Author's Note: This chapter isn't very important, but I had to write it in order to start the rest of the story. That said, I hope you will enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think about it.


Chapter Two: Suspicions

Sakura blew the stray strands of hair from her face and quickened her pace. Since her team wasn't scheduled to leave until after noon, she had squeezed in several appointments at the hospital, unable to brush aside her guilt for having to temporarily abandon her medical duties. But she had lost track of time during her final rounds and as a result, was not on time to meet her team. From her position she could already see the four of them gathered by the village's Northern gates and from the looks of it, one of them—mainly Naruto—wasn't happy. She guessed his mood was caused by the mischievously smiling man standing near their former-sensei, senbon stuck lazily out of his mouth, rather than having to wait for her.

"I'm here, I'm here," she announced, slightly out of breath.

"Ah, Sakura." Kakashi looked up from his book and gave her a stern-eyed look. "You're late."

She gaped at him. "Isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black?"

He smiled underneath his mask. "But I always had a good excuse," he declared, ignoring the muttered "liar" from the blonde of their group. "What's yours?"

"I got held up at the hospital. Sorry," she apologized.

Genma smiled slyly at her. "You know if you're going to use that excuse you should've worn a sexy nurse outfit," he teased.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm a doctor," she reminded him wryly. "My uniform makes me look two sizes larger."

Genma shrugged. "I tried." He grinned charmingly at Sakura. "Fulfilling one of my fantasies by wearing the outfit is the least you could have done after breaking my heart and getting hitched to Mr. Glaring-is-the-way-of-the-world over there." He gestured with his head and she turned to smile at her husband, who had been leaning against the wall. Sasuke had of course heard Genma's remarks but aside from narrowing his eyes dangerously, he didn't react. Thank God, Sakura thought as she walked over to him. She was rather used to Genma's outrageous comments, having been his doctor during the times he became a patient at the hospital.

Sasuke's flak jacket was zipped all the way up, the long sleeves of the black shirt he wore rolled up to reveal his muscular forearms. She sighed as she noted how handsome he was and then frowned when she noticed the dark red edge of a scroll peeking from the pouch strapped to his thigh. She knew what this particular scroll summoned. "You're bringing the kusanagi?" she asked. It was the only thing he'd decided to keep from his "stay" in Sound all those years ago. Different from Orochimaru's—for one thing, he didn't keep it inside his body—the blade was slimmer, lighter and longer. It was an effective weapon and in Sasuke's hands, it was all but unstoppable. While the Hokage hadn't been pleased by his refusal to get rid of the grass cutter, she too agreed that it was formidable and had instructed Sasuke to hide it when he wasn't using it—thus the scroll. The only time he was allowed to carry it outside of the scroll was during ANBU missions and it replaced the customary katana all ANBU nins wore strapped to their backs.

"I was given permission." His tone told her to not make a big deal out of it. His wife might want to pretend optimism but he wasn't going to do the same; a gathering of the best shinobi from most of the ninja world was bound to have danger. Who knew what would happenoutside the competition ring? He wasn't going to take any chances. He also knew that both Kakashi and Naruto—and perhaps even Genma—had packed their personal weapons and he had a feeling that despite her show of buoyancy, if he were to search his wife, he would find the pair of lethal knuckle knives she had adopted from Sarutobi Asuma and then modified it to her suit her preferences.

Sakura knew saying anything would be a lost cause and she didn't want to appear a hypocrite considering the weapon she had in her pockets. She retied her hair and adjusted the collar of her Jounin jacket, zipping it close over the black tank top she wore underneath. She smiled at her husband and grabbed the bag he was holding. "Thanks. I can carry it."

For a moment he looked like he was about to protest but he let it go as she slid the straps onto her shoulders. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." They were going to a nearby village where they would spend the night. From there, they would take a train in the morning that would bring them to the heart of Grass Country, Kusagakure. During their debriefing, Naruto had expressed his disbelief—callously so—that the Hokage would spend money for their mode of travel, which resulted in the now-broken window and the loss of furniture at the Hokage's office. It turned out that their travel fare was being sponsored by the Tournament committee and that the reason they had to go the nearby village—when they could have easily made it on-foot to Grass—was because it was one of the checkpoints, their arrival to Kusagakure being the final one.

"Yosh!" Naruto exclaimed as they walked through the open gates. He pumped his fist in the air, his bad mood dispelled. "Let's show those guys that the next Hokage and his sidekicks can kick their asses!"

