A Promise for the Birds
Chapter 3: Lost & Found
Words: 8,471
Rating: T (Language, Violence)
Pairing: Sakura x Sasuke // Sakura x Itachi
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto on every day of the year except opposite day.
A/N: I don't think I've ever written a chapter with this many words before :O There seems to be a more significant development in the real plot that begins in this chapter so writing the end of it went by very smoothly for me. (And for some reason the character who hardly has anything to do with the story is so much more fun to write :/)

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Sakura strolled down the streets languidly. The sun was warm, its rays playfully dancing and tickling her bare shoulders. The gentle summer breeze made her light yellow sundress dance about her knees like a floating water lily as the roseate-haired female waved to and greeted each of the figures who she passed by. She saw the old lady Yuugao tending her potted plants outside of her small coffee shop, the friendly neighbor Nagate and his son Nobori on their way to the grocer's, and the meek librarian Itane with her large stack of reading material.

At the end of the street Ino waved to her merrily and Sakura quickened her pace to a short jog to reach her sooner.

"Sakura! It's so good to see you again!" the blonde shouted. Sakura embraced her friend, also glad to see her after so long.

"You haven't been calling me," Ino pouted. "You know, I almost drove all the way to see you in person last week to demand an explanation but work caught up with me and I've been swamped with orders like you wouldn't believe!" Sakura looked at her friend apologetically. The two young women started walking with one another down the next street. There were no cars at this time of day yet and only a few people were starting their morning routines and going to work.

Sakura began to see a few more familiar faces as they continued on in relaxed silence. Naruto and Jiraiya were walking together on the other side of the street and they waved to Sakura who waved back. Sasuke and Shikamaru as well as a few others of the division were casually strolling not far behind. Ino nudged her friend in the arm harmlessly to get her attention.

"That guy's pretty cute," she said slyly, gesturing towards Sasuke and Shikamaru. Sakura was unsure which one she was referring to but before she could say anything Ino began to speak again.

"Oh! Those are gorgeous, look, Sakura! They're on sale too." Sakura's loudmouthed friend hurried ahead in front of her into the growing crowd of people. She tried to hurry and catch up to Ino but the crowd was becoming bigger and bigger and she was beginning to lose sight of her. The faces of people around her were becoming less distinct, their clothes less varied. As she continued into the throng of bustling corporate-dressed and expressionless clones she started to panic. There weren't supposed to be this many people out so early! And they all seemed to be in such a hurry that they trampled and ran into her constantly, leaving her bruised and irritated.

"Sakura." It was almost a whisper, but she heard the voice loud and clear from beside her. The pink-haired girl looked over her shoulder to see Sasuke, who seemed bored and unaffected by the whole situation.

"You don't belong here. Why aren't you leaving?" Sakura was bewildered. What did he mean that she didn't belong? Of course she wasn't supposed to be stuck in the middle of a crowd getting in peoples' paths, but the way he addressed her was so unnerving. Besides, she'd already tried leaving the area to no avail.

"Sakura," came the voice again.

"Get up. It's time to for you to leave."

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"She sleeps like a rock."

"She's worse than you, Naruto."

"We're gonna be late to training if we don't get going. Why not just let her rest for the day? She must be exhausted after Gai-sensei."

"We can't do that, Kiba. She's never been trained before and we leave in two days; she needs to know the basics at least."

Sakura's head was spinning. Or maybe it was the world that was doing the spinning while her body was just too lethargic to catch up with it. She struggled to open her eyes and barely succeeded, the light overhead burning them through the small crack of her eyelids. Three and a half figures stood partially over her, blurred beyond recognition.

As her eyes adjusted the figures took on a more solid form and she could make out the faces of Naruto, Tenten, Kiba, and the top of the fluffy white head of Akamaru. She sat up abruptly and winced, instantly regretting making such a sudden movement.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Shh! Naruto, not so loud. She just woke up," came the reproachful voice of Tenten. Sakura groaned.

