Disclaimer: I do Not own Naruto!
Sakura raced through the trees with the rest of her squad. She spared a moment to glance at her three teammates. Naruto with his fox mask was bringing up the rear while Sai with his tiger mask was right behind her. Kakashi once again wearing his dog mask was taking the lead. Her own mask was decorated with a beautiful sakura tree courtesy of Sai. The group all seemed to be pushing themselves to their limit racing through the canopy at break neck speeds. She figured that they were as eager as she was to get back to Konoha. Their mission had been a simple assassination, which once Sakura would have considered unthinkable, now however she knew that such ugliness was a necessary evil. While the mission had been simple as with all ANBU missions it required stealth, no one must know that Konoha was behind the death. So as it was the mission had taken over a month to complete, and it looked like her friends were as eager to get back as she was.
She never would have imagined them acting as an ANBU squad she mused, but when Naruto expressed his desires to join it was clear that he wouldn't even try without her. Sakura was a little unsure of her ability to make it into the elite group of ninja, but after much persuasion from Kakashi and Tsunade she decided to give it a try. She was surprised that she had managed to graduate at the top of the class she was training with. When the training began there had been twenty of them and including herself and Naruto there were only four who were initiated into ANBU. Perhaps what had been most surprising was Kakashi showing up at their graduation in his full ANBU dress.
"Couldn't very well let my team be split up could I," he asked?
Sai had of course already been an ANBU member so Team Kakashi as a whole went on to become an active duty ANBU squad. Well not exactly as a whole; after all Sasuke was not there. Somehow over the years that thought had ceased to be accompanied by a sharp pain. It had been years since his betrayal, she was now a twenty one year old woman, and she guessed that time really did heal all wounds. May not exactly all. While she was no longer hurt by Sasuke's actions she had never truly moved on. No, she was no longer in love with him, but she had never been able to allow herself to trust another with her heart. So while she watched Naruto's relationship flourish with Hinata, and Ino and Shikamaru's relationship move forward as fast as the lazy ninja would allow she threw herself into training.
The years of training under not just her sannin master but also Kakashi had indeed paid off. She had long ago been declared by Tsunade to be the most powerful kunoichi that she knew. She even went so far as to teach Sakura her rejuvenation jutsu. She offered her the opportunity to sign her contract with her slug summons, but Sakura had declined. Instead she had signed a contract with Kakashi's dog pack, she had grown up with them after all, and she had never felt more proud then when her sensei had casually suggested that she might want to consider it. He had also taught her many jutsus including the one that he had vowed to never teach to another after Sasuke, chidori. She had relentlessly worked on her stamina and now had a chakra supply that could rival the copy ninja's. Over all she could not be more happy with her professional life.
Her personal life was not bad. She had one of the best group of friends that a girl could ask for, and well for those events that required a date she had Sai. While he had stopped calling her hag a long time ago there were no romantic feelings between them. The first formal function that they were required to attend with a date Sakura had been a tad nervous about what she was going to do until she had received a knock on her door. When she opened it she was greeted by Sai wearing one of his real smiles which were becoming more common these days.
"Sakura," he had said, "I believe that you should attend this dinner with me."
"Sai are you sure," she asked him?
"I would not ask if I was not," he had smirked. "It is perfectly logical if you take a moment to think about it. I am not capable of romantic feelings, and it seems that neither are you. I do however feel that we have a strong friendship and this arrangement would benefit both of us."
Sakura had not been sure how exactly to take his declaration that she was not capable of romantic feelings, but she had to admit that she needed a date. After that on any occasion that arose where a partner was required she always attended with Sai. He never even asked her to go anywhere with him when an occasion arose he would simply show up on her doorstep with a bouquet of flowers. He had explained that he had once read in a book that it was proper protocol to bring flowers to your date. Sakura always smiled and happily arranged her flowers before they would link arms and head out. It was a comfortable arrangement, and one that allowed her to keep giving her all to her training and work.
Sakura was quickly brought out of her musings when Kakashi abruptly stopped on a branch in front of them.
"How many," he whispered?
"Over twenty," Sakura replied after quickly spreading out her senses.
"Damn that was what I thought," Kakashi muttered. "They are coming fast."
"I'll take care of them," Naruto loudly declared.
"Perhaps you should be louder They may not have noticed our suppressed chakra," Sai said as he drew out one of his scrolls.
"Sorry," Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
"We are all low on chakra after going at such a fast rate for two days," Sakura said as she quickly withdrew a solider pill from her pack to hand to each of them. "Take them quickly they will be on us soon."
They all complied and then quickly split into two groups and dropped to the ground to prepare for a fight.