Four people stopped in their tracks and when he realized he was walking alone, Naruto slowly turned around, a trickle of sweat dripping down the side of his face as he noted the sudden tension in the air. "Eh . . . something I said?"

Sakura glared at him. "Your sidekicks, Naruto?"

Naruto gulped as she slipped her hand into one of her pockets, knowing that her terrifying knuckle knife was in there. "Ahahaha, Sakura-chan," he said nervously, scratching the back of his head. "That came out wrong. Of course you're not my sidekicks."

"Just so we're clear."

"Of course, of course!" Naruto said and breathed a sigh of relief when he took her hand out of the pocket.

Kakashi's voice was laced with amusement as he spoke. "Now that we don't have to worry about Naruto being hospitalized, can we leave? I want to make it to the village by dinner."


"Ano," Naruto interrupted the silence. He was walking next to Sasuke and Sakura with Genma and Kakashi trailing behind them. "Didn't Obaa-san seem a bit too encouraging when she was debriefing us this morning?"

"She was," Sakura agreed dryly. During the meeting, she had half expected the Hokage to start throwing confetti as she urged the team to win the Tournament. "I hate to sound disrespectful, but I think Tsunade-sama must have been to the liquor cabinet early today."

"That and she made a bet with several officials that we were going to win," Sasuke announced.

His wife gave him a surprised look. "How do you know?"

"I was handing in our papers when I overheard Shizune mention it to one of the other assistants."

"That's just great," Naruto groaned. "With the Legendary Sucker's kind of luck, we're doomed. Doomed."

Sakura lightly punched his arm. "You're so dramatic. You should have more faith in your leader."

"I do have faith in her—just not in her gambling skills," the blonde grumbled. "Or her decision making," he added with a nasty glance over his shoulder.

She placed a hand on her hip. "Don't tell me you're still sour about that. Get over it."

"But Sakura-chan!" Naruto protested. "Of everyone she could have chosen, why did she have to choose him? He's a Tokujou—that's not even a real Jounin."

"He's a Special Jounin, Naruto—that's technically a Jounin. He's in no way lesser than us," Sakura said patiently.

"That's what you think," Naruto muttered. "But still, Obaa-san could've picked anyone. She should've picked Neji."

"Not Neji," Sakura declared with a gesture at her husband.

"What about Shikamaru?"

"He's too busy with Special Tactics."

"Lee then."

"Not Lee either. Too much history."

"Damn it, even Kiba would've been okay."

"Not Kiba," Sakura said wryly.

Naruto frowned. "Hell. Then who do we know that's good enough to be in our team who doesn't have a crush on you, who you didn't date and that Sasuke doesn't want to fight with?"

Sakura glared at him. "You make me sound like a loose woman. I only went out with Neji and Kiba and neither relationship was serious. And Leehad a crush on me—Tenten will skewer him alive if he decides otherwise."

"Kuso," Naruto groused. "Minus those three and the people Sasuke doesn't like, we have less than the entire shinobi force—maybe even less." He glared at his best friend. "Why the hell can't you be nicer to people?"

Sasuke had finally lost his patience with the conversation and gave the blonde a dark scowl. "Look," he began, "it sucks that Genma tricked you into kissing a man, but get over it, Naruto. This tournament is important and we can't have dissension among the ranks."

Naruto's face turned red and he jumped back, his finger pointed at Sasuke in a strong reminiscence of their Genin days. "You bastard, I didn't kiss him!"

"Naruto, shut up."

"Don't tell me to shut up."

"Urusei, baka," Sasuke hissed and Naruto paused when he sensed the sudden alertness in his teammates. He held his breath and tilted his head to the side. The sun was shining and as he casually stretched, he noticed the dark shadows between the trees.

"How many?" he asked.

"More than six," Sakura answered quietly, appearing nonchalant as she reached for her kunai.

"Shinobi?"

"Maybe yes, maybe no," Sasuke replied under his breath. "They managed to mask their chakra but they're loud. Coordination is poor."

"Amateurs," Kakashi agreed from behind them. His book was still held in front of his face and he didn't seem at all concerned. "I think one of them dropped something when you guys were talking."

"How long have they been there?" Sakura wanted to know.

"Five minutes, give or take. But I think they're about to move in."

"Good." Anticipation crackled throughout Naruto body. "I was starting to get bored."

"Hey, I want in on the fun," Genma chimed. "You guys should make me feel like one of the team."

