Okie dokie, so.. I had a little trouble with this chapter. I had an idea, but had a little trouble executing it. Ultimately, I'm not that happy with it, but I'm calling it done. Don't expect any exciting action scenes from me, as that's not my cup 'o tea. I would prefer to put "blah blah blah, fighting, etc," and leave you all to your own imaginations, but I've given the vaguest of details to accomplish my goal in the scene. And I will strive to improve that area of my writing.

Uhm, I also made some stuff up, but it's fanfiction so just roll with it.

Also! OMG I was so excited at everyone who read my first chapter! I'll hold my shout outs and fangirl squeals till the end.

Enjoy!

Qualities

Chapter 2: Protective Man

It was just what the doctor ordered. A time honored outlet for stress and frustration. A way to release some pent up energy. Perhaps do a little bonding, in Sakura's case, with the opposite sex. Heck, if she was lucky, maybe get a little workout from it.

Much to Sakura's dismay, she was neither panting, nor sweating. She was not even particularly enjoying herself. No, she was just walking.

Still, she couldn't help but be a little excited, it was a mission after all.

Sure, it was a simple escort mission, but there was a moderate chance of bandits attacking. A moderate chance. And hadn't that made Sakura practically giddy in the Hokage's office?

Her smirk quickly faded into a scowl as she thought of how Tsunade had commented on her pale skin. Too many hours in the hospital, she said. It wasn't far from the truth. That hospital, with its white walls bathed in a harsh fluorescent light had truly done terrible things to her complexion.

And Naruto. That stupid, stupid boy had said she was starting to look like Sai. Her fists clenched involuntarily as they longed for violent contact with the blonde idiot.

"Sakura," a voice startled her out of her thoughts, "I'm pleased you're back on the team again."

The pink-haired girl forced a smile as she looked up at her teammate, a head taller than she, "Thanks Sai."

"Yeah Sakura-chan! It's been sooo long since we've been on a mission together," Naruto commented, practically bouncing around them. "And like granny Tsunade says, you could use some sun," he poked her cheek lightly.

Sakura glared at him. She really was trying to work on her temper these days. Yamato had said she was more than a little abrasive. And hadn't she practically blown up at him for that, thus proving his point? No, she wouldn't punch the kyuubi container.

Not yet.

"You're like twins!" he exclaimed, looking from Sakura to Sai, and back again.

She would not punch him. "Shut up Naruto!" the medic grumbled. "Shouldn't you be walking with Isamu-san?" she looked pointedly at the man walking a few meters in front of them. He was clad in heavy robes that were a light blue color. On the back was the symbol for Kusagakure, resembling blades of grass. Yes, they were barely outside the walls of Konoha, there was hardly a threat, but still…

Naruto grumbled as he strode forward to catch up with their dignitary, startling him with the question that had been on his mind since the start of their mission.

"Are there any ramen places in Kusagakure?"

Some things never change.

It was a simple escort mission, yes. Some records keeper had come from Kusagakure to retrieve an important scroll from the Konoha archives. In exchange, they were returning with their own scroll. A trade. Sakura couldn't understand why they couldn't simply deliver the scroll, and instead had to escort some executive who couldn't kick his way out of a haystack. Shizune said it was something about not trusting Konoha-nin, but wasn't this supposed to strengthen their alliance? It hardly mattered to Sakura, a mission is a mission. She could only hope that it would be more than a long, boring walk.

It was only herself, Sai, and Naruto, as Yamato was still recovering from a nasty accident involving Naruto and Lee. She felt bad for her captain, falling prey to the likes of the jinchuuriki's prank, but in reality, it was the only reason she was on this mission. At least the blonde knucklehead had his uses.

Sakura's patience was running thin as they stopped for yet another break. This time, miles from the border of Fire Country. She had forgotten what a pain it was, traveling with civilians. It took twice as long to get anywhere, and you had to stop and 'rest' several times. It was enough to make Sakura feel like she was going to explode. As per usual when they stopped, Sai pulled out his scroll and summoned several mice to scout the area.

Naruto was chatting excitedly with Isamu-san as they sat on a downed tree. Apparently, the older man's grandson had a love of ramen that could rival only Naruto's. They hit it off and had been chatting about flavors and the best places to eat ever since.

