Hey everyone, thanks for clicking on this story! Before anything, I just want to let you know that the circumstances for this story are different, to put it in other words, this story takes place in an AU (alternate universe) where the Fourth Shinobi World War is NOT happening. Also, Madara and Akatsuki are not immediate threats to Konoha.

Besides those two points, everything else is the same. Yes, Sasuke did leave Konoha, and did kill Itachi. He's killed Danzo too, but let's pretend he didn't do it by invading the Kage Summit (if there's no world war, then they wouldn't need to hold the summit, now would they? =]) So this story branches off from the Kage Summit arc, where everything before that arc happened, but everything that happens after is different.

If there are any questions, please feel free to PM me, or put it in a review! =]

I don't own Naruto.

Please enjoy Restoration! =]

.:Restoration:.

Chapter 1: Assignment

Pink hair was unusual in the Leaf Village, so it wasn't unexpected that wherever the sole pinkette walked, heads turned. After the surprise passed, recognition settled into the villagers' minds and they greeted the familiar face. "Ohayo, Sakura-san!"

"Ohayo!" she would call back with a wave. Haruno Sakura had grown to be loved by the whole village; her amiable personality and terrific medical expertise made hers a familiar name all over Konoha, and not just at the hospital where she volunteered in her spare time. Villagers knew Sakura as a kind young woman, and took her under their wing, subconsciously pledging to keep her happy and safe. If Sakura frowned, all of Konoha did. If she laughed, the whole village erupted into joyous cheers.

This bond formed between Sakura and Konoha's civilians was most likely based on the fact that she had probably treated at least one person from every family that resided there. Accidents happened all the time, even to the strict village-dwellers that would never go past the walls of Konoha. People fell off ladders, children tripped on the playground, the elderly contracted colds. And they could count on her to be there to mend them with one of her bright smiles.

Whenever Sakura would go on missions, fulfilling her duty as a member of Team Kakashi, the city waited. They waited for her to come back, and when she did, she was greeted in the most celebratory way. People offered her food baskets, handed her homemade travel packs to bring with her on her next mission; they gave her their love. And she was thankful.

Today was an unusually uneventful day for Sakura. She wasn't on a mission, nor was she needed in the hospital. No ANBU teams had been recently deployed, which meant that there were none to return, bloody and broken, requiring her attention and skill as a medic-nin trained by the great Godaime Hokage herself.

Tsunade was like Sakura's second mother. She taught her everything she needed to know about her most useful ability: medical-ninjutsu. Not only that, but Tsunade-sama had also become Sakura's mentor in life. Whenever she didn't know how to proceed, she turned to the Hokage for advice. The old blonde would melt and sit more comfortably in the presence of the Haruno daughter. Gone was her stiff and strict mentality when she was alone with Sakura, just speaking with her student. To Sakura, Tsunade wasn't the Hokage so much as she was her friend. Sometimes she would forget that she was talking to one of the most powerful faces in the ninja world when she sat with the wise woman in her office in Hokage Tower. It was only when they'd go for walks around the village, talking about new advances in the medical field, when Sakura would remember that she was with the Hokage from the polite and humble greetings villagers would send their way as they walked passed the variety of storefronts and food stands.

Sakura passed one of these food stands now: the dango shop that she would sometimes stop by and eat at. But when she had set out that morning, she wasn't looking for food. Sakura just wanted to take a leisurely stroll around Konoha, the village she grew up in, the village that loved her and she loved back.

Following the road, she was lead to an open field of white flowers where she and Ino would play in during the days before The Academy. Sakura smiled at the memory of Ino standing up for her when she was being made fun of for her large forehead. That was so long ago, she thought. Taking the next right turn, Sakura stopped before a familiar building.

The Ninja Academy stood before her, and she couldn't help but consider that the building had shrunk somehow. It had used to be so big, so imposing. It had been a while since Sakura had last come back to visit it, and had been a year since she'd gone inside. The last time she laid her green eyes on the small training ground – that too, had seemed a lot bigger as a child – was when she had been invited to give a short lesson to young medical-nins in training as a doctor at the hospital.

The pinkette smiled at the memories of her first days as part of Team 7. Their first mission, the bell test, and how they'd been the first students Kakashi-sensei had passed. I have to stop that, Sakura thought to herself. She'd been accustomed to called the silver-haired man sensei, even though they were comrades now. Oh well, old habits die hard. Indeed, they did. Hatake Kakashi was still known as the picture of aloofness, Icha Icha book in hand. Despite having read those books from cover to cover fifty times each, Kakashi would probably never get tired of their adult content. Sakura would never be able to understand him, but she loved him nonetheless.