"What—what time is it?" She stifled a yawn.

"5:50," said Kiba.

"P.M.?"

"A.M." She groaned again.

"Now that you're awake we'll leave you to get ready. We'll wait for you by the elevators, okay Sakura? Be ready in 15 minutes," ordered the weapons specialist. Sakura nodded slowly and threw her feet over the side of the bed to sit up as the others exited her room.

She could barely remember even arriving in this room the night before. Looking around Sakura took in her surroundings. The bed was still made but a little messy since she had been lying upon it for the night. The room was furnished yet seemingly empty, with a moderately sized wood desk and matching chair, a white dresser and mirror, a nightstand with a lamp, a mini fridge, a narrow closet, and a door that lead to what she assumed would be a bathroom. It had everything a hotel would supply its customers with.

She walked over to the dresser and checked the top drawer for any spare clothes. Surprisingly—or not so much—she found some of her own clothes as well as some underclothing that looked newly purchased. Putting all questions aside for later when coherent thought was plausible, she gathered the most comfortable-looking clothing and headed for the bathroom for a fast shower as she was certain she must have smelled something like a zoo at the moment.

It was 13 minutes later when Sakura emerged from her room fully refreshed but still foggy and exhausted. The three—four—ANBU from earlier as well as most of the other division were waiting by the elevators. Sakura felt a little apologetic for making them all wait for her to ready herself, but at the moment she was far too tired to care much.

As they all traveled back to the facility for round two almost everyone was chatting happily with one another except for a select few—Shikamaru didn't care much for conversation so early in the morning, Sasuke was Sasuke, and Sakura and Hinata were trailing in the back sluggishly.

"Ne, Hinata. Do you think Gai-sensei is seriously going to make us do more of those exercises?" Sakura asked the timid woman fearfully.

"I-I don't know, Sakura-san," she answered honestly. Sakura sighed.

"Today's going to be a long day." Hinata silently agreed.

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"Ever handled a weapon before?" Sakura shook her head and the broad man took a step back to inspect her curiously.

"Doesn't look it either," he added, putting a hand to his chin as if in thought, though his attention seemed to be wavering already. Sakura crossed her still aching arms, a little put off by his forwardness and the fact that he was smoking indoors and on the job no less. The man, better known as Sarutobi Asuma, looked to be around Kakashi's age, with a rather heavy-set build and a rugged outdoorsman look about him. He didn't usually work as an instructor in the facility but for the urgency of the situation at hand and the lack of staff he was currently the weapons specialist for the Ame division's training session.

At the beginning of the lesson Asuma had ordered everyone to remove any weapons on their person to exchange them for new ones and Sakura was surprised to discover that everyone but her seemed to have some form of concealed weaponry, even the timid Hinata. She was mildly disturbed to see Tenten unloading objects ranging from senbon to handguns much like one would expect to see a tiny clown car unload its numerous occupants.

The group then proceeded to get a rundown of the equipment they would be supplied with as well as the basic usage of the latest communications systems in use by ANBU. After a few hours of explanation most of the group was half asleep and bored out of their minds, excluding Lee who seemed eternally energetic and eager. Ibiki and Anko were called out halfway through for a pressing mission call in the interrogation department and Sakura was sure she could see the two older officers let out a breath of relief at being dismissed. The petite woman was, however, very attentive for the duration of the lesson. She found modern technology and the rapid advancement of it over the years increasingly fascinating; she even discovered that she was anxiously anticipating learning how to handle some of the equipment—namely the firearms—in a hands-on process.

Beside Sakura Naruto nervously glanced at his pink-haired teammate, following her calculating gaze towards the table upon which the handguns and rifles were on display in front of Asuma before edging away slightly and remained there until the lecture ended. Asuma removed the cigarette from his mouth and extinguished the butt on the metal plate on the back of his standard ANBU uniform gloves before speaking up again.