"Naruto we are going to try to avoid conflict," said Kakashi who had paired himself with the still sometimes impulsive young man. Before Naruto could respond a quiet voice sounded in his ear.
"I recognize one of the chakra signatures," Sakura said into her transmitter.
"Who is it," Kakashi quickly asked?
"Kabuto," Sakura declared without an ounce of uncertainty in her voice.
"Well that changes things," Kakashi said as he pushed the button wrapped around his neck. "Retreat."
"But Sasuke could be with them," Naruto argued.
"If he is we are in no shape to fight him without a good nights sleep and somehow I don't think that he would be inclined to wait," Kakashi snapped out before he took off after Sakura and Sai who had immediately heeded his order. With great reluctance Naruto followed.
They had made it two miles before Sakura ground to a halt and Sai sent one of his tigers off of his scroll in an initial attack against the six sound nin who had suddenly appeared before them. Kakashi and Naruto turned around keeping their backs to their comrades to begin a fight against the ones that had materialized behind them.
"Create an opening and continue the retreat," Kakashi ordered.
"My pleasure," Sakura smirked as she gathered chakra into her hand and slammed it into the ground making a huge crater and taking out the nins in front of them that had yet to fall to Sai's ink summons.
They began racing through the trees again before they suddenly heard a shout.
"Get the fox," a voice that Sakura immediately recognized as Kabuto called out. So they were after Naruto. Not on her watch she gritted her teeth.
"Kakashi get Naruto out of here," she barked out. She had no doubt that Kakashi had also heard the order given to their enemy. "Sai and I will hold them off."
Kakashi's response was a curt nod before he had to practically drag an enraged Naruto off.
Sakura gave a quick glance to Sai and saw that he was drawing at such a fast speed that her eyes could barely follow. She drew her own kunai with exploding tags and as soon as she hears a twig snap she launched them.
"Attack like that and you may just blow up the Uchiah," Sai said.
"If he tries to attack me than I just might," she replied.
"There are too many of them," Sai declared. "Given our low chakra levels this is a battle we are unlikely to win."
"It doesn't matter," Sakura replied. "Naruto is too important to the village to fall into their hands. We just have to hold them off long enough for Kakashi to get him far enough away. If we can hold them off that long then we can retreat," were the last words Sakura spoke before all hell broke loose.
The next thing she knew they were locked into a fierce battle the smell of ink and blood tainting the air and boulders raining down around them. She gazed over the opponent that she had just knocked to the ground before she finally spotted Kabuto who was naturally staying out of the battle. Somehow she just knew that he wouldn't step in until entirely necessary. She looked quickly at Sai who was loosing way too much blood from a kunai wound to his chest. She had to heal that fast or her artist friend would not make it for long. She punched her way through four more shinobi before she was finally at his side. Careful to keep her eyes open she raised one of hands to him and began healing.
"What are you doing," Sai hissed? "You don't have enough chakra to worry about that now."
"You don't have enough blood for me not too," she argued as she used her free hand to block an incoming kunai that some ass decided to throw while they thought she was distracted. "They are close enough to Konoha now let's hurry up and make an opening to get out of here."
Sai nodded and began to draw with renewed speed. Suddenly over everything Sakura heard Kabuto give another order.
"Take out the tiger," he said.
Sakura's eyes widened a fraction as she saw an enemy release a barrage of needles that she was certain must be poisoned. Sai was distracted creating another one of his works of art, but Sakura would not let him fall. Her way of the ninja was to protect those precious to her and she was not about to fail now. Without giving it a second thought she dove into Sai pushing him out of harms way, but being hit by six of the needles in the process. Damn she thought a second latter; I was right. Her vision was already starting to blur and her limbs felt heavy. It didn't matter she thought as she went down to her knees and Sai appeared at her side. She was a poison expert all she had to do was get it out and she would be fine.
"That was stupid Sakura," Sai hissed with more emotion in his voice than she had ever heard him use.
"I'll be fine," she said as she raised her hand and tried to call chakra too it.
It was then that she realized two horrifying things at once. The first being that there was something in the poison that had been used which would not allow her to summon any chakra. The second being that while she had been distracted by trying to heal herself and Sai was distracted worrying over her he had been hit. She could see three of the needles sticking out of his left arm. It's over now she thought allowing a little bit of depression to sink in. The enemy seemed to realize it too as they had all ceased there attacks. Sai however refused to give in just yet. Sakura felt a twinge of sorrow as he valiantly gathered her into his arms; she had failed him.
"Don't give up now ugly," he reverted back to his old nickname for her as felt closer to panic than he ever had in his life. However as determined as he was to get her out of there he was only able to take four shaky steps before he too went down and darkness quickly over took his world.