Author's Note: Enjoy chapter two – I'm sorry for the delay. I'm working two jobs (60 hours a week combined) over the summer, so I've been piecing this together in my spare time, which is rare, but I've got it done! Also, instead of all TV shows, the theme will be Game of Thrones quotes because that's what I've found. And that show/those books is/are awesome!

Hummingbird

Chapter 2: If I Look Back

"If I look back, I am lost." – Daenerys Targaryan, A Game of Thrones

The smallest beads of sweat began to trickle down her forehead. Her hand came up to wipe it away unconsciously, and Sakura took in a long-suffering breath. The southernmost tip of Tea Country had been refreshing due to its location near the ocean and had a lovely beach that she spent plenty of time relaxing on, but now, back in the thick of summer forests in Konoha, Sakura was dying.

Okay, not literally dying, but the humidity was dense and the sun poked through the forest trees enough to hit her face and blind her while she and her squad of genin were walking back towards the village. The air was still as death, offering no breeze for relief.

Her chakra was low from a fight with bandits that occurred just when the group had passed the border from Tea back into Fire, and it made her feel even more lethargic. There had been an increased amount of bandit activity down south, and Sakura figured Tsunade was sending more shinobi on missions to Tea as of late to tamp some of it down. However, it must be getting worse if Tsunade figured it was safe to send them down there without backup.

A group of genin and their jounin instructor should have been a relatively easy target for the group of six men. But little did they know that the jounin sensei was the Godaime's irritable apprentice (who was hot, hungry, and dehydrated), and while her genin were still inexperienced, they were able to hold their own against two of the rogues, while Sakura dealt with the four strongest. Her little group of students had worked together flawlessly; their instructor was a proud momma bear and had promised them ice cream when they returned to the village as reward for a job well done.

They were close now, less than a kilometer out, and her sluggish little genin seemed to realize this – there was a new bounce to their steps as the promise of ice cream came ever closer.

"Let's race back to the gates! First one there gets a double serving!" Ryouichi cried out. Well, she wasn't sure when she agreed to do that, Sakura thought to herself blandly, but she couldn't deny the certain adorableness her green recruits had when they got excited for something as simple as ice cream. They were ninja now, and that brought a tremendous responsibility to them, but they were still only twelve and thirteen years old. Excitement over ice cream reminded her of that.

"Am I allowed to participate in this competition?" Sakura asked with a smile. It was surprisingly Katsurou who made a face of distaste at the thought.

"No way, sensei," he replied. "You're way too fast. None of us would win."

Sakura tilted her head to the side and lifted her finger to point further down the path, where there was a disappearing purple head running around the bend ahead, getting farther and farther away.

"I suppose that's fair. But you two better catch up to Chouko if you want to win."

"Hey!" both boys cried in unison, taking off in a rush after their female counterpart. Letting out a small chuckle, she picked up the pace as well. As tired as she was, she couldn't deny the pull of her favorite ice cream stand in the shopping district of downtown Konoha.

She was just making her way around the aforementioned bend when she heard the distinctive sound of two bodies colliding and a curse escape from her female genin's mouth. Worried that the two boys had caught up to her and were planning on punishing her for her head start, Sakura pushed some chakra into her feet and leapt the rest of the way to her team in several large jumps.

It wasn't the boys who had collided with her, though; it was a bedraggled looking Squad Seven that were at the center of the commotion. Sakura had to tamp down the instant feeling of irritation that welled within her whenever she saw her former squad. It was like an irritating itch within her stomach that just couldn't be scratched, all while her heart sank to her toes. Instead of letting her emotions get the better of her, just like Sai said she did, Sakura decided that this would be an excellent test for her.

To her amusement, it seemed that Sasuke had taken the brunt of the hit from her genin. Chouko must have collided right into him, but since she was so small, it hadn't seemed to affect him in any way. Judging by their position on the ground, Katsurou and Ryouichi had tripped over Chouko's prone body just after she had fallen to the ground.

It had been a long time since she had seen the members of Team Seven all together like this. Most of the time, their interactions were limited to fleeting glances or awkward "Hellos" in the Hokage Tower and hospital. Between training with her genin, working at the hospital, trying to keep a social life with Ino and Tenten, and training with Sai, Sakura rarely had time to think about her dissolved former team. And now she could add ANBU training to that list as well.

