I do not own Naruto…this is a totally different mission…it's after Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto become full ninjas and their training is over. Just one final test.

-Ages have been altered to Naruto: 19, Sasuke: 19, Sakura: 18

Now You Notice Me?

Kakashi walked in front as his three students followed closely behind.

"Man, are we there yet!" Naruto whined.

Sakura glared at him, "You're just making the trip longer, moron."

Sasuke sighed and kept walking. This was the group of idiots he'd been stuck with since day one. The only one he could stand was Kakashi, and even that was sometimes questionable. But after this test, he'd be free of them.

Sakura looked over to Sasuke and smiled, "What's your plans after the final?"

Sasuke shrugged and kept looking forward, how he couldn't stand her drooling over him.

Sakura frowned and then looked straight again. She couldn't even strike up a true conversation with Sasuke.

'How can she like him when he can't even look at her in the eye?' Naruto thought after witnessing yet another attempt Sakura made at Sasuke. Naruto wouldn't even mention to Sakura that he wished she'd at least give him half the respect she gave Sasuke.

Kakashi stopped and the others paused, looking at him. "We're here."

Naruto looked around. "This-is it! We hiked for ten days for this!"

Sakura smiled at the river in the middle of the forest. "Finally!" she ran over to the river, took off her sandals after she sat down and plopped her feet in the cool water. "That feels good."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked to Kakashi who almost seemed to admire Sakura's actions. "What now?"

Kakashi looked to Sasuke and gave his infamous grin, "We rest. As Naruto said, it has been ten days. We rest. We start training tomorrow at dawn." he walked over and leaned against a tall oak.

Sakura's feet went in and out of the current as Naruto watched her. "Weren't we supposed to meet someone?" Naruto asked, anxiously.

Kakashi nodded, "Tomorrow at dawn. She doesn't like unpunctuality."

Naruto blinked. "She doesn't like people being late." Sasuke clarified.

Naruto glared at Sasuke, "I understand that, I just don't understand why it's a she!"

Sakura overheard and looked at them, almost hurt, "What's wrong with it being a she? Can't a she be strong too?"

Sasuke chuckled, "Sure, whatever you say."

Sakura frowned and looked back at the water. Naruto felt like an ass for saying such a thing. He walked over to Kakashi, "What's her name then?"

"Her name is Ayame but she goes by another name that you'd be more familiar with." Kakashi smirked, "One you would fear."

Sakura picked up her sandals and walked over to Kakashi and Naruto. "What is it?"

Kakashi, "She was once a shinobi. She didn't come with me on the venture that killed the ones I held dear."

Sakura and Naruto looked at him strangely, "You really know her?"

Kakashi nodded, "We go back some time ago."

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other and shrugged, "Then what's her name?" Naruto asked.

Sakura thought a moment, "A shinobi who isn't one anymore…who we'd fear."

"Kage." Sasuke muttered.

Sakura and Naruto looked at him and then back to Kakashi, "Really?" Sakura asked inquisitively.

Kakashi closed his eyes, "You're like the shadow, Ayame. Vanishing but never really gone."

Naruto thought a moment, "But shadows can't vanish."

Sasuke sighed, "It's an expression that is told in the folklore about her now. Shadows can't be touched and caught, neither can she."

"You are astoundingly acute." a feminine voice rang out over the trees.

The three trainees got into defense position as a woman, about 5'5 walked towards them. With arm and leg guards in place, her outfit was completed with a blue dress, slit up the sides with a tight belt around her waist. Not to mention her knee high boots and sword at her hip.

Kakashi stood, "Not right now, we're resting. Training begins tomorrow. We made a deal."

Sakura was the first to realize, "You are Ayame?"

Ayame smiled, flicking her auburn hair away from her green eyes, "You are more astute than that fickle child." she pointed to Sasuke who glared at her.

Naruto smirked, 'Finally, a girl that doesn't swoon over that twerp!'

Ayame looked to Naruto and brought her hand to her chin, almost in deep thought, "You may be strongest of the three."

Kakashi walked towards her, his eye never leaving her face. She looked up to him and smiled, "It has been far too long my friend."

"I'm only glad you were not in the ambush."

She smirked, "Che, if I was, no one woulda died." she crossed her arms and saw Kakashi's dropped face, "It was a jest Kakashi, no one could have done any better than you."

