Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. This is purely a fanfiction. Only my second so reviews would be appreciated.


Cherry Blossoms

2

The small shop that outfitted shinobi specialized in ANBU uniforms. Properly made clothing as important for shinobi. The shop was tiny and in an older building. Sakura was taken inside and an older woman came out with a measuring tape.

"You're late," she snapped at Sakura.

"Must be my influence," Kakashi spoke from a chair in the main lobby. "Sorry ma'am."

The woman mumbled something under her breath before taking Sakura back to take measurements.

"How did you know to expect me?" Sakura wondered out loud.

"Tsunade told me to expect a pink haired girl for an ANBU fitting at noon," she began to measure Sakura's height.

Sakura smiled, "She knew I'd accept."

the woman grumbled something and took her measurements in silence. The clock on the wall read 12:16. They had been late by nearly fifteen minutes.

The wall on the far side of the room had many ANBU masks. Sakura admired them, wondering which was for her as the measurements were being taken.

"Done," the older woman coughed lightly into her sleeve. "It should take only a day at most to make."

"What about a mask?" Sakura looked hopeful.

"Not today," she answered quickly. "Tomorrow when you pick up your order, you will be given a mask that suits you."

Sakura nodded. It made perfect sense.

Later...

Sakura sat down next to her blonde teammate.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura said cheerfully.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" he said happily. "Do you know what this little get together is about?"

"I have an idea," her smile full of secrets.

"Tell me!" he demanded.

"Quiet Naruto!" Sasuke's smooth and irritated voice shut Naruto up. Sasuke stood taller than the two who were seated. His dark eyes looked beyond them as he said a quieter hello to someone else.

"Glad you could all make it," Kakashi waved a hello. "Although I don't see Sai in attendance."

"Is he really part of Team Kakashi?" Naruto narrowed his eyes and complained.

"That's only part of what I wanted to talk about," Kakashi sat down. "We should wait for him to arrive."

"If your here Kakashi then he must not be coming," Sasuke remarked.

Kakashi looked offended, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Kakashi your never on time," Sakura chimed in.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "You're always last, so he must be busy."

"Well," Kakashi tried to change the subject. "Aside from that we've all got news to share. Except Naruto."

"Hey!"

"Sakura and Sasuke have both been accepted into the ANBU," Kakashi smiled.

"What about me?" Naruto squawked in the back ground as Sakura and Sasuke congratulated each other.

"Naruto is becoming a jounin finally," Sasuke spoke up in Naruto's defense for once. It was hard to believe that Sasuke was back in the village but there he was. He grew up into someone who was finally able to mostly get along with others.

Sasuke would have others believe it's because he's rebuilding the Uchiha clan. He wouldn't want to disgrace a newly founded clan. Although his clan still consists of only him. Finding the truth about his brother he decided to honor him and rebuild the family all over again. He lived in the Uchiha complex, in his old home. Lonely as it may seem to others Sasuke rarely stayed there.

"Took him long enough," Sakura laughed. Her pink hair bobbed from side to side as she laughed. "Naruto was a genin longer than any of us."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto made a face. "I was to busy training with Jiraya-sama to take the chunin exams."

"Sure, sure," she rolled her eyes.

"Sakura-chan," he repeated.

Everyone became silent for a moment as they ordered their ramen. A steaming bowl of ramen was placed in front of each of them, along with a cup of hot tea. Naruto handed out chopsticks and they broke them at the same time.

The three stopped before taking their first bite. They remembered the old times when they tried to see Kakashi's face. The curiosity biting away at them. Sakura was seated next to him.

"Kakashi," she smiled sweetly. "Why don't you take the first bite?"

"That reminds me," he began. They all made a face. "We'll be an ANBU team."

How does ramen remind you of this, they all thought.

"Wait a minute," Naruto looked at Kakashi. "What about me? I'm not going to be in the ANBU."

"Glad you asked Naruto," they could see the smile even under the mask. "You'll be working hard to earn your position on the ANBU. However Sai will be our teammate in your stead."

"What?!"

"Sai?" Sasuke asked. He had never been properly introduced.

"He was your replacement for awhile," Sakura let slip.

"My replacement?" the look he had on his face. It was like she slapped him. "He couldn't replace me."

"No way man," Naruto agreed. Sakura and Kakashi exchanged a smile. "That kid is so not cool enough. And he doesn't say nice things at all!"

Sakura sighed in agreement, "Sadly it's true."

The ramen was still plenty hot, Naruto burned his tongue so bad from the broth that he could barely taste the rest of his ramen. He slurped and burped and the other three gave each other embarrassed looks. Exchanging a single though with a look, how did this kid become a ninja?

The night sky was dark and cloudy. The air was chilly. Everyone pulled on a coat or the sleeves of their sweaters as they walked home. Sakura walked with Sasuke for a ways. Both were silent. The Uchiha complex was far from the normal ramen shop they attended. Sakura's apartment was only about a mile away from this.

They were crossing the bridge and a gust of wind blew the leaves on the tree wild. The near by tree was a cherry blossom tree. The wind carried the petals over the water and into Sakura's face.

She blinked as the petals hit her lightly in the face and some fell in her hair.

Sasuke turned around to see her wiping them away. He walked up and picked a petal she missed from her hair.

"How fitting," the corners of his mouth slide up slightly. "They go with your pink hair."

Sakura stood there, she was slightly blushing. Did he just smile at me... and compliment me? She watched his receding figure as he entered his abandoned appearing home. She knew she had to walk, for the night only seemed to grow darker.

Her thoughts remained with him though. This can't be happening now. Not after I got over him. She felt like punching something. Instead she decided to jog home. The running would clear her mind.

Wind whipping through her hair she ran home to her empty apartment. Finally she collapsed onto her bed and got a good night's sleep that she had been missing for awhile. She didn't even crawl under the blankets. She hit the alarm clock and collapsed from exhaustion onto her bed.

The last thing she saw was the very old picture of team seven. Sasuke looking moody, Naruto looked happy, Sakura was overjoyed and Kakashi was hanging back. We've all grown up, she thought.