Stumble [Rewrite]

Eleven (4)

A/N: This is part 4/6 of the "Eleven" chapters.

::

"I... what?"

Kou stuffed his mouth full of sashimi with satisfied purr despite the incredulous look Sakura was giving him. He lay perfectly content on the smooth granite counter in her kitchen, face full of fish and his tail carefully flickering around the potted cactus beside him.

"You don't have to do too much, nya. Nekobaa-sama says she needs something done. She knows about your situation too, but she never meddles with human affairs, so you're fine. Anyway, you know Nekomata, right? Ruler of the cat underworld?"

She rubbed her neck.

"Before, we went on a mission to get his print for the Paw Encyclopedia. After that defection, yeah, so I know what he's capable of," she said. The whole ordeal was a bit fuzzy, but she clearly remembered those white ears they all had to wear. Kou flopped onto his side and yawned.

"Well, there's some diplomatic dispute that needs to be solved. Don't know what it's about, human and summon relations or something, but you were requested specifically," he explained. "You get it, nya? You have this job because you were able to gain at least one ally in three different nations. Kiri, Suna, and... what was that last one again?"

Sakura fished a letter from the inside of her gray uniform jacket. She'd received it from Kou just a few days ago, surprisingly, and re-read the name of the sender with careful interest.

"Iwa. In the form of a jounin who recently took on the role of a sensei."

That brought a bit of attention she wasn't expecting on giving. Deidara was more of Sasori's responsibility to keep away from what he could become. It worked so far and she noticed no sign of him turning into an S-class terrorist, but she didn't think he'd come to her with his proposition.

--

I need something from Sunagakure- a chakra enhancer to fuse with my clay. Goes by the name 'Red Dust'. It's illegal in ten different countries, mine included. My old sensei knows I want it and has me on lockdown the next three weeks. I need it in two.

Help me and I'll help you.

~Sculptor

--

He was lucky she had that specific enhancer in stock from the last time she visited Gaara and stayed for about a week. Kou was sent off with it the minute she received a missive and only a few hours ago she received his thanks and a complete list of his contact information.

On hand, she had a good number of people she could turn to for outside help: Sasori, Hidan, Gaara, Mei, Zabuza, Haku, Yagura, Deidara, and to some extent, Kisame... And if she adder her Konoha web, it would include Ibiki, Genma, Anko, Hiashi, and Danzo. Not to mention her friends and the other clan heads.

Not a bad network. But one that could possibly get her killed.

Sakura tucked the letter back inside her uniform just as Ibiki entered the kitchen. He grabbed the orange juice from the fridge, a bowl and his box of cereal from one of the normal cabinets (as minimal as they were), and only stopped when his usual counter space was intruded by a fluff of brown fur.

He looked at his student.

"You got a cat?"

"Not really. He wants me to feed him and no matter how much fish I give, he keeps whining for more."

Kou smacked her with his tail.

"Excuse me, after traveling near and far all the lovely duties you've bestowed upon these sleek, beautiful shoulders-"