Naruto and the others looked at Ayame's serious face and then back to Kakashi. 'She holds him in very high respect…' Sasuke thought.

'I wonder who's stronger now…' Naruto wondered.

'How romantic!' Sakura smiled.

-----------

The night went on as Ayame and Kakashi spoke of things that happened while they were separated over the years.

Sakura listened to Naruto babble about who he thought was stronger.

"I bet it's Kakashi!"

"How?" Sakura muttered.

"He's…I don't know, she said he was the best right?"

"Sorta but Naruto…"

"But he clearly holds her in high respect…hmmm!" Naruto went back to pondering.

Sakura sighed and looked up at the trees, 'Why me?' she thought to herself.

Sasuke walked over from his meditation and looked at Kakashi smiling under his mask from something Ayame must have said. 'Hmm…' he thought a bit and walked away.

"And then, you won't believe it even if I told you, Shi!" Ayame giggled.

"C'mon, it can't be that bogus." Kakashi hadn't heard anyone call him Shi in a long time. Let alone, spoke so loosely.

For once, he felt safe with his surroundings. And at the same time, wanted to protect his surroundings on a more personal level.

Ayame drank a bit of her water and leaned over some to whisper out of the "kid's" hearing range, "All the girls started dancing on top of the bar and the men all but passed out. And that my dear Shi, is how we Shinobi took over the Hellswrath Saloon!"

It wasn't a war story, it was only a fun filled time she had enjoyed. She drank some more of her water and pointed to his side, "Seems you enjoyed the more naughty things in life. What's the matter, Shi? No girl good nuff?" she giggled.

Kakashi shook his head, "No, not around these parts." What he left out was that she was. And he knew she was way above him in every aspect in life.

She sobered up some, "Shi, when is the last time you honestly had some fun?"

He straightened up a bit, and nodded to his little ninjas, "Those kids over there." She looked at the three not-so-kids but knew what he meant, "Training them has been the most fun I've had in years."

Ayame turned to him and smiled, "That's what I love about you Shi." she paused and touched his shoulder, "You always had a bigger heart than anything." she brought her hand back and covered a yawn.

"You should rest Ayame, we all should. We have much to learn tomorrow. All of us." Kakashi said.

Ayame nodded and leaned against a tree, "Sweet slumber Shi."

"Nice dreams Ayame." he looked at her form and smiled a bit, she was so strong, everyone knew that. But not everyone knew her weaknesses like he did. Because they were sparring buddies all the way from their childhood to being shinobis, it really helped to know each other's weaknesses and keep opponents from finding them out. If one got too close to that knowledge, the other would defend and make a decoy move to alter the opponent. It's why when Kakashi and Ayame were alone, they were never really harmed.

Kakashi walked over to the three ninjas and looked at them all, "Sleep now, rest, we need our strength tomorrow. Ayame has quite a workout for you all."

Sakura and Naruto nodded and laid down on opposite sides of the small fire they made. Sasuke leaned his back against a tree and slept sitting up that night.

Kakashi watched till they all fell asleep and went back to Ayame and sat down on another side of the tree, barely a hand's sweep away from her and slept against it as well.

-------- The Next Morning ---------

Sasuke woke first and cleaned up some, splashing water on Naruto. "HEY!" he yelled and jumped up, ready to kick Sasuke's ass.

Sasuke nodded to the place Sakura had been, "Where is she? She's not being a peeping Tom when I'm bathing now, is she?"

"How the hell should I know? Sides, Sakura isn't a guy, so she's not a Tom if she was!"

Kakashi woke up to the bickering along with Ayame and got up, stretching in the exact same way as the other and looked at the boys. "What is the commotion about?" Ayame asked and counted, "Wait…one…two…where's three?"

"You wouldn't know, would you!" Sasuke glared and nudged Ayame back some who seemed to stay in place no matter what amount of chi he used to thwart her form.

"What are you babbling about?" she asked.

"This is part of your trick right?"

"Trick?" she looked to Kakashi, "Oh…my training. Must be slang." she shrugged and looked back to Sasuke. Glaring, her eyes seemed to swirl and glisten like stars as her chi knocked him fifty feet away from her. Because her chi was directed at him, that's all it hit.

