Hey! New fic, new ideas, this is NOT a sequel to years after! This is a whole different thing, if you don't like having a little angst don't read this! There will be angst, lust, and possibly murder, I haven't decided on that one yet, but if you read my other Naruto fic you know I have very little trouble killing a major char! (Sorry, Neji!)
I am not a review hater, i like reviews, if you like it, review! Now, on to the in depth summary!
Summary Sasuke returns from Orochimaru and is trying to adjust, Naruto and Sakura are like brother and sister and it's now five years from when Suna surrendered to Konoha. A peace treaty is being handled by Tsunade and the Kazekage has decided to handle the talks in person. Sakura has been asked to be the ambassador to him and has agreed, seeing as it does have the advantages of paid time off of the hospital. Things don't work out the way she wanted with many of the plans, and she ends out trapped, trying to figure out what to do with the Kazekage as well as the sudden random problems with Sasuke. (second side) Kazekage returns to Konoha to find out what's happening under the guise of the peace treaty. Though the Hokage knows what's going on she's already warned him that she will still try to make the visit business related on her end. He goes with his siblings who also are curious about the village they were in once before...
Chapter one- The return of the king
Sakura sighed as she healed up another kunai wound in the shoulder of a boy from the village. "You need to be more careful! This is your third visit this week!" The boy smiled and put his hand behind his head. "Sorry! You know how Dad can be, I have to practice a lot!" Sakura smiled at him, the same spiky ponytail she saw on a regular basis growing up. There was a severe difference between him and this boy though, this boy was very thrilled, excited almost. She stood, seeing the wound was bandaged properly and looked over. "Shikamaru, Tell your father to let him have a day off! Your brother needs some time to recoup! How's three days sound?" Sakura winked at the boy who grinned from ear to ear. "Nee-san, will you play shogi with me?" Shikamaru grinned at his brother, patting him on the head. "Are you sure? I creamed ya last time..." Sakura shook her head as they walked out. He was surprised when Shikamaru came in four years ago, the first day she had this job. He was in the throws of a panic attack after hearing his father had gotten drunk and knocked up some girl in a nearby village. Not only did he have a brother, who was now ten, but his mom left, leaving the men to care for the boy. His mother left him on their doorstep with a note saying she was dying and didn't want her son to see her go like this. He was tested and it was found to be true. He was the brother Shikamaru never expected.
Now that he was ten though Shikamaru and him were inseparable, especially since their father was now pretty much gone mentally. Sakura sighed as she thought to herself. 'You never know what you have till it's gone...' Sakura thought to herself before her inner thoughts took to her mind. 'Stop the pity party. You're so sad, boohoo! What kind of med-nin are you?' Sakura shook her head and replaced her smile. She worked hard to perfect it, the smile that masks her thoughts...
"Sakura! We have a man down! We need you!" She nodded and ran from the room, to the door.
She walked to the door where the other med-nins were staring at the man on the floor in shock, looking at Sakura and wondering how long it would be till it dawned on her who it was... Sakura looked at him and sighed, noting the pool of blood that was forming under his shoulder. "What happened?" She leaned down to him, feeling his neck for a pulse. "I dunno!" A nearby nurse nearly shrieked. "He came in and said help, and he fell!" Sakura nodded. She flipped him over and looked at the wounded shoulder. She could tell he'd had many injuries, and probably for a while, but that this one was having problems healing. She looked up at his face and had to catch herself from throwing up. She backed away and shook her head. "Put him in a room, stitch his shoulder and bandage the wounds. I'll go tell the Hokage. We'll need guards..." With this she ran from the hospital trying to hide the sudden anger, fear and sadness that she knew her plaster smile couldn't hide.
"Tsunade-sama?" She looked up at Sakura and noted the look on her face. "What's happened?"
"I think it's Orochimaru. He walked in and collapsed." Tsunade looked at her and stood, her hands never leaving her desk. "Is it Orochimaru or Sasuke?" Sakura looked up, her eyes now threatening to spill over, and she held back her blinking. "It's Sasuke's body..." Tsunade sat down and put her hand over her head. "We've found him... It's not Orochimaru. A few of the ninja reported to me yesterday that Orochimaru was killed by Sasuke. They were in the middle of a battle and afterwards couldn't find him." Sakura stood, her heart threatened to push it's way out of her chest. "What?! Why didn't you tell me?!!?" Tsunade stood. "And tell you what? That we can't find Sasuke?" Sakura gritted her teeth. "Gomen, I must return to work." Sakura ran to the end of the hall to the window and sighed. 'Time for a short cut.'