"I guess we should wrap up with a few shooting practices then, so you all don't fall asleep during Jiraiya's lessons," he said, scratching the back of his head hesitantly. Sakura could feel the wave of relief that seemed to radiate from the room's occupants. ANBU certainly were patient group of individuals, Sakura thought to herself sarcastically.

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In the facility it was obvious when one was nearing the shooting range. The painfully sharp sound of gunshots ricocheted through the cool-aired hallways like a round of fireworks. Sakura noticed that none of the other ANBU looked even remotely affected by the ear-splitting sounds. At last, the group came to a stop outside a heavy metal door with a thick glass window exhibiting the message "DANGER: Range Boundary. It Is Dangerous To Pass Entry Point When Red Light Is Flashing." Sakura checked the light above the door, which was indeed flashing.

"We'll just work here for about twenty or thirty," Asuma said. "Hyuuga, Haruno, stick by me for today. I'll cover the basic routine here." The two mentioned followed him inside after the rest of the group had already entered. There was a small entry room with several lockers along the walls and a large bullet-proof window across from the door, which revealed a row of riddled targets on the long end of a large room where two other people were already taking aim. Asuma led the rookies to one of the side lockers and handed each a pair of heavy duty ear muffs and glasses for protection as well as a standard ANBU handgun. Sakura stared at the weapon in her hand as if it were a fragile and rare egg. It was surprisingly light.

"The safety lock is currently on so you turn this part to arm it. The blue means it is unlocked, see?" Asuma demonstrated with a gun of his own as the two copied him. Once they were all set and ready the weapons instructor led them into the shooting range and to the last unoccupied booths.

Sakura had to admit that the experience was rather exhilarating. Never would she have imagined herself learning how to handle a gun like she used to see in the movies as a young girl in Kusa; yet here she was, a new recruit to Konoha's most powerful underground defense organization in training before her first big information gathering mission. She briefly wondered what her parents would think once she was able to talk to them. Certainly they would be proud, but would they also worry about her terribly? She didn't wish for that.

Sakura cleared her mind. She wanted to prove her worth— as much to herself as to her colleagues—with her first attempt at handling a gun and so she would need absolute concentration. The target was not too far away, or at least not as far as most of the others' were—Hinata's was further also and she was already boring a few holes into it. Sakura was beginning to feel a bit inferior to her fellow ANBU.

"Just take a deep breath and concentrate," came the heavy voice of Asuma from behind her. Taking his advice, she inhaled and exhaled deeply and raised her weary arms to point dead center of the silhouette of a man with a circle on his chest and squeezed the trigger slowly. Remembering Asuma's earlier instructions, she resisted the urge to shut her eyes and held the gun as steady as possible, preparing for the explosive reaction, which was not as great as she had anticipated to her relief.

"Alright Sakura-chan! You injured him!" came a loud yell by her ear that sounded as clear as it normally did even while wearing the ear muffs. Naruto's congratulations were accompanied by a heavy pat on the back from Asuma. The bullet had penetrated the silhouette's left arm, a few inches to the side and below of the boundary of the red circle. Only a little disappointed that she didn't hit where she had aimed she smiled at her handiwork; at least she hadn't missed completely. A few other division members nearby had also stopped to observe their new colleague's development, some appreciative, some disinterested.

"Very well done for a first time, Haruno. These sort of things take practice and aim takes plenty of experience in order to hit the target correctly. You're right on track so keep trying." She thanked him and put her ear muffs back on and took aim again, this time with more determination.

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Sakura lethargically fanned herself as she lay reclined on one of the facility's lobby couches while she waited for the rest of the division like the day before. It was already 7 P.M. and the group decided earlier to go out for dinner altogether after training was completed. Thankfully, Gai had not been as tough on the girls as last time, only requiring they take a five lap run around the gym before resuming fighting stances and moves. She found that these were not as strenuous as she had originally thought and was starting to enjoy them slightly by the time they had gotten to offensive moves. They had concluded early when Gai had left on business stating that he would be able to make it to the next day's training and that they should again continue practice on their own. Hinata and Sakura pretended not to hear his last suggestion.

