Sakura knocked on Tsunade's office door, trying to convey her false sense of confidence through it.

"Come in."

She quickly let herself in and came to a stop a few feet before the desk. "Hokage-sama, I have a favor to ask you." Immediately, she cringed at her own wording. A favor, really?

"What is it?" Tsunade hadn't even looked up from her paperwork.

The words rushed out at once, heedless of the careful recitation she had practiced on the way in. "Please make me your apprentice!"

The Hokage paused and then put down her brush, staring intently at Sakura. She forced herself to meet the woman's formidable gaze, not backing down. This was important, the most important thing she had ever done in her short life.

"Haruno Sakura. Kakashi tells me you have intelligence and courage." Sakura didn't blink, though she was thrown by the words. Since when has Kakashi-sensei noticed any of those things about me? "Very well. In return, know that I will be strict."

Sakura felt a swell of relief and panic and exhilaration all at once, but stood straight at attention. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Don't be so formal. We will start now." Tsunade motioned her to the piles of scrolls, books and paper on her desk. "How much do you know about Iwagakure?"

She was startled at the abrupt change in subject, which had absolutely nothing to do with medicine. "Uh, as much as the next Konoha kunoichi does, I guess."

"Good enough." Tsunade pushed the scroll she had been working on toward her. "Finish drafting that letter to the Tsuchikage, fill it with ceremonial nonsense." Sakura was frozen for a moment before Tsunade shoved a brush into her hand with a raised eyebrow. "If you are my apprentice, you are my apprentice in all things. As I am currently the Hokage, you'll be forced to learn and work alongside me."

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou." Guess I should keep up my training with Shino-kun, just in case. I won't get any better at taijutsu doing paperwork.

Sakura stumbled out of the Hokage tower hours later, exhausted and slightly bewildered. She had marched in there filled with determination, but braced for rejection. She had not been expecting mountains of political maneuvering nor being given a sealed scroll that contained more medical journals than she knew existed as "background reading".

She wondered if Shino was doing anything for dinner. She was starving and her parents were away on a mission again, so she knew no one was cooking tonight. Lost in thought, she nearly ran down Hinata, who was walking the opposite direction with Kiba and Akamaru.

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry!" She grasped the girl by her upper arms to steady her. "I wasn't paying attention."

"It's o-okay, Sakura. No harm done." Hinata smiled at her hesitantly.

"Hey, since I ran into you guys, nearly literally, do you know where Shino-kun is?" Their eyes widened at her request, though Hinata was less obvious about it.

Kiba scratched the side of his face thoughtfully. "What do you want with Shino?"

"I was wondering if he wanted to get dinner with me, like we usually do." Sakura was pondering the pros and cons of barbecue versus sushi when she realized that they still hadn't answered her.

Kiba was fairly gaping at her in surprise, an unattractive habit he shared with Naruto. I would have felt right at home on Team 8. Hinata was, to Sakura's amazement, giggling lightly behind one hand.

The boy had recovered from his apparent shock and asked wonderingly, "You and Shino have dinner together?"

Sakura shrugged. "Or lunch, depending on the day. I am usually too tired after sparring with him to cook, so it's easier to go out."

"You spar with Shino?" Now he was clutching Akamaru's fur and Hinata was full-blown laughing at him, still trying to hide it behind her hands.

"Yes? He's been a big help with my taijutsu, which frankly, was terrible."

"It still is."

She spun around. "Shino-kun! That's not nice. Just yesterday you told me I was better than before."

She could see the smallest smile pull at the corners of his mouth. "Since your "before" was awful, that is not actually a compliment." Sakura poked him in the arm, annoyed. "But you have improved quite a bit."

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "That's all I was asking. Was it so hard for you to say?"

The smile was still there. "It might have hurt me a little."

"You're a brat."

"What is this, Shino? You've just used more words than I think I've ever heard you say in a whole week!" Kiba was pointing at them dramatically and Akamaru just eyed him mournfully, still unhappy with his fur clutching.

"That is an exaggeration, Kiba. I speak as much as necessary."

"Kiba-kun, calm down. Shino-kun is allowed to have friends, you know." Hinata smiled at Sakura again, this time not as hesitantly. "We were actually going to meet up for dinner with Kurenai-sensei. W-would you like to join us, Sakura?"

