Chapter 48: Those Who are Cursed

"What news, Anko?" Tsunade asked calmly, her fingertips touched together and her elbows resting on her desk, "Have you heard from Jiraiya?"

It had been two months since she had sent out Mitarashi Anko to check on the Sannin, and finally, after what had seemed like forever, the capable ninja had returned unscathed, hopefully bringing news from her old teammate.

"I have," Anko replied in a serious tone, "And it doesn't look pretty."

"Oh?" Tsunade peered perceptively at the young woman, "What has happened?"

"It seems that the Akatsuki are moving, having locked onto another Bijuu—much like the nine-tailed fox within Naruto, and the raccoon demon, Shukaku, that resides within the Sand Village's Kazekage, Gaara," Anko reported, a grim expression on her face, "It is unsure of which demon it is, or who is the current Jinchuuriki—however there are speculations made by Jiraiya-sama and myself that they may be going for Raijuu, the six-tailed weasel."

Tsunade swiveled slightly in her chair, turning to face an overcast and gloomy sky outside the window. A mocking smile on her lips, "Wouldn't it be ironic if the power of that demon was bestowed upon Itachi?"

There was a low rumble as lightning flickered in the distance out over the horizon. It had been a gloomy day all day and things just weren't getting better. It had been sunny all week, but the weather seemed to have decided to turn nasty, along with current events. Things had gotten considerably worse with the news that Anko had just brought from Jiraiya, who was currently making secretive investigations into the activities on the Akatsuki. She sighed heavily and turned back to Anko, who was standing with one hand on her hip, looking troubled.

"Did Jiraiya say anything else?" she asked heavily, fearing more bad news may have come in tow.

"Other than that I had a 'splendid figure' and I should really consider wearing some tighter clothing that doesn't quite constrict my movements with excess fabric—no," Anko recounted, a displeased smirk on her lips.

"I hope you hit him," Tsunade smiled from behind her laced fingers.

Anko's smirk broadened, "Oh, I did."

"Good," Tsunade replied approvingly, sitting up straighter, "Next time you see him—hit him over the head for me. You're dismissed."

"Will do," Anko grinned brightly and turned to leave, thoughts of some of Konoha's dumplings floating into her mind.

"Oh, Anko," Tsunade interrupted the woman's thoughts of delicious food, "One more thing. Do you remember three and a half years ago when that boy, Uchiha Sasuke, was given a curse mark by Orochimaru?"

Anko turned and looked at Tsunade curiously, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, he was found a week ago by a group on a mission and has been brought back to the village under complicated circumstances," Tsunade said leaning back in her chair, "I was hoping that maybe you could talk to him."

"Uh-oh," Anko frowned slightly, "Is he causing trouble?"

"No, no," Tsunade replied off-handedly, "I bound the curse on a permanent level—so he's safe… He's actually to be released from hospital tomorrow morning. However I was hoping you could talk to him about the curse mark before then—a kind of counseling session if you will. I think he relied on its power a fair bit and losing it was hard for him—can you try and point out to him how this is a turn for the better?"

"Sure thing, Hokage-sama," Anko grinned, "I'll go see him."

"I don't know if this will affect how things go, but apparently he blinded himself in order to escape the fate of being Orochimaru's next vessel," Tsunade added, rubbing her temples slowly with her slender fingertips, "And his caregiver—Haruno Sakura—is not to know that he took his own sight."

"Pep talk, self-blinding, don't tell the caregiver," Anko repeated, counting them off on her fingers, "Got it."

"Can I ask you something before you go?" Tsunade asked just before Anko opened the door, "Why didn't you want your own curse mark to be permanently sealed?"

Pausing for a moment, Anko thought about her reply before giving a small smile to the Hokage, "Having to keep it under control reminds me not to make the same mistakes, and helps me remember where my loyalties should lie."

Before the Tsunade could say another word, Anko had left from the room, heading for her favourite dumpling stand, but her mind was pondering with curiosity a young Uchiha heir.

"What a dreadful looking day," Sakura commented, leading Sasuke gently by the arm through the hospital's garden, looking up at the sky with a frown.

It had been three days since Naruto had come to visit and Ino had attempted to intrude, but on the whole, things had been regular and routine. A couple of ANBU agents had been in to further question Sasuke, and come up with no more answers than Kakashi had derived from him. Other than that, there had been no major disruptions.

Word had quickly spread throughout their old classmates of Sasuke's condition, thanks to Naruto, and there had been a few visitors. Lee, Neji and Ten Ten had come to visit, and Shikamaru's group had come as well; Sakura was glad that Ino had behaved in a more mature manner—but perhaps it was because Shikamaru had been present. Naruto had been in several times, having twice dragged in a blushing Hinata. Even Kiba towed along on one of Hinata's abductions—Shino only came in once for all of thirty seconds to wish Sasuke well before leaving, but considering it was Shino, it was amazing he showed up at all.

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