"Keh!" Naruto grunted. "Just watch my back, Senbon-boy."

"They're coming," Sakura warned.

True enough, a group of men jumped out of the trees and surrounded them. They were big, hulking man, their faces covered in masks very much alike to the one Kakashi had. They didn't wear any headbands nor any distinguishable symbols, though they each had the profile of an animal on the front of their shirts.

"Missing-nin?" Sakura wondered out loud.

"Doubt it," her husband answered.

One of the men spoke, his voice booming. "We are the Forest Bandits and we're here to make you suffer! Now give us all of your money!"

The silence that suddenly descended the clearing was so acute even the birds weren't chirping. Sakura blinked slowly. "You've got to be kidding me," she said, slapping her forehead.

Naruto and Genma exploded into laughter, the blonde clutching his stomach as his shoulders shook uncontrollably. "Ahahaha—Forest—hahaha—Bandits!" he sputtered. "Dude, did you guys vote on that name?"

Genma's face was red with mirth and Sakura vaguely wondered how the senbon managed to stay in his mouth while he laughed. "That has got to be some of the cheesiest lines I've ever heard. What do you all do to your other victims? Make them laugh to the death?"

The man who had spoken twisted his face in anger. "You won't be laughing once we shove our knives down your throats. And just for insulting us, we'll show you no mercy."

"Yeah," one of his cohorts added, his eyes gleaming. "We'll slice you up real good and feed you to our dogs."

"That's original," Sakura muttered sarcastically.

One particular man broke away from the good and took a step toward her. He had a scar that ran from the middle of his forehead and disappeared into his mask and seemed to protrude as he eyed her lecherously. "You're a pretty little thing ain't ya? Maybe we'll have a go at you before we kill you." His gaze explored her figure, lingering on her breasts and hips. "Or maybe we'll keep you for entertainment, bitch. With that tight body, you gotta be good for something, ain't ya? Ever pleasure a man with that sweet mouth of yours, sweetheart?"

The amusement faded from Naruto's face and he glared at the bandit. "You dumb bastard, I almost, almost feel sorry for you."

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" Scarface asked cockily.

He was screaming even before he finished his question and he looked at the kunai that stuck out from his thigh in disbelief before lifting his pain-filled gaze to his attacker. Fear crossed his face as he stared at the stoic features, the cold onyx orbs. Aside from his now-empty hand, the black-haired man didn't even seem as if he even moved. Kami, what incredible speed!

"That's why, you ugly shit," Naruto answered, yelling to be heard above Scarface's pitiful cries. "You see, that's her husband—" the blonde pointed at Sasuke "—and you just pissed him off."

Blood was bubbling out of Scarface's wounds and his face was quickly turning gray. He attempted to pull out the kunai but Sasuke had hit a specific spot and the agony of removing the weapon was as painful as being stabbed by it.

Scarface's fellow bandits glanced from him to their intended victims. "You'll pay for that," one of them growled.

Naruto pretended to yawn. "So are we gonna do it today or what, boys? 'Cause we're on a pretty tight schedule here."

"There are ten of them. That hardly seems fair, is it?" Sakura murmured.

"You're scared, girl? You should just surrender before you get hurt."

She ignored him and glanced at her teammates. "No hogging," she said sternly. "We get two each. And no killing, either."

"Aww, Sakura-chan, where's the fun in that?" Naruto whined.

"Hey, don't ignore us!"

"They're just common thieves, Naruto. Beat them up, tie them together and we'll bring them to the village with us. Let the authorities there handle them."

"She's right," Genma said. He sighed forlornly. "Much as I hate to agree, we can't kill them."

"But we can hurt them," Sasuke declared menacingly, focused on Scarface, who was still whimpering.

Kakashi massaged his neck and turned a page in his book with the other hand. "I'm getting to the good parts. I think I'll sit this one out."

Naruto grinned. "More to go around for us then." With that, he started to attack.

"Naruto, no hogging!"


"Man, I'm starving!" Genma declared as he sat down at the table. "I need hot food and for dessert, an even hotter woman." He winked at the pink-haired young woman sitting in front of him. "Care to oblige me, Sakura?"

"She's married, asshole," Naruto, sitting beside Sakura, snapped.

"That makes it even more exciting. Forbidden fruit and all that," the Special Jounin said, smiling wickedly.

"Bastard," Naruto hissed.