She sat and bandaged the last of the wounds, excusing the med-nin who was there. She looked over the stitching on his shoulder, noting the infection. She looked him over and found him to be fine, except for dehydration and sheer exhaustion. "Sasuke? Sasuke, can you hear me?" She looked at his face, her heart pounding again. She wanted so badly to reach out to him... and smack the shit out of him.
She pulled a blanket over him and sat in the chair, trying to catch her breath. He lay on his back, his breathing soft and careful. She looked at his face. Would she be able to be around him? She'd loved him her whole life, but now that he was here all she wanted to do was run...
She hadn't even noticed when the blanket was rapped around her. She woke the next day to find Naruto sitting on the other side of the bed, his eyes locked with hers. "You didn't call." Sakura sniffed, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "Sorry, dear." She nearly snorted, sitting forward. "I'm serious." He spoke and Sakura noticed the delicate sound of his voice. "It's Sasuke. You should have called me." Sakura turned her eyes to him. "I wanted him alone. Even if he doesn't know I'm here, I needed to know he was." Naruto nodded and walked over to her, putting his arm around her. "I'm pretty sure he knows." Sakura smiled at him. "Why's that?" Naruto looked down at her, sighing. "He told me you'd been there pretty much since they brought you in here." Sakura looked at him. "He told? He was awake?" Naruto nodded. "He woke up pretty early. I caught him trying to sit up." Sakura winced, a little angered at herself for sleeping through it. "I've been waiting for him to come back for so long! He finally does and I can't even welcome him back." Naruto patted her back. "He called for a doctor, complaining of a stinging in his shoulder. When the Med-nin told him you were the best one in Konoha he insisted on dealing with the pain. I think she scared him away from ever coming back to this hospital..." Sakura grinned and swatted at him. "You're so mean!" She grinned and Naruto smiled back, his expression ecstatic. "This is the first time I've seen you smile in a long time..." Sakura looked over at him, realizing she didn't remember the last time her smile wasn't faked. She looked down at the sleeping angel, her grin softening and she leaned down, kissing his forehead. "Welcome home, Sasuke."
"Nononononononononononono..." Tsunade looked over the letter and sighed. "Hey, I need someone to get me someone..." She thought about the last conversation she'd had. Sakura probably could use some time off. "Bring me Sakura! She now has a mission!" She heard someone in the hall yell. "Hai, Hokage-sama!" and nodded.
It was only about ten minutes later that Sakura was in the office. "I heard I have a mission? I have to refuse! I can't go anywhere now, with Sasuke and all, He might need me there..."
"Shut-up and listen. The mission will last a little over a month, it's in village, and it's paid. For the next three days it's just planning, and after that it's going to be a diplomatic situation. We'll have a very important visitor arrive and I'll need you to make sure he's taken care of." Sakura looked ahead and nodded absently. "In village, paid?" The woman before her nodded, picking up a stack of papers and handed them over along with a scroll. "Here you go, your expenses are to be placed in the pink envelope, receipts in green. You may go." Sakura nodded before walking out and she looked into her hand opening the scroll.
"Hokage,
I understand your situation here, and though I could be a considerate ally I've decided to opt for a little more amusement. I'll be coming in person to see how the city has come along since my last visit. It should be about three days, the twenty first that I'll come in. I'll have my personal guard, as I will not be taking this as a business trip, but a personal one. I would appreciate any accommodations for myself, as well as for the guard I'll have. Till then, keep on your toes.
Kazekage"
Sakura read the scroll and sighed. Accommodations for the Kazekage? This would be interesting. What if he's a fifty year old pervert who wants to have HER as his amusement? The thought of some old letch grabbing at her was nauseating. She turned, thinking about turning this one down, when she thought over Sasuke laying in the hospital room. "I have resolve..." She seemed to berate herself as she walked out, earning glances from the office staff.
