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Chapter 1 – Awakening

Sakura awoke in the middle of the night. Her eyes hurt and she tried hard to remember the recent events. Through the dusty little window on the far end of the old examination room a bright moon sent her rays and illuminated the old bookcase with the far older dusty scrolls.

'It must be late' Sakura thought.

Looking at her surroundings her view stopped over Naruto who had his eyes shut but a relaxed face. Slowly Sakura drew nearer to her teammate and put a hand on his now cool forehead.

The Kunoichi smiled. 'I knew it was the right jutsu. He seems much better now.'

She tried to send her chakra into him for a check-up but stopped doing so as she realized how much chakra the jutsu really had cost.

Dead tired she could not even make a simple bushin if she had wanted to. At least it was not necessary. They were both safe in Konoha...

'The Sound must not look any better...' she recalled Orochimaru's attack the day before. 'I'll better go and see Tsunade-shishou.' aborting her thoughts that were threating to go to a certain black-haired ex-teammate who was the cause of Narutos injuries once again, she stood up.

Naruto awoke upon feeling the loss of close proximity to his favorite medicnin.

"Sakura-chan…" He tried to lift his hand but Sakura intervened.

"Stay still Naruto. You were severely injured. I'm going to look for Tsunade-shi…"

"Where is Saskuke?" Naruto cut in.

Sakura sighed. "He was taken by Kabuto as you two knocked each other out…"

"Oh…" Naruto looked to the side.

"Well" Sakura broke the uncomfortable silence "I'm just going to find Tsunade-shishou. Just stay where you are, though you probably do not have the strength to move much anyways."

Naruto nodded and Sakura left the dark room.

Alone in the dusty room, his view went over to the window. 'Hm.. I thought it'd be new moon tomorrow.' But soon he dismissed the fact.

Sakura walked slowly the familiar way up to the hokage tower. It was a way she could find blindfolded and walking backwards. The sky was clear and the hidden village lay silent as expected after a big fight. Light illuminated only one window, she knew to be the hokage's office.

'Working late night, Shishou?' the kunoichi pondered.

"Well the paperwork does not do itsself and diplomacy is no subject to be be neglected."

Sakura remembered Godaime's words well. It was not the first time Tsunade was required full time in both, hospital and office. Upon hearing those words Sakura found true respect for her hokage and sensei. Though the women liked to drink a lot and took life seemingly easy, she knew exactly when to be serious and work hard.

Sakura did not think it odd that she met noone on her way to and through the building. After such a fight all ninja would be required to do exhausting rebuilding missions during the day or were sent to protect the gates. And of course not many people would be around anyway, so late at night. The majority required to sleep sometimes after all.

She looked bewildered though, as she saw guards stationed in front of the Hokage's office. Usually Tsunade would have sent them on different and more important missions by now. The woman could perfectly look after herself and made that clear to everyone who dared to deny it.

Without giving them a second glance Sakura proceeded entering the office, but just as she was about to press the handle one of the guards barked at her angrily.

"What do you think you are doing soldier?"

Sakura crooked her head. 'Don't they know me? I've been around here every day for about six years now! ...Well, it's dark and they are probably tired' she excused them in her mind.

"Well, I'm here to see the Hokage on a urgent matter." she stated returning the glare she received.

"The hokage is not to be disturbed" came from the other guard, who had been silent until now.

"State your name and purpose. I've never seen you before." The first one, who had an ugly injury on the left side of his cheek demanded.

Sakura looked sceptically at the two chuunin guards. True she had not seen them around either and she knew most ninja on guard duty. But the rude answer made her angry. Why were they so hostile towards her? She touched her hitaiate.

"As you see I'm a Konoha kunoichi and now I'd like to see my sensei!" she looked at him threatingly.

"What's with all this noise that late at night?" a muffled voice asked through the door.

Sakura took the moment to open the it and began to explain "It's just me, Tsunade-shishou. The guards would not let me through and..." she stared disbelievingly into a rather old man's face. Her voice got stuck in her throat and her eyes widend considerably.

"That kunoichi wanted to enter, Hokage-sama. You left us with instructions that you were not to be disturbed." the more silent guard cut in.

The elderly man looked at the young woman in front of him and made a frowning face upon seeing her hitaiate.

"Who are you, young lady? I've never seen you and be sure, I know every shinobi in the village."

Sakura continued to stare and the guards got into a battle stance.

She couldn't believe her eyes. There he was right in front of her. A man she had not seen in over seven years, last time right before her first chuunin exam. "Hokage-sama... Sandaime-sama... Sarutobi-sama... you, you..." her voice trailed off once again.

The Hokage looked worried.

"So young lady, I'm glad at least you seem to know me. Would you be so kind to tell me your name now, too? You have many things to explain. It's not taken likely to steal an hitaiate, you know?"

The guards began to feel for their kunai, ready to attack anytime.

Sakura did not comprehend any of this. "Stolen... hitaiate?" Sakura's bewilderment changed to anger. That was so NOT funny. After such a battle and an extremely fatiguing healing session she was utterly exhausted. 'Perhaps Orochimaru...' but as soon as it began she dismissed the thought. 'No it ought to be some sick joke of some insane jounin or something like that.'

Being so very tired she considered the option of not being able to feel the genjutsu cast over her. Her hands formed a seal she was very familiar with. After all gejutsu was one of her strengths.