Sakura rolled her eyes but before she could say anything, Kakashi and Sasuke walked into the restaurant they were in and made their way over to their table. "Well?" she asked them when they were within earshot.

"They're not talking, but that's no surprise. The local authorities are taking care of them, though they're rather surprised," Kakashi said as he sat down. "They haven't heard of this group before today."

Naruto snorted. "What morons. First-time thieves and they decided to pick on a group of shinobi."

"I don't think they knew we were shinobi, Naruto," his female teammate pointed out. "Though our jackets are a dead give-away."

"Like I said—morons."

"They had the bingo book," Sasuke told them. He reached into his pocket and held up a small, black-colored book. "I confiscated it from the leader. We're in it," he added.

Sakura lifted an eyebrow. "We?"

"The entire Team Kakashi." The Uchiha heir's gaze over to the Special Jounin sitting across him "You too."

The orally-fixated man smiled. "That's good to hear."

"I take back what I said. Those Forest Bandits are even stupider than I thought they were," Naruto said in disgust. "They had the bingo book, they had our descriptions and still they took us on? Ahous."

"The descriptions in this book aren't very detailed—at least not ours," Sasuke added, gesturing at himself, Naruto and Sakura. "And I think because of that, they thought they could take us on."

"What idiots!" Naruto exclaimed as he grabbed the book from his best friend. "They put us in the bingo book but they couldn't even take the time to describe us properly?" Insulted, he rifled through the pages. " 'Ability to summon toad?' 'Uses Rasengan jutsu?' 'Blonde hair?' That's all?"

Kakashi chuckled. "It's a low-classed bingo book. You see, the less dangerous the criminal, the less information he has in his bingo book. For that matter, every self-respecting criminal has a bingo book."

"Self-respecting?Self-respecting?" Naruto croaked. "You call those shits self-respecting? They didn't even get my height right! And look, the bounty for Sasuke is higher than mine! I'm gonna kill 'em!" He jumped to his feet.

Sakura grabbed his arm. "You're not going anywhere. We don't have time to play around with common thieves. Sit down now."

Naruto wasn't happy but he did as told, grumbling under his breath and squeezing the book as if he might tear it in two. But his grumpiness quickly disappeared as the waitress set their food on the table, giggling at a remark made by Genma as she returned to the kitchens with the promise of an extra bottle of sake—on the house.

"So," Genma said, clapping his hands and rubbing his palms together. "What are we going to do later?"

Sakura shot him a questioning glance. "What do you mean? We'll get our room keys and turn in for the night."

At that, the Special Jounin looked like a kicked puppy. "What? That's it?" he demanded incredulously. "You've got to be joking. Where are the bar fights? The damsels in distress? The assassins? The drunken orgies? You're Team Seven, for Kami's sake."

"And we have a six-am train to catch," Sakura said sardonically. "Orgies? Just who have you been talking to, Genma?"

"Apparently the wrong people," he replied with a disappointed sigh. "After all the stress of traveling today and those bandits, I was hoping to have some fun."

"We only had to walk for three hours and those bandits were less than a warm-up exercise," Naruto pointed out. "And you can have some fun once we get to Kusagakure."

"Here, here," Sakura agreed. She stifled a yawn as she reached for a glass of water. "With my last-minute work at the hospital and coming here, I'm pretty bushed. All I want to do is find a nice warm bed."

"Speaking of which," Genma said, turning to Kakashi. "How many rooms did you get?"

"Only two," the silver-haired Jounin answered. "We're going to have to share. And since Sasuke and Sakura are married . . ."

Naruto grasped the implication and his eyes widened. "No way. I'm not going to share a room with him!" He pointed at Genma. "He'll probably put something in my bedroll!"

Sakura rubbed her temples. "Naruto . . ." She caught her former instructor's gaze and then glanced at her husband, who stared back at her stonily. She knew he wasn't open to the idea, but she also knew that Naruto was going to put up a big fuss and give her a headache. And despite his affability, she wouldn't put it pass Genma to do something just to get a rise out of her blonde friend.

She sighed. "Sasuke . . ."

If he hadn't thought it beneath him, he would have rolled his eyes. "Fine. Dobe, you can share the room with us."

Naruto calmed down. "Yeah? Cool." Then a strange expression crossed his whisker-marked face and he looked at the couple. "You guys aren't gonna get hot and heavy, are you? Not that I mind, but I don't want the mental image of you naked stuck in my mind, Sasuke. Sakura, on the other hand—"

"Hentai!" And the blonde groaned as he was knocked off of his chair.


