Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Glaring at the sun streaming though her windows she contemplated coming to work late, but she brushed the thought away as she ripped the covers off to wake herself up. Getting her things together she looked at the clock seeing she had about…four hours till she officially had to be at work. Taking a washcloth, change of clothes and bathroom essentials she was ready in fifteen minutes before she walked out the door.
Not many people were on the street at this time, most people were still asleep happily in their beds as she walked in a calm pace to the hospital waving every now and then at familiar faces. Her white coat flapped in the wind, she wore her usual yellow t-shirt and blue skirt coupled with her favorite long shinobi boots with just the hint of a heel at the back. Looking up at the hospital which she darn near runs on her own(though she neglects that thought)she walked forward unlocking it and turning on the lights in the building as she checked her schedule factoring in an appointment for her lunch hour, the family was going out of town tomorrow it wasn't right that it was scheduled then simply because no one wanted to take it today.
Looking at the operation she noticed it would only take her thirty minutes with clean up included. That would still be enough time for her to eat she thought. She prepped the rooms for the procedures that were going to happen first, there were probably going to be a lot nursing hangovers, it was Saturday and a particularly busy day for the hospital. After she prepped all the rooms she still had about one hour left and decided to take a quick nap.
She ate a bowl of miso soup for lunch with a cup of coffee to keep her going. She saved three lives that day and lost one, and dammit if she didn't find the cure to that disease by next week she wasn't Sakura Haruno. After she put all the info about the patient into her top stack of paperwork she took home the stack and finished it all before it was even ten o'clock. At eleven she packed for her mission and was ready before twenty minutes had passed. At eleven thirty she took a shower and ate the other portion of soup she had left. And at twelve AM she went to bed, mentally preparing herself for the next day.
When Sauske told her she wouldn't like Itachi's team she hadn't thought it would be for this reason. Of all the people to be there it would be him, she had kicked him out of the hospital once, he was a notorious flirt and had caused quite a bit of the nurses to call in "sick" the next morning. Though they hadn't dared use a telephone knowing she'd be able to shoot down any idea that they were sick within minutes, the smart ones they were had sent messenger ninja. So when he saw her he grinned brightly as she frowned in greeting, "Shisui-san." She may not approve of his habits but she'd stay polite. The other member of the team, blinked at her demeanor before turning in the direction of the doors to the outside of the village.
She knew where Sauske got his silent personality from though she had a feeling compared to Itachi, Sauske would seem talkative. As another figure walked up in the distance behind them she turned around and blinked twice not sure she believed what she saw and then smiled widely, "Shino!" waving her hand though he could see them she gestured for him to talk to her. "I never knew you were in anbu, or that you were a part of the number one team of it congratulations!" She was sure he blushed with pride, "I am not outstanding as much as my other team members so I do not get as much recognition." She shook her head, "You're still on the team, I'm sure if they could have found anyone better they would have. Don't down yourself so much." She hated it when people didn't see their own worth, when people were called weak. So whenever she'd see a chance to fix it she would, after all that was one way to pay back the favor.
When he found it quiet Itachi spoke, "We will be moving in formation B of standard shinobi guidelines, move out." Oh? She thought, so he was testing her knowledge. Apparently they didn't know she was always seen in the Hokage tower for a reason, she read everything they had to offer. Sliding in behind Itachi and Shino she noticed him turn his head minutely in her direction as she kept pace with them easily. She wasn't a part of the legendary team seven for nothing.
They traveled for about half the day before setting up camp. The lead Uchiha merely nodded at his cousin before the latter spoke, "Alright, who wants first watch?" Raising her hand she spoke, "I can do it for the whole night." However before she could elaborate Itachi spoke, "We will need all of our team members ready for the morning, depriving yourself of sleep is not to be done." She interjected with a hand up, "I have a technique which allows all of us to sleep. It will immediately tell us when anything is within fifty feet that has the chakra amount above about a civilian's level."