She loved her old sensei, now teammate – the fact was still hard for her to believe – the same way she loved Naruto. As friends, brothers, and comrades. They were there to protect her, and she was there to care for them. Although sometimes they made it difficult for her, it was her duty as their 'sister' to stick by them. The three were their own family, and she wouldn't have it any different.

Now passing the familiar building that was Konoha's prestigious hospital, Sakura's mind went back to the days where she learned medical-ninjutsu under Tsunade-sama. After two years of training and even more of field experience, Sakura had become the second-best medic in the village, below Tsunade, of course. She'd even surpassed Shizune's skill, despite the fact that the older woman was more familiar with poisons than Sakura was. The only thing that Shizune lacked that Sakura had was the experience that she'd gained from her time as the medic on Team Kakashi. And for that reason, Sakura was second-greatest.

Remembering the seemingly harsh and extensive training Tsunade had put her through made her grimace, yet she was still grateful. If not for the Hokage's over-the-top exercise regimen, Sakura would still be weak and of no help to her team. In two years she'd toughened up, become more durable, and was able to handle herself in a battle. This was proved by the fight that happened two years ago when she was sixteen, the fight against Sasori of the Red Sand. He'd been an S-class missing-nin and with the help of Chiyo-sama, she'd been able to defeat him. That was her first battle she'd handled without her team, and the battle that proved her success and improvement as a kunoichi.

Sakura was approaching a gate that lead out of the village now, and an air of tranquility passed over her as she spotted a certain stone bench. Slowly she walked over and took a seat on the cold, hard stone, stroking her fingers lightly over the rough surface.

For weeks after Uchiha Sasuke left Konoha, Sakura would come here, lay her head on the heavy stone, and cry. She'd cry until her eyes wouldn't produce anymore tears and would walk home alone, hiccupping and wiping her eyes until she would look presentable enough to return to her parents, who were completely oblivious.

But that was five years ago. Sakura, along with the rest of the Konoha 11, was now eighteen years old. She was no longer the young girl who cried at every little thing. Now she accepted that Sasuke was gone, off to complete some fate he'd created for himself that would lead him so deep into darkness that there would be no hope left. Which is why Sakura had taken it upon herself to aid Naruto in saving him from that darkness.

She'd had that goal two years ago, having accepted Sasuke's fate when she was sixteen. But her resolve was shaky then. Although she told herself over and over that she needed to let him go, she still had not been able to bring herself to take the opportunity and end Sasuke's life. That day she'd seen the worst of Sasuke. He'd been deranged and so overcome with evil… It was like his bloodlust was incurable. She knew she had to save him, but then her mind flashed back to the Sasuke she used to know, and the picture of that Sasuke masked the sight in front of her and she was unable to bring herself to take his life.

Sakura had come home from that mission utterly disappointed in herself. She had the opening, the weapon, the timing, but she lacked the willpower. A vow was made to herself that the next time she encountered Sasuke, she would be prepared.

She took up training immediately. Sakura sought training under Neji and Shikamaru to improve her taijutsu. Those days were spent in the Chuunin training grounds. Neji would teach Sakura new techniques, ways of moving that would be most effective in certain situations, such as the correct thing to do when caught in a headlock or how to disarm a captor if she had her hands tied behind her back. During breaks in their training, Shikamaru would sit with her in the shade of the trees and teach her strategy. He taught her how to deliver unexpected blows and counterattacks that would work against grown men. Shikamaru seemed to enjoy teaching her. He particularly liked that a girl like Sakura would instantly be underestimated in the battle field, and the Nara son taught her how to use that to her advantage. Sakura's fighting style would need to incorporate brute stregth with some cunning tactics mixed in.

After four months of this, Sakura finally beat Neji in one of their spars. It was the first time she had been able to pin the Hyuuga to the ground, and she had leapt up, pumping her fist in the air before she lent a hand down to help her training partner up from the dust. Satisfied that if she could beat Neji, she decided that she was all right in the taijutsu department.

Not wanting to be selfish, Sakura offered to teach Neji and Shikamaru a little something too. Although Shikamaru had refused her lessons, saying that his help in her training was beneficial to him too for some odd reason that she didn't understand, Neji was all ears.