Naruto was snoring and Sakura wanted to commit murder. She glared towards his direction at the other end of the room, where a glint of bright yellow hair was discernible in the blackness of the room.

She turned onto her other side, facing her husband. He was sprawled on his back but the rhythm of his breathing told her that he too was still awake. Whether it was from the monstrous sound Naruto was making or from his own inability to find sleep in an unfamiliar place, she didn't know.

"Sasuke?" she whispered.

"Hn?"

"Do you know what's weird?"

"Aside from Naruto snoring and drooling over his pillow at the same time? Though granted I should be used to it by now." He gave a quiet sigh and then glanced at his wife. "What is it?"

"Isn't the Tournament's five-persons-to-a-team rule strange? I mean, a usual team consists of four people—an even number. Five is an odd number and it'll make it less easy to separate the group into two if there's a problem."

"Maybe that's the reason why. Kakashi did say the Tournament stresses on teamwork. Maybe the five-persons ruling is another one of the Tournament Committee's ways of making sure the teams stay together during the obstacle courses."

"Maybe," Sakura murmured. She nudged closer to her husband, stealing some of his body heat. She pressed her face to the side of his arm, sighing sleepily. "Is there something bothering you? You were quieter than usual during dinner."

He didn't answer immediately and just as she began to think that he was going to remain silent, he said, "The thieves we ran into today—the Forest Bandits."

"What about them?"

"I find it odd that no one's heard about them before today, especially with them being so near this village."

"They could be new, remember?"

"Think about it, Sakura. They could have chosen anyone as their first victims, but they chose us."

Sakura lifted her head slightly and tried to peer at husband through the darkness. "You think they purposely targeted us?"

"Maybe. Maybe it was a coincidence." Sasuke ran a hand over her head, pushing back her fair locks. "But they had a bingo book and even though they didn't fight like shinobi, they were able to mask their chakra."

"So maybe they learned how to do it from a shinobi," Sakura speculated. She yawned, her eyes watering. Naruto's snores were fading—fortunately for him since she'd been considering stuffing something in his mouth—and her weariness was quickly overtaking her. She could barely keep up with the conversation as it was.

"Don't think about it too much, Sasuke," she murmured, nuzzling his warm skin. "We already have enough matters on our hands—the Tournament, the possibility of someone causing trouble there, Naruto's refusal to get along with Genma. And you weren't exactly helping when you brought up the part of him kissing a man."

The Uchiha prodigy snorted. "Not that dobe will ever admit to that."

Sakura smiled sleepily. "In his defense, I heard from Kakashi that the guy was pretty damn hot. No wonder Naruto . . . didn't . . ."

Her husband pressed a kiss to her temple. "Go to sleep, Sakura."

"Mmm-hmm. Love you . . . Sasuke . . ."


Sakura rubbed her eyes, blinking rapidly to cast away the sleep from them as she stepped out of the inn behind her husband, Naruto following them at a slower pace. Kakashi and Genma were already standing outside, the latter grinning brightly despite the earliness of the hour.

"Good morning all!" the Special Jounin greeted them. "Ah, Sakura, you're a sight for sore eyes. You look delightfully rumpled—like you just rolled out of bed after a night of hot—"

"Enough," Sasuke warned as he walked past the older man, his hand on the small of Sakura's back forcing her to keep up her pace with him. Naruto, who was too sleepy to shout at Genma, nonetheless flashed him a rude hand gesture before he joined his friends.

Kakashi shook his head and sighed, glancing at one of his long-time friends. "Genma, for the sake of your health, I hope you try to refrain from tweaking my former students' tempers."

Genma chuckled and slapped Kakashi's shoulder. "Now since when did I ever care about my health?"

They reached the train station ten minutes before the train departure. It was a modest machinery, not exclusive by any means, but not shabby either. They found their seating compartment at the back, passing several other passengers and a conductor who looked as if a light wind could tip him over.

Sakura sat between her husband and Naruto—who was now awake enough to give Genma the evil-eye. She ignored them and closed her eyes, deciding to get some of the rest her blonde friend had stolen from her the night before. She was drifting on the edge of unconsciousness, with the words exchanged between Naruto and Genma lulling her to sleep when the train suddenly jerked to a screeching halt. Surprised, she couldn't stop herself from lurching forward.

