"Go away."
"But Forehead…"
"Not. In. The. Mood. Ino-pig."
"… Can you at least open the door?"
The glaringly loud silence shouted the answer loud and clear to the blonde. Ino Yamanaka, daughter of a flower shop keeper and a well renowned Yamanaka bloodline, had faced off many things and came out winning and looking fabulous. But this was not something she could face off with and come out satisfied.
She stared hard at the apartment door of her friend and rival. She had yelled, pleaded, commanded, cajoled and even come terrifyingly close to begging but to no avail. Sakura wouldn't budge half an inch.
Ino turned to the young lady next to her, "She's still alive right?"
Hinata Hyuuga blushed deeply for reasons unknown to Ino after activating her bloodline limit, as Naruto was nowhere in sight. Hopefully it wasn't becoming a habit. Blushing for no reason at all is just too confusing. Even as a diversionary tactic. "Hai, demo, I don't think we should trouble Haruno san any further… She needs her rest."
"Pfft. Just when did Forehead girl become 'Haruno san' anyways? You Hyuuga's are way too polite in my opinion. Need her rest. Like a monster strong girl like her needs rest."
Ino had already turned around to head down the stairwell so she missed the worried look Hinata sent at Sakura's door. The young Hyuuga heiress hurried after the exuberant blonde when the blonde threatened to leave her there and send Naruto to fetch her.
In the dark apartment their footsteps down the narrow stairwell faded and the small bundle on the bed remained motionless.
Four weeks. It's been four weeks.
Why are we even counting? Oh I know, you are counting till the time you can jump him again.
I didn't jump him!
Are you sure?
… Did I?
Why the hell are you asking yourself? You don't even know! You're schitzo not psychic.
Ignoring herself she curled up tighter a cold and clammy feeling dragging at her belly. She really couldn't understand what was wrong with her. It was just a one night stand. No strings attached night of drunken passion. It obviously didn't mean anything to that cold hearted idiot, so why does it keep coming back to bother her? It wasn't as if she even remembered anything. Hell, maybe nothing happened and she was just too drunk to go home. Only one doesn't strip naked in someone else's house when drunk unless… Sakura rolled over slightly brushing a single lonely tear away, "Stupid Neji."
"Kakashi sensei?"
"Hn?"
"… Why do I keep getting the feeling that people are watching me?"
Kakashi didn't even pause or look up from his conspicuously bright orange book, "Cause they are."
The back of Sakura's neck tingled and she looked around, and just as she expected no one was looking at her. "But I cannot see who's looking at me."
Kakashi halted in midstride and turned his one visible eye at her. Stepping close he bent down to whisper quietly in her ear. "You cannot see them, because… They are ghosts. Very perverted and nosy ghosts I might add."
With that he stood up and resumed walking leaving a surprised kohai blinking owlishly at his back. Then after a belated second;
"YOU LIAR!"
Unconcerned her sensei carried on walking. It really was too easy to rile up Sakura. For a moment his hidden eyebrows twitched into a frown he quickly smoothed away. Sakura's suspicions aren't unfounded; he had noticed that she in particular was being watched. More over it wasn't just one person.
However the attention was neither malicious nor harmful, he would even go so far to say it was benevolent. Much as how a father would follow his daughter on her first date. Its odd but then in a village full of ninja weirder things have happened.
Kakashi mentally shrugged as Sakura caught up with him, it's not like it's any of his business.
"Kakashi sensei!"
"Feel free to call me Kakashi senpai; I haven't been your sensei for years after all."
"No it feels weird and that wasn't even the point."
"Oh? And what was the point?"
"The point was… Well it doesn't matter what the point was! Don't change the subject so suddenly!"
Kakashi discovered anew the wonders of a mask. It allowed one to keep ones face absolutely straight while teasing ones former student. Today was a very good day.
"What subject?"
Watching the pink head growl at him in frustration Kakashi laughed quietly to himself. Taking a deep breath Sakura bared her teeth at him and trotted ahead of him. Obviously she didn't deem him worthy of her company and was going to walk the rest of the way to the Hokage's tower alone. Glancing at his student's derrière he grinned. He wasn't one to complain after all.