She took a step back, feeling awkward and a little sad. Ah, team things. That's not something I get to have anymore. "I wouldn't want to intrude …"

"It's not an intrusion if you're invited, Sakura."

"Well, if you're sure." She gestured with a flourish to hide her own trepidation. "Lead on, oh magnificent team eight."

Kiba snorted at her and walked toward the restaurant district, Hinata followed him with a soft glance toward her. Sakura figured the other girl might have an idea of how she felt; Hinata had always been very tender-hearted for a kunoichi.

She fell into step beside Shino and they walked in comfortable silence together, listening to Kiba chatter to the group at large with Akamaru's barks punctuating his words. They stopped in front of a very cozy-looking café, where Sakura could see Kurenai waiting for them through the friendly picture window in the front.

"Hi kids." Kurenai looked around Shino, where she was trying to hide. "And Sakura-chan?"

She smiled sheepishly at Kurenai, not sitting down. "Hello, Kurenai-sensei. I was looking for Shino-kun and it turns out he already had plans, but Hinata invited me …?"

The woman just gave her a warm smile. "Of course, sit down. The more the merrier."

She slid into the booth next to Shino gingerly. "Thanks. I didn't feel like cooking after the day I've had and eating alone is no fun."

"That would explain your habit of coercing me to Yakiniku so often."

Sakura looked at Shino with betrayal. "Coercing! Shino-kun, I am excellent dinner company."

"Hmm." He didn't say anything more, but she could see he was smiling again. Putting her nose up in the air, she turned her face away to the rest of the group and asked Kurenai about their missions, letting the conversation flow over her as Hinata and Kiba filled in their own opinions on Team 8's last C-Rank, a three day escort to Otafuki Gai.

According to Kiba it was "so boring!" and to Hinata it was "very educational". Sakura could assume that the other girl's impeccable etiquette training was coming into effect and that Kiba's pronouncement was probably closer to the truth.

"And you, Sakura? You said you had quite a day. What happened?" Kurenai asked and Sakura was warmed by her sincerity. It was just so nice to have someone else care about her day. Shino had been a rare exception, though it seemed as if his team was just as welcoming, in their own way.

"Oh! Well, Shino-kun is certainly to blame for this, a tiny bit." He shifted next to her, surprised. She grinned. "Tsuande-shishou has agreed to take me on as her apprentice!"

She accepted their amazed congratulations with happy pride. Shino simply said, "I told you it was worth asking."

Sakura pouted. "You were right as usual, oh great Shino-sama." Hinata and Kiba laughed and Kurenai's eyes were bright with amusement. "But your crystal ball didn't foresee the fact that I would be stuck doing half her paperwork!"

"The Hokage's paperwork, really? She must already have a high opinion of you, Sakura." Hinata's quiet voice was impressively relaxed, for once.

She shrugged, a little embarrassed. "I didn't get to see anything important or classified. I'm going to be taking up a lot of her time until I can be actually useful, so it was probably for the best that I help out." Shino's arm bumped against hers for a moment and she smiled knowingly. He knew how important the idea of usefulness was to her.

They moved on to speak of other things, Kurenai tactfully maneuvering the conversation around the topic of Sakura's team and for that she was grateful. She knew that Hinata harbored an enormous crush on Naruto and was probably interested in news about him and his recovery, but she wasn't quite sure if she could speak of them for long without bursting into tears again. Crying and fighting, my specialties now.

They paid for their meal and went their separate ways, with Sakura thanking Kurenai again for allowing her to join them. The woman hesitated and then drew her in for a quick hug. "I know it's probably hard for you now, Sakura-chan, with … everything that's happened. But you still have friends here."

Sakura gave her a teary smile. "Thanks, Kurenai-sensei. That means a lot." They parted and waved goodbye. Sakura was surprised to see Shino standing silently behind her, waiting. He's always around for my sad sack routines.

"What's wrong, Shino-kun?"

He was shifted from foot to foot, an unusual sign of uncertainty in a boy she had only ever known confidence from. "Are you okay?"

She sighed. "I'll be okay. Eventually." She smiled at him. "Thanks to you, I'm now the Hokage's apprentice. That will help."

"I did nothing but suggest it, Sakura."

"What can I say? You're an inspiration, Shino-kun."

Note: as i was writing this chapter, i realized that every story i have includes the characters sharing meals. apparently to me, being a ninja is just fighting and eating.