Gray hair filled her vision as her former teacher deftly caught her. He helped her sit up and briefly patted her head. "Thanks," she mumbled, blushing slightly because of her inattentiveness. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know. The train suddenly stopped." Kakashi headed toward the door. "I'll go check it out."

"I'll come with you," Sasuke offered and the two men left the coach.

Sakura looked out of the small window. "You don't think someone's trying to rob the train, do you?"

"What, like the Train Bandits?" Genma smiled sarcastically. "With the way everything's gone so far, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case."

Kakashi and Sasuke reappeared minutes later, identical frowns on their faces. Naruto stood and put his hands on his hips. "So what's the hold up?"

"Apparently there must have been a landslide last night," Kakashi informed them. "There are several boulders blocking the road and it might be a while before they can get someone to come out of here and move them."

Sakura's eyebrows rose. "Boulders? How big are they?"

Her husband shot her a knowing look. "Big enough." He paused and then added, "Nothing you can't handle."

She grinned and reached for her black gloves. Over the years they had become her trademark and were a warning sign to her enemies, especially since she'd modified them and fitted them with her own version of knuckle knives. The brass knuckles were hidden under thin veils of leather, the retractable knives a surprise for anyone who made the mistake of pissing her off. She had spent hours—along with the help of Sarutobi Asuma and Nara Shikamaru—designing the gloves; it had been rather tricky, especially with the retractable knives. A mistake on that area could cost her a finger or two. The three of them had planned and plotted, but the effort paid off and the result was a perfect pair of her personal weapons.

She put on the soft leather and flexed her fingers. "Lead the way," she said.

Moments later, she was standing before the three boulders that were blocking the rail tracks. About three feet taller than her and five feet wider, they weren't, as Sasuke pointed out, anything she couldn't handle. She glanced at the source of the boulders, a nearby cliff where a deep groove had formed because of the landslide and whistled under her breath. "That's a pretty bad landslide."

"We get landslides a lot over these parts," the train engineer offered helpfully. He stood near the front of the train; he and several other passengers had emerged from the locomotive and were watching the small group curiously. "There's a stream underneath the cliff and a lot of people think it's the reason for the 'slides." A perplexed expression crossed his face. "Excuse me for asking, but what is it that you think you can do?"

"She's going to break 'em," Naruto told him.

One of the passenger snorted, disbelief apparent. "A little thing like you? We should just wait for help to come."

"Weare help," Naruto snapped. "Look, just stand back, okay? You might get hit by a rock. Wouldn't that be a nice sight to see?" he added nastily. Even after all these years he had never lost his natural protectiveness over Sakura, especially when someone insulted her.

Kakashi came to stand next to his female teammate. "Think you can break them?"

"I can, but I'm going to have to put in more force than usual if I want to disintegrate them completely. Breaking them into smaller pieces we have to move by hand would be time consuming." Though she sounded confident, inwardly she tried to calculate the level of her chakra. Yesterday, right before they left Konoha, she had treated a patient suffering from a serious disease. Added to the small scuffle on the way over her and her lack of sleep, she knew she hadn't recovered the amount she would like to.

As if he sensed her thoughts, Kakashi commented, "You were really tired yesterday—you sure you're not pushing yourself?"

Sakura shot her former teacher a look. "Positive. Don't worry so much,sensei," she told him. "You should step back. I wouldn't want you to hurt you."

Kakashi muttered a remark about disrespectful students that made her smile and he went to stand next to the other members of their team. She turned her attention to the boulders and started to gather chakra into her hands. She could feel it coursing through her body, a steady flow that began from the tips of her toes, spiraling its way upwards in a one perfect current. It had always been a point of pride for her, her chakra control. While she wasn't as fast as her husband or as resistant Naruto, she knew that when it came to chakra manipulation, she beat both of them hands down.

When she felt her fingers tingle, she swung back her fist and struck and watched with satisfaction as the large rock crumbled into dust.

"Woohoo, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered.

As Sasuke watched his wife systematically destroyed each of the boulders blocking the train tracks, he caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye. He quickly turned to look, only to find a bird flying from one of the trees surrounding them. His gaze narrowed as the bird disappeared over the mountains. The sense of foreboding came to him again and the suspicious within him grew. Was it a coincidence that there happened to be a landslide on the day they were supposed to arrive at Grass? Or was it something more?

He glanced at Kakashi, wondering whether the older man shared his reservations. But even after all these years, it was still damned difficult to know what the Copy Ninja was thinking. The silver-haired Jounin appeared as relaxed as ever, seemingly unfazed by the occurred events so far.

