, though the effect was ruined by the slight smile that crept onto my face.

"Shut up, Kashi."

*AN

Here's the Sakura/Hikari bonding chapter; I've decided to do one per genin. Prepare for Sasuke next! Please leave comments and vote if you want ;)

-Hanna