Both Sasuke and Naruto were taller now. Naruto was broad, thick in muscle, built for force and destruction. Even Sasuke was more built that either his older brother or Kakashi, but his body was still more naturally built for speed. It was late in the day, and stubble was forming under both of their noses and jaws in patches. They weren't full men yet, so their facial hair was uneven, which is probably why they both kept it shaved. Other than their matured faces and bodies, they both looked the same. Sasuke was gorgeous as always, and Naruto had sparkling ocean blue eyes with a hint of innocence and mischief.

Sasuke was staring down at her pint-sized hellions with a surly expression, and Sakura was sure he was about to scold her genin.

Psh. Like she's let him do that – they were little monsters, but they were her little monsters, and she wasn't going to put up with her former crush and teammate bully her students.

"Chouko, apologize," she commanded in a stern but forgiving tone as she walked up at a steady, unrushed pace, even though she was itching to throw all of her genin over her shoulders and rush out of there, away from the slap of her past all standing on a bend in the forest.

Squaring her shoulders and throwing her head back, Sakura made eye contact with the team she had been forced out of three years prior. Kakashi's arm was in a sling, Sai had a bandage wrapped around his pale waist that would usually show his bare stomach, and even Naruto and Sasuke looked more haggard than usual.

"And get off the ground, you three."

Her team scrambled up, almost knocking each other over in the process, and made their way back to their sensei. Sakura didn't fail to notice that they stood behind her, using her as a shield to block them from the infamous Team Seven and a rather dangerous looking Sasuke Uchiha, who was brooding and glowering at her team. Sakura kept her focus on her intimidated genin for a few moments before looking at Sai, who was giving her a very fake, strained smile – something was wrong.

The focus of her old team seemed to be solely on her, which was unnerving. Kakashi was staring at her with his normal eye crinkled, kind and thoughtful, and Naruto was somewhere between excited and nervous. Sasuke was glaring at her. Shocker.

It was rather nerve-wracking and infuriating all at once.

"I'm sorry for running into you, Uchiha-san," Chouko said quietly, taking a step towards Sakura when the Uchiha's eyes focused on the little girl. But those obsidian eyes slid back to the sensei of the squad quickly, and Sakura could feel the scalding hot retort that was about to blow from his mouth in response to Chouko's apology.

"You're hurt," she observed, interrupting Sasuke by turning her eyes away from him and dragging them to Sai and then Kakashi.

Sai smiled at her.

"We were attacked by Sound when coming in from the border between here and River," he explained. Sakura frowned. The activity of what Tsunade called the fringe villages had been steadily increasing since Sakura's first run in with them two years prior. And they were getting closer and closer to their village. On top of that, Sakura was beginning to think the current crops of bandits that were attacking small villages had something to do with this as well, either directly or indirectly.

Sakura turned to her team of genin.

"I'm going to talk with them for a little bit. You three head to the ice cream stand, and I'll meet you there," Sakura ordered. All three of them looked ready to protest, but Sakura cut it off. "If you three beat me there, you all get double servings."

They were gone in a flash.

"Control your genin," Sasuke hissed at her the moment her team was out of sight. Sakura just leveled him with a dead stare, pushing past him to get to Kakashi, who, judging from his slung shoulder and the bandage over his eye, was in the worst shape.

"We're less than a kilometer from the village," Kakashi reasoned when Sakura came up to look at his shoulder. "I can get treated there. I can feel your chakra is low."

Sakura just shot him a withering stare. She would not leave a fellow shinobi in need unless absolutely necessary. That and, "I know you won't go to the hospital. Naruto heals by himself. Sasuke has his mother to fuss over him, and Sai wouldn't dare not going to the hospital or he would face retribution from me and Ino."

Kakashi let out a little chuckled and even Naruto laughed at Sakura throwing Sai under the bus. Sakrua forced Kakashi to sit down on a nearby tree stump and pulled his arm out of the sling. As she began to prod it, he let out a pained sigh.

Tch. Baby.