She looked at a calendar near the entryway. She had till the twenty first. Today was the ... Twentieth. She had till tomorrow. "Damned waiting till last minute..." She grumbled as she walked out.
She went down to the inn to find out that there was a gathering of people from the Suna already there. She thought about this and realized about the anniversary. The inn was completely out of rooms. She looked around for apartments for the month, only to find that they were all taken as well. Konoha was now officially standing room only! Why me?" Sakura grumbled again as she walked back to the Hokage's tower.
"But there are no rooms available in town! None! Nada! What am I supposed to do now, invite him to stay at my place? With his companions none the less! I can't fit ten people in my place!"
"You won't have to!" Tsunade spoke up and Sakura looked at her, the voice within her sighing. "He only has a two guard detail. It's three." Sakura nearly bit her lip, the voice in her head running through every curse ever made, and probably a few above that. "I'm going to have the Kazekage stay at my place? Do you remember the size there? I have a four room place! My room, my kitchen, my bathroom and my workout room!" Tsunade shook her head. "Not my problem right now. Iruka's in trouble again. Says the kid's as bad as Naruto was. He wasn't really..." Sakura nodded gravely. "Watch the hokage mountain for paint. If you'll excuse me, I have a few bedrooms to make..."
It was about three that evening when she finished the rooms. She was fortunate to be able to put the tatami mats in her room and moved out her cloths. She could stay in the workout room for the month. Two birds with one stone...
She wondered if maybe one would be female, she could keep her in the room as well, as to not crowd the Kazekage. She looked around and sighed. Her home was small, not very greatly decorated and to keep her curious she could have sworn there was a vanilla smell coming from the air vents. At least she had A/C, but he was from Suna. He's used to the heat. She sighed. Now what did she need to do? She looked in her fridge. Shopping...
She was going to cook for the Kazekage. What did people from there eat? She sighed.
"They eat food, just like us." Tsunade was getting annoyed by the constant bothers, but she knew that Sakura was taking her job seriously. She would know the Kazekage was being taken care of.
Sakura went to the marketplace, buying random things. Anything that looked delicious, or at least edible, was purchased and put into the expense report.
"Sakura!" She turned to see Naruto behind her. "What? I'm trying to get food..." She looked slightly neurotic and Naruto held back his grin. "Guess Who's here?" Sakura looked up at him and he pointed to the gate to see the white robe of the Kazekage with the blue lettering. He was followed by two others, also in white robes. "He's early?" She gritted her teeth and ran over.
"Kazekage-sama! Welcome to Konoha!" She bowed and waited for a response, and heard one with foot falls. She looked up to see the three walking away.
The journey had been harder than they'd expected, but they walked through the gate, feeling relieved at finally being out of the open expanses. They walked through the door and were instantly confronted.
"Kazekage-sama! Welcome to Konoha!" She bowed to him and he looked over to the one on his left to see him shrug. They looked over at the Hokage's manor and walked over, leaving the girl there. 'She's familiar..."
"Sakura Haruno." The one on his left spoke and he nodded. "I remember her." They finished the walk in peace, arriving at the tower about five minutes later.
The people in the tower seemed to be going slightly insane at the knowledge that they'd been caught off guard. "Kazekage-sama! The Hokage is waiting for you! Please follow me!"
Sakura threw the food in the freezer and ran right back out of the door. She was at the tower in Tsunade's window about seven minutes after, seeing the Kazekage inside. His hat was low, hiding his face from view. Sakura knocked at the window and Tsunade looked over and waved her in. She climbed through and bowed. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I was negligent..."
"Sakura Haruno." The Kazekage stood and Sakura stood, her eyes looking over to him. "Gaara?" She stared as he took down the hat. "You've gotten taller." He looked her over, his eyes narrowed. Sakura was on the verge of terror as he looked at her and began to feel her skin crawl. The guards looked over at her and she knew this was going to be a lot harder than she thought.
"Temari, Kankoro." She nodded politely. They nodded in return and they all looked to the Hokage. "Sakura will be your guide. She's the one responsible for your accommodations. Anything you need, let her know." Gaara nodded and placed the hat back on his head. "Thank you for your graciousness." His voice was little more than a whisper and he turned to her. Sakura hid her sigh as she replaced her plaster smile. "Follow me." She walked ahead, the Kazekage and his guards in tow.