Sakura settled on the ground next to Sai, who was waiting to hear from his mice. He turned to regard her with one of his famous smiles, "Are you tired?"

She scoffed, "No, why would I be? We're only walking."

"You have not been keeping up with your fitness. You are becoming slow."

"I… I am not!" she spluttered, "I can still kick your-" she stopped. Sai had shot up from the ground and was staring out into the woods.

"Be on your guard," he ordered, nodding in the direction of Naruto.

Sakura stood up quickly, excitement bubbling in her chest, "What is it?"

Without answering, Sai took a step forward. Sakura rocked back into a fighting stance, hoping for some action. Just then, the ink user's mice returned and scurried back into his scroll. He turned around to face her, wooden smile adorning his face, "Just a wild animal."

Sakura huffed loudly, which was, considering her disappointment, the most professionalism she could muster at the time. She smoothed her clothing out before glancing up with a fake smile on her face. Maybe she had been spending too much time with the artist-nin. He returned her smile with his own, before they both looked at Naruto who shifted uncomfortably under their creepy stares. They really did look like twins now, he thought, pale and smiling.

"I'm quite rested now," Isamu-san spoke, breaking the awkward silence between the team.

Naruto clapped his hands together excitedly, jumping on the change of subject, and moments later they were traveling through the forest again.

Shortly after crossing over the Fire Country border, it happened. Sakura was trudging along rather dejectedly. Tired, but unwilling to let it show. Disappointed, and more than willing to show it. She was certain this was to be no more than a long, tedious walk. They were nearly to Kusagakure now, and they hadn't so much as received a dirty look from anyone they passed.

Fortunately - or perhaps unfortunately - their bandits were not very skilled. No, they were no more skilled than genin. But they were hefty, and there were plenty of them. Nine to be exact.

Of course, the ninja had sensed them long before their attack. Even Sakura, who was quietly sulking some distance behind her teammates.

It was the moment she had been waiting for. Combat. She quickly took her spot near Isamu-san as Sai and Naruto took guard around them.

The attack was straightforward, if not mediocre. The bandits simply charged at them, four from the front, four from the back; The other one quietly waiting in the shadows. Sai quickly engaged three of them. There was no need for justu, no need for anything flashy. They were simple bandits. Academy dropouts at best, just plain stupid at worst. Probably assuming that three ninja traveling with a civilian must have something valuable.

Of course, Naruto being Naruto, went overboard. It was simply his style. As such, he produced a few shadow clones to help him.

One bandit, perhaps the bravest, maybe the strongest, decided to try his luck with the kunoichi guarding "the prize." He ran towards Sakura, launching misguided shuriken in front of him as he came. Sakura smirked devilishly. It was her moment. She charged her fist with chakra, much more than she needed.

WHAM!

Sai landed a well aimed kick to the brigand's ribs, breaking at least two and knocking him out of Sakura's range. He flashed her a fake smile before spinning around to take out another offender.

She growled in frustration and resisted the urge to break the ground open with her fist. There was one left. One left, and he was coming at her. She took off toward him, fist still charged with chakra. She was really going to enjoy this.

THUD!

The man dropped to the ground to reveal a still smiling Sai standing behind him. He had delivered a devastating blow to the man's back.

"What the hell Sai!" Sakura screamed, venting her frustration right then and there. She hadn't gotten a single hit in, and all the guys were currently down. "That was my guy," she pointed at the man currently laying face down in the dirt. "And that was my guy!" she pointed to other man, who most definitely had broken ribs.

The artist-nin cocked his head, smile fading from his face, but did not speak.

"You did that on purpose!" she was still screaming, "You knew I was about to take them down!"

"I was protecting you," he said simply, smile returning.

"I don't need protecting," she spat out.

Naruto hedged closer, daring to rest a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay Sakura-chan, you can kick one of em."

The pink haired kunoichi huffed, she was not going to kick any of these men while they were down. She just didn't have it in her to harm them if they weren't threatening her. And none of them looked very threatening now. Naruto had put them in a nice little pile while she was ranting. "Let's just go," she said, clearly crestfallen. They were nearing their destination now, if they hurried, they could be there in half a day.