"KAI"

She opend her eyes but nothing had changed. With depleted chakra resources and extremely angry she pushed through the guards. Even without chakra her speed was amazing. She run right back to where she came from without looking behind her.

Sarutobi lifted a hand and immediately a dog masked ANBU appeared in front of him. He ordered the ANBU to go after her and the next moment the soldier had left his place.

To say that Sakura was pissed was an understatement. If she could have managed the road in front of the hokage tower would have been splitt by now. The ninja on repair duty had their lucky day. Everywhere she could see the buildings were in scaffoldings. 'I can't remember that Manda caused so much damage' she wondered. Quickly making her way to the small outbuilding where Naruto rested her anger faded away.The whole situation had been so surreal that she did not want to think about it anymore. "Stupid Jounin" she muttered. She was just too tired and taking care of Naruto now had first priority. She'd tell her sensei in the morning what had happened while she was sleeping. Heads would roll for sure.

Opening the door to the dusty room she saw Naruto sitting at the table his ANBU mask in his hands. His face looked so sad her anger vanished immediately and she walked over to hug him from behind.

Naruto did not move. Some years ago he would have had an heart attack but hugging each other was something quite normal for them, now. When they failed to retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru about three years ago they started to take comfort into each other. He would often hold her when she was crying for her lost love and she would caress his cheeks and hug him when he was sad.

Though all this happened quite often they never became more than friends. Not that he would not have liked it. He still hat the hots for his little 'Sakura-chan' but she never initiated anything and he did not want to push her. They never looked for an other partner though. Kiba had taken some interest in Sakura when they were 17 but she never offered him more than friendship. After a while he gave up, much to Naruto's joy who was tired of having to listen to Kiba's whining and begging for tips. The young ANBU would have liked some tips himself though he had figured her out nearly as good as Ino.

Sakura and Ino had made up and trained together as often as possible. Sakura was Ino's ideal 'practicing dummy' as she did not loose easily to her to her Shintenshin no Jutsu and Ino's agility helped Sakura to become stronger as well. Because of her light frame Ino could avoid Sakuras monstrous powerfilled fists very well.

Naruto would often come by and watch their fights, giving them catcalls and earning both kunoichi's wrath. It was a common sight to see the two friends storming after the 'blond disaster nin'.

He still held up his reputation as a Konoha's most childish ninja, but he had made it to ANBU after all. Being a captain of his own little squad for about four Months now he had learned to be stern and a good leader if required. When he became an ANBU about two years ago he stopped wearing his orange clothing as well. According to him 'it did not fit with his new position anymore', though all members of the rooky nine... well exept for Rock Lee... new that it was thanks to Sakura's influence. She seemed to have taken a liking into the uniform. She liked to trace the tattoo and was often envious that she could not get it too.

Being a medicnin required her full attention next to her normal training. She had once considered it but choose to rescue lives instead of taking them. Her old teammate was very proud of her decision. After their accomplished Jounin exam they both thought long about their future carriers and were both quite happy now. Well as happy as one could be in a village that was assaulted every other month or so.

Naruto looked at Sakura "How much damage?" he asked with an impassive voice. Sakura did not answer for quite a while. "More than I thought" she replied hesitating. Naruto still wanted to become Hokage after all those years and every raid made his heart want to burst into a thousand peaces. Protecting his village was a Hokage's job after all, and even though he helped a lot by holding Sasuke in check this time it had not seemed enough.

"Let me see for myself" Naruto replyed trying to get up. Sakura knew that every attempt to stop him would be useless, so she offerd him her shoulder and guided him outside slowly.

Naruto had recoverd quite well. The outer damage on his body was undetectable now even after such only a short time. Tiredly Sakura stood outside once again. Three of the nearest buildings where shattered as if someone had stomped upon them. Naruto was shocked to see the buildings half burned down. With his enhanced senses he could still small some acid in the air. Probably a justu to fight of the Sound nins.

It was odd though. He could not remember to have smelled it as he fought with Sasuke. True his former rival held most of his attention, but the smell was still awfully strong and his and Sasuke's fight was the last that ended.

While surveying the damage they did not notice the dog masked ANBU watching them silently from a tree behind. He readied two dull kunai in order to knock them out.

In the last moment Naruto could feel some kind of killing attempt behind him and swung around and in front of Sakura. "Come out, we know you are there, Sound-bastard! Amazing you could hide that long!" Naruto shouted the next best explanation in direction of the tree.

The dog masked ANBU looked down at him and jumped down, right into a battle stance.

"Konoha ANBU?" Naruto uttered out aloud staring right at his opponent. He had never seen this guy before and he knew most of the masks that ran around in the headquaters.

The ANBU did not move. To Sakura who was in a battle stance as well, right next to Naruto, it occurred that the ANBU was in shock. She could feel his chakra signals coming in an uneaven pattern. 'I can't have been too tired if I'm able to feel that' she wondered.

Naruto eyed his opponend angrily. Was this guy a traitor or why would he oppose a captain who only stood peacefully in the middle of his very own hometown?

"The guy's terrified" Sakura mentioned not very loudly. Naruto noticed that the kunai in the hand of the other man seemed to shake ever so slightly. Naturo approached him. Did he have a trauma considering the fights only two days ago or what was up with him.

The ANBU stood still... he muttered something. Disbelieve written on his voice.

"Arashi-sensei..."