As Itachi's eyebrow rose in question Shisui spoke for him, "But what if their chakra is cloaked?" She shook her head, "It checks their full capacity, and whether it is hidden does not stop this." Shino nodded understandingly as he spoke, "And if any of us need an extra incentive to wake up my bugs will always be ready." Itachi chose to speak as he nodded his head lightly, "Have you tested this Haruno-san?" She nodded, "I have been doing this technique for about a year now, and it has not failed me." He nodded in a way that said silently 'do so, then.'
And she had to keep a smile to herself as she realized that she had just proved the Uchiha Itachi wrong, even if it was over a trivial matter. Before setting up the barrier she touched all of their foreheads with a dose of chakra explaining that, "So the technique will wake you up." When she came to Shino he merely nodded, Shisui sent her a sugar sweet grin and Itachi merely closed his eyes in the brief moment their skin touched. She noting that he did not like it when people were in close contact with him by the way his forehead slightly creased.
As she went to the four corners the barrier was to be placed she thought about their assignment, all she knew was that they were saving some poor soul from a hideout and that they may have extensive damage. They had not given her all the details because simply, "It is not necessary." The Uchiha had told her right before Shisui could spill his guts. She hoped it was just an informant and not some body she knew, not that she wished them harm she just didn't do well under those conditions.
She went back to her tent as the barrier was finished noting Shisui was a heavy sleeper by the pattern of his breathing and to add an extra dose to his wake-up call if they needed it. Laying down she thought over comments people had said about the Uchiha just a couple of tents down from her. Mostly it was men who had said the rude sounding, "Huh that Itachi Uchiha isn't that great, the only reason he's so far up the ladder is cause of his precious clan."
She passed them off as words of jealousy, however there was the occasional, "One time I was assigned on to his team and we ran for three days straight, such a power head!" And the, " I tried to tell him that there was a high amount of chakra in this area and he completely ignored me, and then he wonders why we got into a fight in the middle of the mission with the same chakra I reported." And the thing was there were so many who said things like that all the time so she had started to believe them, if only a little bit. However she'd wait and let actions determine his personality. After all it wasn't really her business.
She woke up to the sound of something scrunching against her sleeping bag, moving her head to see what it was before panicking and throwing it off her she almost cooed at the sight. A baby squirrel it seemed had found a perfectly comfortable place on her stomach as it chewed on its acorn innocently. She always did have a soft spot for cute things; however her med-nin eye took in the slight red wetness on its coat of fur and leaned slowly towards as not to show harm. It blinked at her twice before resuming its meal, such a fearless animal she thought. She cupped her hands as she slowly picked him up as she sent a dose of chakra into its system to check its vitals.
It had cut itself on a branch it seemed, and the wound was infected. However she had taken a class on how to deal with animals in these cases and had the wound disinfected and closed up before it could finish its acorn. The small squirrel looked up at the human in confusion as it moved its body with renewed vigor to test it out. She smiled adoringly at it before a voice alerted her that she was not alone, "Haruno-san we will be moving out shortly." The squirrel noticing the other person licked her hand before scurrying away as she watched it a bit before saying "Hai, Uchiha-Taicho."
Getting out of the tent she dragged her fingers through her hair in a comb like fashion before going back into her tent to wash the necessaries and putting her jounin vest back on. After she had everything packed up she turned to the Uchiha, "Will we be returning here?" The questioned shook his head in a no before she released her jutsu with a, "Kai."
Shisui noticing this to be a good time spoke, "What about that dose of chakra you placed on us, does that disperse too?" She shook her head, "No, that'll stay with you and alert you as long as you are within one hundred feet of this jutsu." The previous nodded as he thought about what she said, "So basically I'll always have a piece of you with me?" He waggled his eyebrows in a joking manner as she chuckled lightly, "Yes Shisui-san if you'd like to think about it that way." The captain of the group waited a second longer before moving forward, them taking that as a cue to follow. If she was someone else, namely Naruto, the silence on his behalf may have annoyed her but she just saw it as another part to his personality.
