In Spite of it all

Chapter 17

Danzo was planning something. I know it.

He was always looking at me weird. Weirder than usual. And he was always following me around. I was reluctant to stay in one place for too long because of this.

His ANBU were also following me. Whenever I was outside, there were always a few nearby. Even when I went to visit Sasuke, I was hesitant to stay with him long because of these fucking stalkers. I made sure to warn Sasuke, too, just in case.

I was almost glad to finally be out of the village when I went with Tsunade on her little trip. With us were a couple of her trusted ANBU. Shizune stayed behind to keep an eye on things. I was still worried about what Danzo was up to.

Overall, the journey was fun. I especially enjoyed pestering Tsunade, and though they didn't show it, I was pretty sure the ANBU were laughing.

I almost forgot about Danzo, until after the meeting.

After almost two weeks out of the village, I wasn't very happy passing through the towering gates again. Being in only Tsunade and the ANBU's company for several days made me forget.

As soon as we were in, I could already see several people around, since the main gate was a bustling area, so I bid farewell to Tsunade and went around to a less crowded place.

I spent some time just hopping from roof to roof, until I saw Sasuke standing by himself in the middle of a training ground. I masked my chakra best I could and snuck up behind him. He seemed to be so lost in thought that he jumped at least five feet high when I just said, "Yo."

He whirled around so fast that it ruffled my hair. "NARUTO! DON'T DO THAT!"

I couldn't hold in my amusement, and soon I was doubling over in uncontrollable laughter. Sasuke just glared at me, the corner of his mouth twitching, and he punched me in the head. I felt on the ground with an undignified, "Oof."

"Baka."

"You should've seen yourself, Sasuke." I grinned and stood up. "You squeaked like a mouse."

"Shut up, dobe." he grumbled with a barely concealed smile. 

"Uh huh." I snorted, "So, you miss me?"

He looked down, "Kind of..."

"Mmhm. Kind of."

"You're the only tolerable person here, of course I missed you." he muttered.

It was my turn to punch him in the head. He made sound like, "ack" and rubbed his head.

"What was that for?"

I just shrugged.

"So, watcha doin here?"

He shrugged this time. "Just thinking."

Just then, Kurama rumbled in my head.

"Naruto. Danzo's ANBU are around."

I nodded and whispered this information to Sasuke. He tilted his head forward in understanding and I took off. As soon as I had gone, I began to allow myself to properly freak out.

'How the hell? Already? What the hell does Danzo want?'

"How am I supposed to know?"

'I don't know - Argh! They're following me, aren't they?'

"Yep."

'They'll stop once I reach the Hokage tower. Fuck! How long will this go on?'

"I don't know, fight them or something."