"It's dislocated and the muscles around it are torn, meaning they can't hold the joint in place," Sakura explained evenly. "I don't have enough chakra to soothe this, so it's going to hurt."

Kakashi braced himself as Sakura took a place half behind him where she could get leverage. "On the count of three. One…" Crack. Her former sensei let out a cry of shocked pain just as she forced the joint back into its socket and immediately flooded it with soothing chakra, which worked to heal the muscle around it.

"Geez," Kakashi sighed. "You said three."

"It hurts less if you don't know it's about to happen," Sakura replied evenly. She healed his shoulder enough so that if he didn't go to the hospital, which she knew he wouldn't, he would be able to rest for a few days and be back in tip-top shape. Fitting his lame shoulder back into his makeshift sling, Sakura adjusted it so it would be more functional. "Rest it for three days. No missions, no training."

Before he could argue, she stepped away before pulling out a card from her medic pouch and tucked it into the pocket on his vest.

"Set up an appointment with me for your eyes," she said. Glancing back at Sai, she shot him a warning look, "Go to the hospital. I will be by after ice cream to check on you."

Not bothering to give Sasuke a passing glance, her eyes finally landed on Naruto. It was him she was avoiding looking at the most. They had been friends, closer even, like family. But the small crack that had formed between them three years ago was a canyon now – the rift had been detonated into an insurmountable abyss. Worse than the anger she felt towards Sasuke or the resentment she held to Kakashi, Naruto had been her greatest disappointment.

And he knew it.

Giving her a wan smile, Naruto stepped forward to say something, but Sakura took a step back unconsciously, pushing herself away from him without really meaning too.

"I have to go meet my genin and then report to Tsunade. Something bigger is brewing," she said quickly, avoiding eye contact with anyone besides Sai. Then, using the last of her chakra, she disappeared in a puff of pink smoke.

Naruto's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

X

Ino barged through the door with little preamble. There he was – half slumped on the hospital bed with a nurse cleaning out an old, crusty looking would that wrapped from his naval up to the back of his ribcage. The blonde medic took a deep breath, and with an authoritative flick of her wrist, dismissed the nurse.

"What did you do this time?" she sighed, almost tiredly. It had been a long day, beginning with a few hours in the flower shop, a shift at the hospital, lunch with Shikamaru, and Chouji, and then appointments with clients in the afternoon. Then she was about to leave for the day for some much deserved R&R, when the receptionist of her office building rang and told her that Sai was in the hospital with a relatively serious wound.

"You look…" Sai trailed off, and Ino could practically hear him counting to five in his head, "Tired."

It was a coping mechanism they were using to keep him from saying anything rude or inappropriate. In the five seconds before he said something, he would think to himself: "Would Ino or Sakura punch me if I said this?" If the answer was yes, then he had to think of a more tactful way of speaking his opinion before offering it.

His success made a small smile appear on her lips before she stepped forward and pulled up his arm so she could get better access to his wound.

"I am tired," she conceded. "How did you get hurt?"

"A Sound shinobi who was very adept at using a curved sword," Sai explained. "It bent in a way I wasn't prepared for."

Ino grimaced as she finished applying the sterilizing alcohol to his stomach and ribs. Focusing on the wound so she wouldn't become distracted by his half naked body, Ino closed her eyes and ran her glowing hand over the wound on the first pass. Unlike Sakura, who only had to pass over a wound once to completely heal it, Ino had to do it in layers. In fact, most medical ninja had to do it in layers. First, the arteries, veins, ligaments, and blood vessels, then the muscle tissue, and finally, Ino knit together the skin.

However, her closed eyes heighted her other senses, and his masculine scent began to pervade her nose. He smelled like the forest and like the oils that were in his ink. Sometimes, after he had been painting for a long time, she swore she could smell the canvas on him. Then there was the other, indefinable scent – his scent. It was fresh, like rainwater, something pure and untouched. Ino's was dizzy, her breath becoming shallow as she finished up, inspecting her work.

"Are you…smelling me?" Sai suddenly said. His chest rose up and down under her hands as he breathed out his question. Instead of being fake, or mocking, there was a certain breathiness to his voice that she had never heard before. "They say that pheromones are what attracts us to other human beings."