When they arrived right outside a shady looking building she knew the true part of the mission was about to start. Momentarily preparing herself for the unexpected and overwhelming she thought back to her most devastating battle as adrenaline began to pump through her veins. The captain spoke seeing his team on edge, "This is where they are keeping our target, and we will travel in formation U until we encounter enemy shinobi, from then on we will split into groups of two. Shino will be with me, and Shisui you will be with Haruno. Shisui, you are to escort her to the target and make sure she heals them to where they can move on their own. After that we will meet where ever it is we branched off, understood?" She responded with, "Hai" as she noted the only time he really spoke was when he gave orders.
She walked right behind Shino as Shisui guarded her back with Itachi leading the front as she felt multiple chakra sources come this way, before she could speak Shino did, " Four, maybe five coming this way one of them are either attempting to cloak theirs or it is low." She prepared herself as they turned the next hallway. Itachi spoke in a hushed tone, "Shisui, Haruno as soon as we see their faces you leave." She nodded quickly as they got closer. Noticing the distinct mark of rouge rain-nin on their forehead protectors she dashed off, Shisui in tow as she momentarily slowed down to allow him to lead her to the target.
She felt Shino's chakra spike as she saw him commence his "Bug Tornado." Jutsu out the corner of her eye, consuming his enemies immediately as more filed out the hallway. She turned her head back towards Shisui as she noticed a rogue-nin attempt to sneak in on his blind spot before being glared at with the Sharingan and immediately put into a sleep he would not wake out of. Forming hand seals she paralyzed the shinobi tailing them in what he had believed was a silent walk before coming upon what looked like a dead end. However the chakra signature behind it said different. Shisui grinned at her saying, "Mind breaking it down?" She nodded applying just right amount of chakra before she attacked the wall it turning to literal dust. Whistling Shisui remarked, "I heard them say to rubble, but dust is new." as he broke the chains on a familiar head of hair.
She looked at the familiar bowl cut hairstyle and almost faltered completely before immediately healing every problem she noticed. As she woke him up from the forced unconsciousness she noticed his eyes looked a bit duller than usual a telling sign of genjutsu, Lee's biggest weaknesses. He woke up his eyes alighting with fire as he moved to an upright position so quickly he almost knocked her off her feet. She couldn't help but smile as he ran off on one of his monologues on youth and spirit and etc. "Oh! The fact that Tsunade-sama has sent the talented ANBU team one shows how much she cares, and to bring the powerful Sakura-san shows how much she valued this mission to be done correctly. I must not be left behind; I will assist with the power of my youth!" Then he ran off, joining the battle far ahead.
She merely smiled in a slight disapproving slight admiring light; he had more energy than Naruto sometimes. Shisui had merely gained an; I'm too old for this look with an old smile on his face. She laughed before hitting him across the shoulder, "You're not too old to go chasing all my nurses away from their duties. Come on, let's go can't let Lee take all the fun." He grinned back at her as they rushed into the direction where the sound of clashing weapons and at a lower tone buzzing could be heard. She stepped in noticing Shisui go off to help Shino with his opponent while Itachi skittered around attacking enemies with intent to kill or disable them with barely a break in between. She noticed one escape him and fly out the crowd of bustling ninja to attempt to perform a summoning jutsu before she promptly stomped on his spinal cord.
However it seemed to be enough to gather a group of about ten shinobi's attention who gathered another ten as the twenty shinobi attempted to run out of the hallway. She looked back towards her team noticing they were busy with the thirty to forty shinobi over there as she made her decision. Rushing over to the opening she gathered a continuous flow of chakra to her hands as she released her forehead seal. Oh yes, she hadn't had a good workout in a while, this would do just fine.
