Daughter of the Copy Cat, Rescuer of the Raven

Daughter of the Copy Cat, Rescuer of the Raven Chapter 23

I must’ve fallen down around five times during my journey back to my teammates, who had somehow managed to roam dangerously close to Sasuke’s camp despite all the trick’s Karin had used to veer any intruders off course- tricks which I wasn’t told about. After Karin started getting panicky, I assumed that was my cue to leave.

“Naruto, Sai, Sakura?” My voice carried off into nothingness, until I heard a faint yell in the distance. “Guys, is that you?” Sure enough, a bright blonde speck appeared from behind a tree, along with a bubble-gum blotch. It was clear they were far away, and the only way I’d managed to spot them was the contrast of their hair against the scenery.

Despite the distance between us, we were all together in a huddle within a matter of minutes.

“Ayame, why’d you jump off the bird?” Sakura asked when we were alone, for Naruto had to locate Sai in the sky and direct him to our location. I thought about it for a second, trying to come up with a believable excuse.

“I thought I saw something that would help with our mission.” Sakura raised an eyebrow, clearly having trouble buying my story.

“What did you think you saw?” I blinked a few times, hesitating.

“Um, I’m not sure. I just had a feeling, y’know? I was wrong though. Nothing was there to begin with, anyway.” Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair.

“You’ve been acting strangely lately. That’s okay, but I just wish that you’d tell us what’s wrong.” Sakura smiled, although it was obvious her despair was still present. “Even if you don’t tell us, I just hope that you’ll feel better soon.” Hugging my legs to my chest and resting my chin on my knees, I thought about what she said for a few seconds.

“It’s a personal thing, Sakura.” I finally admitted, choosing what I said very, very carefully. “I just have a lot to think about, and I’m really sorry that I’m worrying everyone.” Sakura laughed lightly, waving me off.

“Don’t worry about it; Kakashi and I are the only ones who’ve picked up on it, anyway. At least, that’s what I’ve gathered. Naruto has no clue obviously; he’s far too busy with everything else going on around him.” Sakura paused, blinking a few times. “I didn’t mean it that way- !” I snorted, sending Sakura a look.

“I know what you mean, Sakura. Naruto is Naruto, he’s always been oblivious to everything around him. That’s why he’s so likeable, I guess.” Sakura smiled along with me, watching the two figures of Sai and Naruto appear in front of us.

“Yeah.”

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“So, that’s what happened.” Tsunade stared at me for a few minutes, processing my report. Naruto, Sakura and Sai had been ordered to wait outside, as Naruto was being far too loud.

“So you came into contact with Zetsu, and he chased you?”

“Correct.” Tsunade linked her fingers together and thought for a few more seconds.

“He must’ve been cleaning up after the fight, and was just about to finish the job until you arrived.” I nodded, finding that the explanation seemed to make sense. “And it seems that the fight between Itachi and Sasuke is at least truthful, so I guess I can also say for certain that Itachi is dead, too.” My brow furrowed.

“How do you know for certain?” Tsunade sat back in her chair, sighing deeply.

“The black flames that you saw was a result of Itachi using Amaratsu.” A frown made its way onto my face, and I thought back to when I saw Sasuke. He seemed fairly healthy, after all, unless Karin healed him? Besides, I was a little iffy on whether Itachi would’ve gone to those lengths to try and defeat Sasuke.