The sudden silence broke through his thoughts and he became aware of the other passengers staring at his wife with looks akin to awe. She was finished, slipping of those deadly gloves of hers and tucking them back into her pockets. He wasn't bothered by the passengers' stillness. Team Seven had gotten used to the fact that Sakura was able to create craters with her hands but for those who had never seen her in action—and several others who had—it still took a while to comprehend, especially considering her petite figure. With her pale pink hair, her delicate features and her bright smiles, one would never wonder that she could put a hole through a wall with just a light tap.

Sasuke walked over to his wife, noticing the light sheen of sweat on her cheeks. He knew her chakra level was running low from her last-minute shift at the hospital and their journey yesterday and thanks to a certain snoring blonde, she hadn't had much sleep. She was a shinobi; pushing herself to the limit was a part of her job, but at the same time she was also his wife and he had to bite back the urge to reprimand her for overtaxing her chakra level.

He placed a hand on the small of her back, feeling the slight tremble underneath his palm. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She smiled reassuringly at him. "Of course. I just need to sleep a bit on the train then I'll be fine."

He made a mental note to draw out his kusanagi if Naruto decided to make a racket on the train. "Come on," he told his wife and guided her back to the locomotive. Another bird flew from a tree and his brows drew together. Standing out here in the open made him feel vulnerable and he didn't like it. The sooner they got on the train, the sooner they would get to Kusagakure and he would be able to settle his restlessness with a good fight or two.


As a shinobi Sasuke was trained to sleep and yet be aware of his surroundings; he had also trained himself to regulate the length of his sleep, whether it was five minutes or five hours.

He had been asleep for twenty minutes when he opened his eyes; the rumble of the train was steady beneath his feet and through the window, he could see the lush greenery and craggy mountains.

They had arrived at Grass Country.

He looked across the coach at him where Kakashi sat, his ankles crossed, the ever-present book held in front of him. Genma sat next to him, amusing himself with a small rubber ball that he twirled between his fingers and a tune he whistled quietly.

The Uchiha prodigy turned to Sakura; she was still sleeping, her legs drawn up to her chest, her head resting on Naruto's shoulder. The blonde was awake, reading—of all things—a manga novel and he had his arm around Sakura's shoulder.

"Why are you cuddling my wife?" Sasuke asked with a frown, though for Sakura's sake, he kept his voice down.

"Because she knows you won't want to cuddle her in public and she wants to rest comfortably," Naruto shot back.

Genma spoke up. "If neither of you wants to cuddle her, I'd be happy to—" He broke off when two dark scowls were shot his way.

Naruto shifted his pink-haired friend slightly. "She's exhausted. She shouldn't have put in those extra hours at the hospital." He glared at his best friend. "Why the hell do you let her overwork?"

Before Sasuke had the chance to answer, Kakashi snorted and said, "I don't think he has much of a choice. Sakura's stubborn and if she wants to work overtime then that's exactly what she'll do." He lowered the book and looked at the two younger men. "You both have to remember that she isn't a child and you can't cosset her anymore. She's a valuable Jounin, an ANBU and she's one of the leading doctors at the hospital—she's more than capable of handling herself."

"We don't treat her like a child," Naruto denied. "We just take care of her."

"Just as long as you remember she's a ninja, too," Kakashi said casually.

Neither Sasuke nor Naruto responded and they couldn't even if they wanted to, for Sakura chose that moment to stir. She was slow to wake up and by the time she was blinking rapidly to clear away the sleep from her eyes, the train was slowing to a crawl.

She stood and stretched while the others reached for their satchels. Sasuke handed hers to her and she accepted it with a grateful smile.

"Remember," Kakashi said just as they were stepping off the train, "even though we're currently flying under the peace treaty, we still need to be on the alert."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "God knows how many shinobi there are out there who'd like to get a piece of us."

"Just my luck to be placed in your team, eh?" Genma said sarcastically.

"Well, if you don't like it, you can kiss my—"

"Naruto," Sakura hissed warningly, which instantly quieted the blonde down.

Sasuke stared at the banners hanging from the roof of the trainstation. They were signs welcoming all competing countries with the symbols of the villages portrayed on each banner respectively. His shoulders stiffened when his gaze fell on one particular symbol. He had known of course that they had been invited but he had thought that they wouldn't be competing, not in this kind of arena so soon after the Battle.

Sound.

To be continued . . .

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