She helped them out, saved their lives for Kami's sake and this is what she gets? "Haruno, you were out of line. You completely disobeyed orders and after healing Lee you risked passing out in the middle of battle. I did not give you permission to attack those Nin, for that offense I sentence you to a week of suspension with group working exercises so you understand the value of teamwork." She was doing her best really, they would have been blindsided with all of those Nin coming at once but nooo Uchiha wanted it his way. A nagging voice tickled at the back of her head screaming at her to tell him just who he was talking to. But she pushed it down; she didn't need two weeks of suspension. However she would say this, "If I hadn't taken down those Nin you would have been overcome with the numbers, I was trying to do my part so this team would not fail. I am used to battle in those numbers so I used that as an advantage." He merely narrowed his eyes at her before turning around and stating, "My decision is final."
She steamed quietly as they traveled back, apparently he didn't mind talking when he was giving lectures. Lee noticing her anger used his speed to catch up with her, "At least it is only a week," he offered with a weak grin. She merely frowned at him before saying, "Thanks Lee but I think I'll be talking to Tsunade-sama about this." Perhaps having the Hokage as a sensei would come in handy this time.
They walked through the gates her immediately noticing an Anbu waiting for them at the gates. As they came a couple of steps closer she noticed his head turn towards Lee and she presumed they would need to question him. "Rock Lee you will follow me to the interrogation department by request of the Hokage." The spoken to merely nodded as he followed the Anbu, but not before thanking her and the rest. She supposed one of them would have to turn in the mission report, she hoped it wasn't her. "Haruno, since you have to report to Tsunade-sama about your actions you will also turn in the mission report." She resisted the snarl bubbling in her throat, though she supposed her expression did all the same as Shisui had started snickering behind his hand.
She walked to her sensei's door with a frown etched nicely onto her features before opening the door. Tsunade looking up from her paperwork chuckled at her student before a slightly worried expression showed, "Tell me you didn't curse him out," she said as her fingers rubbed her temples lightly. She almost teased her mentor but her anger won out, "He's an arrogant thankless rude dictator." Tsunade sighed as she gestured towards the seat in front of her. "I saved his life! His Shino's and Shisui's but nooo he wanted to be ambushed by twenty shinobi when he was already fighting a good forty! He should be thanking me up, down, and sideways." Such was said while she gestured in those directions. Tsunade shook her head, "You've been hanging around Naruto too much. But before you point out all his faults tell me what you did and what he did."
"Well, Uchiha had said meet him where we started and after I did this other shinobi popped out the crowd and attempted to do a summoning so I stepped on his spinal cord," Tsunade briefly smirked at that before she continued. "Then these ten came out this room and another ten followed them. So I turned around and they looked busy with the forty over there so I released my seal and kicked their asses, none escaped," She had a smug look on her face at that moment before finishing. "So after that I went to where they were and did a wide ranged paralyzing jutsu to put out the rest. When we got out the building and a good distance away he decided to lecture me."
Tsunade put her hand to her chin before speaking, "And let me guess in that lecture was a punishment for your insubordination." Sakura nodded at her mentor before explaining it, "A week of suspension with group working activities." Tsunade thought about it before sighing, "I can't do anything since he's a captain however I can question him about why he did it." Sakura frowned, "From what I heard he was just a slave worker, we barely even ran much." Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "You were on Kakashi's team, and other people call him worse than the Uchiha so I suspected it wouldn't be much for you." Sakura nodded before saying, "So right after I get back on the mission log I have a week of suspension? Great." Tsunade merely waved her off, "You don't have a shift to do at the hospital today so you can go home, though you won't" Sakura smiled, "More time spent there means more money." She winked at her sensei as she left the room, though they both knew the previous was not the reason.
AN: ...I blame the EOCT's...sorry I took so long I know I hate it when authors take forever to update makes the story less interesting to me. But leave any comments you have, I'm not too happy about this chapter I feel like it finished ...ugly. But eh, it's something lol. Honestly I'm as excited about this story as you all probably are so I basically do edit/work on these every day the only thing is I've been busy pretty often recently. But let me stop complaining, hope you enjoyed the story so far catch you later. ^^ Thanks for reading!