Naruto was impressed as she stomped over to Sasuke and drug him up by his collar, "Now listen here, I will not be accused for something I did not have any part in. Especially by a brat like you. I do not know where your fair went, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you but I sure as hell would tell Shi or Naruto. You though, irritate the hell out of me." she dropped him and looked back to the other men, "I think it's time we found our fair lady."

------------- After a Few Hours -----------------

Naruto and Ayame met back up with Kakashi and Sasuke at their camp from last night and hung their heads in defeat.

"I do not know what could have happened to her." Ayame frowned.

"She'll turn up, I'm sure. Sakura will get herself out of trouble if that's what she found." Naruto said and crossed his arms, hiding his worry.

Sasuke sighed, "She's a nuisance."

Kakashi glared at the boy, "Sasuke…"

"No, really. She's always the last one to finish her testing. She's the weakest and she doesn't even try to listen to reason."

Ayame was about to say something but Kakashi interrupted, "She takes her time when she knows she has it to take. She's not the weakest, she's just not as skilled. And she doesn't listen to reason when she has her heart to listen to instead."

Sasuke looked away and then looked to Naruto, "What are you looking at?"

Naruto was looking at the river and for an instant, looked confused until he ran to the shoreline and dove in.

Ayame and Kakashi ran after him as Sasuke walked steadily. 'What is he doing?' he wondered.

Ayame gasped as she stopped at the shore and Kakashi looked out as Naruto grabbed Sakura's limp frame from a rock in the river. Watching him, the three stood at the shoreline.

Naruto turned Sakura onto her back and listened to her chest for a heartbeat. Faint but there. He placed his hand over her mouth and nose and the other on her upper chest, careful not to violate her.

When he didn't feel her breathing in either way, he tilted her head up and held her nose shut. Blowing air into her mouth a few times, he was relieved when she started coughing and battled to get up.

He helped her sit up as she spit up water and held her head, wincing.

"So…you have a headache?" Sasuke jested.

Ayame slapped him into the water. "That kid is annoying."

Kakashi sighed, "He's gotten to be quite a smartass since he was a child. Mocking Sakura and her emotions. Naruto and his playfulness."

Ayame stilled Kakashi, "Shi…did she have those clothes on when she was resting last night?"

Kakashi looked over again and frowned. It wasn't Sakura's usual pink wardrobe, but a brown, almost raggedy peasant look gown. He didn't like that at all.

Naruto looked at Sakura with concern, "Are you alright Sakura?"

Sakura looked at him strangely and shook her head, "Not really. It hurts." she whispered out and passed out. If Naruto hadn't grabbed her quickly, she would have toppled into the river backwards.

Naruto looked at Sasuke in the water as he made his way to the rock, "You're actually worried about your teammates?"

Sasuke shook his head, "The wench pushed me in, I figured I'd see the damage upon damage."

Naruto waited till he was almost on the large rock and pushed him back into the river. "When you get a bit of concern for her life, maybe you can be around her when she's unconscious. Buddha knows that's the only time she isn't chasing you." he sneered and looked to Kakashi as he waded in the water after them.

"Sasuke, stop kidding around, get back to shore." Kakashi ordered as Sasuke grabbed the shoreline and glared at the others. They were shunning him for a reason he didn't know.

Ayame waited till the others got close enough and lifted Sakura out of Kakashi's grasp and onto the water. She paled as she looked closer. "Oh dear." she muttered to herself.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked quietly as Naruto was climbing out of the river.

She lifted Sakura into her arms and nodded towards the dress like rag. Kakashi saw rage. She was harmed. He only thought she was near death in the river, not harmed in any other way. Her hands had dried blood spots on them and her nails seemed to look torn a bit. She must have fought as much as she could.

There was a large blood spot on her gown that Naruto must have missed as he helped Sakura back into consciousness. Hopefully, they both agreed, that the others would not know.

Ayame walked over to the camp and laid Sakura down, ordering the males to go fetch some firewood or something to keep their selves away from bare female body. Once they were out of sight, Ayame took her dagger and cut open the dress to reveal what other mishaps happened to Sakura.

She was aghast as she looked on at Sakura's battered body. 'It hurts.' She didn't clarify to Naruto what hurt, from what he told them of what went on as he was over on the rock helping her.