She taught him her specialty: medial-ninjutsu. Neji was great at chakra control, so it wasn't that hard to teach him the Mystical Palm technique. He could already focus chakra into his hands, which was half of the technique, and all Sakura had to do was teach him how to draw the healing nature of his chakra out and into an injury. Soon enough he got a hang of it and the chakra in his hands successfully faded from a cerulean blue into a jade green.

The next skill Sakura wished to acquire was that in the genjutsu department. Deciding that training with Kakashi would only succeed in him using his Sharingan until he collapsed would be unbeneficial, Sakura turned to another sensei.

Kurenai-sensei agreed to train Sakura in genjutsu in return for the babysitting of her, then, one-year-old child. She taught her how to detect and break a genjutsu using just her mind and by the end of the month Sakura was deflecting Kurenai-sensei's genjutsus within a few seconds. Kurenai knew that although these techniques wouldn't work against a strong dojustsu like Tsukuyomi of the Mangekyo Sharingan, they would work on any other genjutsu a shinobi could cast.

The next lesson Kurenai taught Sakura was casting her own genjutsus. The younger woman had trouble with grasping the concept of creating a genjutsu, but fortunately the genjutsu she was able to cast was probably the most effective one. After a plethora of hand seals and the calming of her own chakra flow, Sakura was now able to cast a genjutsu that sent the victim into a world of darkness. Their brain shut down and the person became unable to process any thought or perform any action. It was a very useful genjutsu indeed.

Now that her taijutsu had been significantly sharpened and she was technically immune to most genjutsus, Sakura was convinced that she was ready. Ready to take on any kind of shinobi, and most of all, ready to take on Sasuke when the time came. He was going to be in one hell of a surprise, for Sakura wasn't the little girl she used to be. She was a strong-willed woman who could make decisions for herself. No longer would she cry or hesitate; if something needed to be done for the sake of the greater good, it would happen. She was not weak.

Suddenly someone called her name, pulling her out of her reverie. "Sakura-chan!" She looked up from her spot on the bench, surprised to see her teammates walking towards her.

"Naruto! Kaka-sensei! Sai!" A smile came onto her face at the sight of her family, plus Sai. Although they'd worked together for some time now, the ANBU Root member was still an enigma to her. She knew he had never experienced social interaction before, but barely anything had changed in two years. He was still stiff and pulling friendly lines straight from self-help books in the library. But everyone was used to it, and accepted Sai as a friend.

"Sakura-chan, there you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Naruto put hand hands behind his head and laughed. "What are you doing out here?"

After all of these years, Sakura still hadn't told them about her encounter with Sasuke before he left the village. It was something she kept to herself. The moment was so intimate and special that she wouldn't let herself tell anyone else, not even Naruto. "Oh, I was just sitting around. I was taking a walk and wanted to sit for a bit. Why were you looking for me?"

"We've got a mission! Tsunade-baa-chan wants to see us all in her office. I heard that this might be S-class!" he said happily.

Sakura got up from her place on the stone bench and fell into step beside Kakashi, who said to her, "It's not S-class."

She smiled up at her former sensei. "I didn't think so. He's probably just excited. This is our first mission in a few weeks, after all." His visible eye creased in a smile.

Up ahead she could see the front of the Yamanaka flower shop, and waved to Ino as they walked past. The two young women smiled at each other. Sakura and Ino let their rivalry go long ago and decided to keep each other's friendship. Sasuke leaving had been a tragic experience, and instead of fighting, they made up. Even thinking back to it, the reason why they'd first broken up their friendship was petty. Now that they were older, more mature, and reasonable, the two were good friends.

Sakura was comfortable in Tsunade's office, a room she'd been in countless times before. The same couldn't be said for the rest of her team though, since Naruto wasn't on the same level she was in terms of friendliness with the Hokage, Kakashi was always respectful, and Sai was comfortable with being stiff. They stood before the pigtailed woman, waiting to hear the details of the mission.

"Team Kakashi." She called out.

"Hai." They answered dutifully.

"This mission I'm about to present to you will probably be one of the most important missions you will ever receive. It's A-rank. Are you willing to hear the details?" She leaned forward to rest her elbows on her desk, clasping her hands together as she eyed them over her laced fingers.

"Hai."

"Medics in Sunagakure have discovered a new poison that the ninja world has never seen before. They've collected samples of this poison, and I've sent a request to obtain some of it so that I may study it and develop an antidote. But they're very protective of their discovery, and only agreed to hand it to trusted people. They wanted me to go and pick it up myself, but my duties here are too great for me to up and leave just so that I could go and get it from them. So, Sakura, you will be going in my place. You'll be representing me on this mission."