Sakura fell to the back again, feeling quite embarrassed about her outburst now. What must Isamu-san think of her, complaining that she didn't get to kick anyone's head in?

"You know, where I'm from, men protect the ones they love."

Sakura looked up to see Isamu-san walking beside her. "I… I'm sorry about my outburst Isamu-san. It was very unprofessional. I hope you don't think badly of me."

He smiled softly, and she noticed, perhaps for the first time, that he wasn't all that bad. He was an older man, probably in his fifties. He sported a long grey ponytail on the back of his head. His face was weathered, and reflected years of expression. Probably frowning over documents, she thought, noting the wrinkles in his forehead. "It's quite alright," he finally responded, "I can see that you're quite fiery." He chuckled, "You remind me of my daughter."

She smiled in reply, before her face fell into a frown, "And Sai, he's… he's not like that."

She expected Isamu-san to be confused, but he wasn't. He was more confident than ever, "He cares for you. I can see it in the way he looks at you."

Sakura's lips twitched slightly. Sai never looked at anyone anyway. He simply looked. His eyes held no expression. No care, no confusion, no anything. Either the old man was seeing something no one else had, or he was seeing something that wasn't there. In any case, she decided not to argue. "Maybe," she said noncommittally.

Isamu-san simply smiled and they completed their journey in silence.

The trip back was much more enjoyable. And faster. Isamu-san had insisted they stay and have ramen with him and his grandson before returning home. Naruto was, of course, thrilled, and had (upon Sakura's warning glare) only eaten seven bowls.

Sakura still had not spoken to Sai, and he had said little to her. Naruto was attempting not to crack under the tension, and suggested they take a break. They were, after all, already halfway home.

The medic-nin had jumped on the chance. She was tired, but she would neverever admit it. Certainly not in front of Sai.

No sooner had they stopped, than Sakura stalked over to Sai, and without warning, punched him. Very hard.

Naruto winced, he certainly knew what that felt like. If he had a ryo for every time he had been on the receiving end of Sakura's punches he could buy a lot of ramen. Well, at least they were addressing the problem.

Sai groaned and fell to his knees, clutching his arm. He was pretty sure she had just snapped his humerus in two. "Why the hell are you so intent on protecting me all of a sudden?" It wasn't as if he hadn't protected her before. Sai had always had Sakura's back, as any good teammate would. He had, in fact, saved her butt on more than one occasion. It was just that he had never been so… proactive. And here she was, back in the field. Did he think she was helpless? Weak?

"You need protecting," he said simply, his voice not betraying the pain he should've been in.

"I do not!"

He nodded, clearly in disagreement with her, "You are a girl." He seemed to think this was a good enough reason.

She charged her fist up with chakra again. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto stepped between the two, against his better judgement. "I'm sure what Sai means is… he was just trying to help."

Sai nodded again, and Naruto grinned, trying to ease the discomfort. Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to dispel the anger she still felt toward her pale teammate.

"Move Naruto," she commanded, shoving him aside. She knelt down and proceeded to heal the artist's arm. She was still angry, yes, but she was first and foremost a medic. And besides, if she needed to punch him again later, she wanted a fresh arm.

"I thought women liked being protected?" It was more of a question than anything.

The medic-nin sighed, "Is that what this is about?"

Sai simply smiled, perhaps she would be nicer to him now.

"Why don't you go protect Ino."

Sai frowned, "Ino does not need protecting."

Sakura's grip on Sai's arm tightened as she ground her teeth together slowly, attempting to contain her anger, lest she have to start her healing job all over.

The ink user simply smiled. He wanted to tell her that he did not want to protect Ino, he wanted to protect her. But he also wanted to protect his arm, so he decided against speaking for the rest of the journey home.

I was completely thrilled and tickled pink at everyone who reviewed, alerted, etc. I thank each and every one of you and appreciate it more than you could know. I now fully understand the impact of a review, even if it's short and sweet, it's a great thing.

Thanks to my reviewers:

LunarLemur

Serenity-Touched

Random Blathering

pure epicness1

Kunoichi Uchiha Sakura

…and anyone else I might've missed between then and now.

You're all awesome!

…Next Chapter…

Sai tries to be sexy! And Neji makes an appearance?

Next one should be out soon, it's mostly finished! YAY!