Her body, bruised, cut, scraped, scratched at, torn, and a broken barrier almost cut through to Ayame's soul. She ached for Sakura. To be so young and no one helped her, no one could. She cursed herself for not listening out more. How could this have happened?

"Stop…" Sakura mumbled.

Ayame took a damp cloth to her skin and started dressing her wounds. "Sakura, please try to relax." her voice was soothing, making Sakura relieve a bit but still on her guard.

She couldn't blame Sakura. Ayame knew what it was like to be alone and lose against men. She had been just a young ninja herself. If Kakashi hadn't come across the forest to see her that day and bump into the mess, she'd most definitely not be here herself.

But it didn't help Sakura. Sakura was a strong girl. Strong willed, and strong power. But now, she was sure Sakura would feel alone, afraid, weak, and unable to defeat anyone. That's how Ayame felt, even towards Kakashi. Sakura would take years to trust anyone else. Hopefully, Ayame prayed, that wasn't the case.

Sakura opened her eyes and winced as Ayame cleansed her stomach where a gash was located.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. Did I hurt you?" Ayame asked, calmly.

Sakura looked to Ayame and shook her head, "No, just, ok, it hurt. But don't tell them."

Ayame looked at her strangely. "Them?"

"Naruto or Sasuke. Not even Sensei." Sakura looked away in shame.

"That you were hurt so bad? Not just on the outside?"

"Yes."

Ayame brushed some of Sakura's hair out of her face and smiled, "Shi knew."

Sakura paled and looked at her, "But…"

"It wasn't hard to figure out from the stain on the gown from the blood, Sakura."

Sakura was about to cry as Ayame shushed her.

"Don't worry Sakura. We know. We are not to tell Naruto or Sasuke. You have our word as Ninjas and Shinobis."

Sakura gave a wry smile, "Thank you, Ayame."

Ayame nodded and cleaned the rest of her body, dressed her in an outfit of hers since they were about the same size. The outfit seemed to fit Sakura right to a tee.

Sakura looked at it, felt the material. "It is nice, isn't it?" Ayame smiled.

Sakura looked up to Ayame, "It's lovely, but I don't want it to get ruined or …if they come back…"

"Sakura." Ayame stilled her words, "We will not let you out of our sight. We will all take guards, even at night." Ayame promised.

Sakura frowned, "I hate to be such a burden."

"Don't worry." Ayame touched her shoulder as a mother would, "You aren't. We're doing this because we care." she stood up and helped Sakura up and to stand right without wincing.

After a while of practicing to put on a strong face in front of the boys to where they didn't think of anything weak about Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke walked up with firewood as Kakashi walked with the hunt.

He dropped the boar on the ground and looked at Ayame and then to Sakura. He smiled, "Nice clothes, Sakura."

Sasuke dropped the logs onto the firewood pile and looked at Sakura. He grimaced, feeling something he didn't ever want to about her.

Naruto put the firewood in the pile nicely and walked up behind the others and stretched some, "I'm ready for something to ea…eat?" he looked to Sakura who looked at him strangely.

She was wearing a black dress, tightened around her waist with a black belt. the dress dipped a bit, but not enough to show any cleavage and the slits on the side only went just past her knees, enabling her to kick and fight regularly without showing anything. Her boots, which were left beside her "bed" as she was abducted were the regular combat. Her hair was up, a few strands falling beside her face and her bangs were loose.

She looked at Ayame and then back to Naruto, "What?"

Naruto swallowed hard, "Nothing…food…" he looked to Kakashi nervously.

"Yes, we haven't had much to eat at all. Shall we?" Kakashi pointed to the boar.

Ayame and Sakura grimaced, making the same expression, "Ok…you cut, clean, cook. We'll eat." and with that, they walked over to the river to speak a bit about female stuff. Boys, love, cookies, boys, cakes, boys, flowers, bunnies, boys. You get the point.

Sasuke and Naruto looked up at Kakashi. "Is it just me, or is that not Sakura's style?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi looked down at him and then scratched his chin, "Hmmm…"

Naruto snickered, "I like it on her."

Kakashi looked at them, "What would be truly odd is her in makeup."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other with wide eyes. "Yep, odd." Sasuke nodded.