"Hai."

"Kakashi, Naruto, Sai, you three will accompany Sakura on this journey. Those medical ninja are very paranoid and told me that you will have to fight them for the samples, to prove that you will be able to protect the poison on its journey back to me."

"Is it a very deadly poison, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked curiously.

"According to them, it is. And if it were to fall into enemy hands before I was able to develop an antidote, that would be very bad. The Suna medics seem to realize that, which is why they're going to challenge you to a battle. They want to make sure they're giving their precious samples to people who will able to safely deliver it to me."

"Yeah! We get to fight Sand ninja!" Naruto cheered loudly. Sunagakure bad been long allied with Konoha ever since Gaara bad become Kazekage, so fights between Leaf ninja and Sand ninja were nonexistent.

"Just make sure you win. Having knowledge of this poison is crucial, which is why this is an A-rank mission. It's unknown whether or not the enemy knows about this poison and if they will try to intercept you on your journey back to obtain it, so stay alert. Don't let your guard down and keep the samples safe." Tsunade said strictly. A deadly poison that's never been discovered before… The existence of such a poison intrigued the medical side of Sakura. This was going to be an interesting mission for her.

"Hai!" Team Kakashi chorused in unison.

The mission was to begin immediately. Kakashi and Sai had gone their separate ways to their own homes to pack and prepare for the journey to the Land of Wind. That left Sakura and Naruto to walk together to their neighboring apartments.

When she'd turned eighteen she decided to move out of her parent's home and bought a new apartment next to Naruto's. It only made sense for them to live close to each other; they were teammates and living close to each other would make working together that much easier.

Sakura walked into her room and pulled her travelling sack out from under her bed, along with her bedroll. She stuffed sack with extra clothes and packets of dried food as well as survival items such as matches and water canteens. Next she stripped of her civilian clothes and put on her ninja gear. She'd long since abandoned her old red zippered shirt and pink skirt, replacing it with a short-sleeved mesh shirt underneath a fitted red top that was more practical for fighting. The top ended in the middle of her stomach, showing off a toned midriff that was covered by her mesh undershirt, and had the Haruno symbol stamped on the side, so it looked like the circle was wrapped around her left side.

Sakura had replaced her top when she found that the previous shirt was becoming strained across her chest from the growth that she had been waiting for all this time. She was no longer the little girl that she was before, not mentally and not physically either. Her breasts had grown, although not close to the sizeable bust that Tsunade had, but large enough to give her a feminine shape. She'd also grown her pink hair out again so that it was back down to her mid-back with the bangs kept back by her forehead protector, which she wore as a headband.

Sakura was slender, yet strong; feminine and beautiful even while delivering a bone-shattering punch.

She fastened her black skirt to her hips over her spandex shorts and pulled on her knee-high black boots. Now finished with the basics, she slid her pink elbow guards onto her arms and put her gloves on. As a final touch, she took out a roll of white bandages and wrapped it around her upper right thigh to support the femur. A training session gone wrong had almost snapped the bone. Although it was completely healed now, Sakura could still tell that that was her weak spot and liked to reinforce it with wraps.

After checking to make sure it was filled with ninja tools, she strapped her weapons holster to the waist of her skirt at the base of her back. Checking her appearance one last time in the mirror, she exited her apartment and locked the door.

"Ready to go?" Naruto was standing outside his door, waiting for her.

She smiled at her long time friend and teammate and readjusted her pack so it was more comfortable on her back. "Let's go."

They walked together to the front gates of Konoha, where Kakashi and Sai were already waiting. When they approached, Kakashi reached his hand out to ruffle Sakura's hair. "Did you remember your water this time?" His eye squinted in a smile.

She scowled playfully while running her fingers through her hair, detangling the long strands after Kakashi's teasing. "Yes." The memory of her having to share water with her former sensei and Naruto had been one she didn't want to remember. A few missions back, Sakura had forgotten to bring her own water canteen and had been forced to take sips from Kakashi's and Naruto's. They joked around about backwashing, making Sakura positively mortified. She'd never forgotten to bring her own water since.

The four walked through the gates of Konoha, off to another mission.

What they didn't know was how this mission would be so unlike the others.

So there's the first chapter! I'm really excited to be writing this story, and I know it's going to be a long one :)

Remember: if you have any questions, don't be shy! Send it in a PM or a review! I'd be glad to answer any questions you guys might have, if it makes reading this story easier.

Reviews make me write!