Back to the strange behavior of Sakura's though… Just what happened to her? When even Naruto began noticing something, then one knew something was really wrong. Something was bugging Sakura Haruno. And it's been bugging her for a REAL long time now. It may not be his business. But it won't be the first time he stuck his nose in business that was not his own. He grinned under his mask and followed the stomping figure in front of him at a more sedate pace. It HAS been a while since anything interesting came up after all…
"You're late!"
Sakura didn't quite shout as she held her shishou in awe and reverence and yelling in Gondaime's office came close to defiling her respect for Tsunade. Kakashi took out a round object from his pocket and looked at his pocket watch. "No I'm not."
"You're half an hour late!"
"Oh. But weren't we supposed to meet at 2:00?"
"Yes! It's now 2:30! You were right behind me! Where did you go?"
"Oh that's easy! Several Hyuuga's and I had a nice tea party in the middle of the street."
Shizune took Kakashi's watch in hand and twisted a dial. "Your watch is 30 minute late Hatake san… "
"Oh. Thank you Shizune chan. We should go out for food later."
"Don't fall for it Shizune san, Kakashi sensei will make you pay."
Kakashi sighed dramatically. "Do I really look like that kind of person?" Ignoring her emphatic nodding he continued, soundly contradicting himself, "You really shouldn't give out people's secrets like that. It's not in good form."
"If it saves Shizune from being used by something like you, I'll gladly reveal your
secrets."
Sakura turned to her master smiling happily, "So what have we been called for?"
Kakashi had collapsed on Shizune's shoulder crying fake tears, "I'm a thing? That's the gratitude she shows me for teaching her for so long?"
Shizune patted his back in mock sympathy, "And she said it so bluntly too."
One look from Tsunade had the pair straightened up and at attention. When she was sure she had their attention, the buxom blonde scanned Kakashi and Sakura. "There is a S class mission in mist I would like to send you two on. It's dangerous and after careful consideration I've decided to send you two. You have worked with one another after all, which will make it easier."
Kakashi said dryly, "You chose the two of us by when you were drunk didn't you?"
She refused to answer but her flush was enough of an answer. Suddenly two ANBU popped in through the window. "We object."
Tsunade stared at them. "You are meant to protect me my back. Not object about my practices of sending ninja on missions."
The two ANBU both had the mask of tiger on and they remained where they were crouched on their respective window sills on either side of Tsunade. "We do not object to your practices of sending people on missions although we do find it unorthodox…"
The ANBU on the right of Tsunade finished, "We object to you sending Sakura Haruno in particular."
Sakura mentally stepped back. She hasn't even been in contact with ANBU unless on the odd mission and even then they didn't talk to her unless imperative, more likely to leave her alone to figure out what to do rather than telling her the mission. And now they are objecting to her having a mission? It's not like she hasn't been on S class missions before. Rare as they are. But she can complete one successfully, and plus she had Kakashi sensei with her.
They have no bloody rights to object!
They better have a good reason for this.
I'm going to punch them both into the netherworld.
I agree completely…
Sakura held back from attacking them because it was foolish and because she was still in Tsunade's domain.
"Explain yourself."
There was a silence. "We cannot."
The left nodded in agreement. Tsunade didn't bother looking at them. "Explain yourself."
The left ANBU glanced at the right ANBU before answering, "We cannot-"
"-Unless Sakura Haruno leaves the premises." The right ANBU finished smoothly.
Kakashi glanced at his students' hand which was clenched so hard the knuckles were going white. That couldn't be too good for her condition now could it? But those ANBU are digging their own graves… He wondered briefly about the chaos Sakura would cause if she knew the identity of those two. Grinning he kicked back and relaxed. How long was it now since she started acting weird? He glanced at her flat stomach, a month maybe a month and a half? It made sense in a way but then… He studied the way she was boiling to have that dangerous mission. In a way it doesn't. One question really nagged at him.
Did she even know?