Pulling back, Ino scowled at him as her blush roe from the back of her neck all the way to the roots of her hair.

"No!" she denied vehemently before going to swat him in the head, but he blocked the shot and stood up. Now they were close, almost toe-to-toe, but Ino couldn't convince herself to take a step back. "I was breathing deeply because I'm tired."

"You should not work so hard," he countered easily. Somehow, it seemed that he got even closer, if that were possible.

"Don't worry about me," she retorted, but her voice was lower. His black, inky eyes were concentrating hard on her, making her feel self-conscious about every move she made. "It's you that's concerning, you know! You keep ending up in the hospital."

"I am concerned about you, regardless of how much I'm in the hospital," he retorted quickly, which unnerved Ino. If he replied quickly, it meant that he wasn't thinking, just responding with what he felt. "You are my…friend."

There was a pause before friend, a meaningful one, she was sure.

The air had shifted between them. Something was different this time, as her breath came out in shallow pants rather than her normal even breathing. This wasn't like the other times that they had flirted, whether he knew it was flirting or not. No, there was nothing innocent about the way he was looking at her, with a questioning gleam in his eye. And the way she had been thinking about him the past few months was far from innocent.

Somehow, they were even closer than before. Sai wasn't much taller than Shikamaru, so her nose was right at his chin when she looked up at him. He seemed to be leaning down to, towards her, because their noses were mere centimeters apart.

"Friend?" she repeated quietly. As she breathed this word, she felt pressure just above her hip. She didn't need to look to know it was his hand – large like a man's but delicate like an artist's – resting lightly on the dip in her figure.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Three inopportune raps at the door had Ino pulling back and Sai sitting back down on the hospital exam table faster than Kakashi could disappear when he was in trouble with the Hokage. Ino turned to go to the door to cover Sai's half naked frame, and Sai just sat there with his hazy eyes following her, filled with confusion and maybe a little bit of arousal.

Ino, figuring it was a nurse, cracked the door and popped her head out, ready to berate whoever interrupted a procedure. The words died on her lips when a shadow overtook her, and her mouth hung rather loose on its hinges. No, it wasn't a stout nurse standing at the door, but a placid looking Uchiha Itachi watching her with intensity under his charcoal lashes.

"Yamanaka-san," he greeted quietly.

Ino finally managed to pull her mouth up and gave him a confused look. Trying not sound irritated, she asked "Uchiha-san, nice to see you. What can I help you with? I'm in the middle of a healing procedure."

Itachi nodded his head at her, and replied, "I apologize for my interruption. I am looking for Haruno Sakura, and the receptionist mentioned she may be in this room because Sai-san was being healed."

Cocking her head to the side, Ino considered this information, but to her surprise, it was Sai who spoke up.

"Sakura is at the Akimichi ice cream stand with her genin at the north end of the shopping district," he told the oldest Uchiha brother. "She just returned from a mission with her genin team."

Itachi blinked a few times, gazing between Sai and Ino was a distinctly uncomfortable intensity. What was only a few seconds felt like several minutes of scrutiny, and Ino took a step back unconsciously from the Uchiha. Finally, Itachi nodded his head and thanked them for the information, and closed with apologizing again for interrupting them. Then, like he had never been there, Uchiha Itachi vanished like a wraith.

Ino took a step back and closed the door, her head feeling light and confused all at once. When she finally turned around and saw Sai sitting there with her thoughtful look on his face. There was a rather poignant silence between them for a few moments when Sai finally stood up and pulled his shirt on even though his bare, recently healed torso was still bare. In a few strides, he was in front of her again.

Ino's breath caught a little, waiting to see what he would do; however, she was sorely disappointed when all he did was slip past her to the door.

"Go home and get some rest," he told her before shutting it behind him. With a deep sigh, Ino fell against the door and put her hands on her head.

What a weird freaking day.

X

Sakura arrived at the ice cream stand just moments before her genin came running around the corner. Smiling at them mischievously, despite her inner turmoil from her run-in with Team Seven, Sakura gave a little victory sign.

"Not fair, sensei!" Ryouichi complained. Chouko and Katsurou voiced their own discontent with affirmative cries. Sakura let out a generous laugh, genuinely amused with their antics. She found a sense of pride with her genin, and an inner peace with them – like being their sensei was the right thing to do.

So even though she technically won the race, she bought them all double scoops of the ice cream of their choice – they had earned it. The four of them sat at a small park just next to the downtown area, enjoying the spray of a nearby fountain in a lake and munching on the best homemade ice cream that Konoha had to offer. Her genin performed their usual antics – Ryouichi and Katsurou fought constantly, bickering and begging Chouko for help. Said purple-haired genin pointedly ignored them, focusing on the sun on her face and the large clouds in the sky as well.

Laying back on elbows after she finished her ice cream cone, Sakura bathed in the warmth of the hot sun and reveled in the wind spraying the water lightly onto her face. Then, suddenly, the bickering of her genin faded out, and before Sakura could peak her eye open to see what had caused the uncharacteristic silence, a shadow fell over her.

Her eyes opened quickly to see the dark heir to the Uchiha clan standing over her head, looking down at her from behind the high collar of his black, short sleeved shirt. Pulling herself up into a sitting position, she wiped her back to rid it of any stray particles of plant life, and finally lifted herself to her feet. Her genin were gazing at Itachi with reserved wariness – smart kids. Before she addressed her new senpai, she turned to her genin.

"Alright you three, social hour is over. I will see you in two days at daybreak for training," she commanded in a tone that broached no room for argument. Not they needed any convincing; the last thing they needed was a reason to escape the shadow of the intimidating Uchiha.

"Bye sensei!"

"See you later."

"Have a good day, sensei…Itachi-sama."

With her three genin out of the picture, Sakura turned to Itachi and offered him a small smile. From the limited amount of times that she had been alone with Itachi, Sakura figured out a few things about him:

He wasn't unkind, just silent unless absolutely necessary. Most of his affirmative or negative answers were with shakes of his head.

Going off of this, Itachi was completely socially awkward, mostly due to his quiet, reserved nature. Sakura wasn't aware of his past, but he knew that his father was incredibly authoritarian and had essentially forced Itachi into ANBU before most of his classmates had taken their first chuunin exams.

He was arrogant to an extent, but not any less or more than other Uchihas that she had worked with. He has good reasons to have confidence in his skills, as he was one of the most well-known shinobi in the five nations.

All of this knowledge made her a little curious about the enigmatic Uchiha. She had never heard of him being unkind to anyone, and many shinobi who had worked under him on missions have spoken incredibly well of him. But contrary to this, he was incredibly introverted and could kill most shinobi with the flick of a finger. It was all very contradictory but very intriguing all at once.

Her internal musings were cut short when he brought attention to the large manila envelope in his hand, holding it out to her. Sakura took the heavy pieces of paper from his hand and undid the seal, pulling it out to examine them.

"Forms?" she thought out loud. Itachi nodded.

"They are very detailed forms – you may find them a little…intrusive. I will not see them. It is imperative that you answer them honestly. You will also have to undergo a physical and have a senior member of the medical staff approve it – besides yourself," he told her evenly. Sakura nodded and murmured assent.

"I have spoken with Tsunade-sama about your shifts at the hospital and your schedule with your genin team," Itachi continued. Sakura seemed to bristle at his meddling. "You will be able to keep both; however, your training with me will need time."

Sakura huffed but nodded. "I had planned for that. I'll be working in the research lab at work instead of the floor unless there's an emergency incoming. It will allow for steadier hours – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every other day, three days a week."

"Very good. Plan on having your genin in the mornings on those days and one of your days off," he told her seriously. "I will require the full other three days and the evenings on the days you work at the hospital."

Sakura took a deep breath. That was a lot of training – leaving very little time for anything else in her life. It would be busy…but she could do it.

Squaring her shoulders and setting her jaw, Sakura nodded at Itachi.

"When do we start?"

"Tomorrow morning at dawn – ANBU training ground 45."

Author's note: please review! Tell me what you think about:

- What Itachi's first day of training will include.

- The scene between Ino and Sai.

- So now you know what happened between Team Seven and Sakura, but the big question is how and why. Thoughts?

Leave them reviews :)