Now the two were sitting patiently, making light conversation. Sakura discovered that Hinata had been trained for ANBU since the day she could walk. At the age of 15 she had gotten into a major disagreement with her parents about joining the ranks after graduating and convinced them to allow her to go through with her dreams of going to medical school. Her father was extremely displeased with the idea of the ANBU co-head heiress being involved in such a gutless occupation and pulled her out before she completed her studies. Her family had attributed her with the title of "paper tigress", one which she could not shake off even after finally becoming ANBU.

"What's wrong with that? I think it sounds rather beautiful," Sakura supplied upon hearing of this.

"And that is all it is," came a masculine voice from behind her. Hinata looked on in fright as Sakura turned to see Neji.

"The paper tiger is delicate and beautiful, not meant for fighting—in other words, it is harmless. The only true form of intensity it possesses is that of the Hyuuga esteem." He looked to his cousin condescendingly as she visibly cowered at his words. But before Sakura could defend her friend, the rest of the division, sans Ibiki and Anko who remained on duty for the rest of the day, entered with Kiba and Naruto shouting over one another.

"-could eat a whole hippo right now, I'm so hungry," came the challenging voice of the blonde.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a whole zoo," Kiba responded. The argument continued for another minute and ended with Shikamaru and Tenten restraining both ANBU who were struggling to get at one another after Naruto had mentioned how he could eat a dog. Akamaru was restrained as well.

It was an hour later when the division had at last arrived and was seated in a cozy Korean barbeque restaurant near the apartment building at which they were staying. Sakura attempted to sit next to Sasuke in hopes of discerning whether or not he was upset with her but her plans were thwarted when a hyper Naruto and an eager Lee had sat on either side of the frustrated woman. It wasn't long before they were fighting for her attention like a child trying to impress as one proclaimed his devotion to keeping the "youthful new recruit" out of harm's way and the other offered to take her to Ichiraku every day, his treat. Throughout the meal she couldn't help but catch the masked glares she seemed to be receiving every so often from Sasuke, who ended up sitting across from Naruto. She was all too happy to return them.

At the end of the meal, she yawned and put her chopsticks down, fully satisfied and ready for a warm bath and a good night's sleep. She'd bother with her communicationally-challenged teammate later.

-------------------------Day 3-------------------------------------

The next day went by rather uneventfully. The final morning instructor was a woman also around Kakashi and Asuma's age with striking red eyes and soft brown hair, who went by the name of Yuuhi Kurenai. Like Asuma, she was only an instructor temporarily and was called in for her know-how in everything about traps, espionage, and technological sabotage. Much of what she had to say, however, was a review of material from the past two days, as she had said that her area of expertise was something that had to be learned on the field and in real situations and that she didn't really even know why she was called in for a day at the facility. At the end of her lesson she handed each division member a large packet.

"Keep this information in your possession. Most of it is common knowledge but it shall remain under the category of classified until further notice," the beautiful woman spoke. "In your packet is what we know already of Ame and of their history with Hi no Kuni. Kakashi told me that you are all expected to read through it, front to back, for tomorrow. He also said he'd be by later for transportation arrangements. Make sure you get plenty of rest for the trip tomorrow. Any questions?" Sakura was burning with questions but felt most of them were most likely about things she should already know so she kept quiet.

"Alright then, you are all dismissed. Good luck." With that, Kurenai left the lecture room, leaving the division to go through with their final physical training session.

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"You two have done astonishingly well. You are full of beautiful youthful energy!" Gai gestured animatedly in company with his short congratulatory speech to the conclusion of Hinata and Sakura's conditioning and combat training. He went on further about how successful the two ANBU would be in their mission because youth triumphs over all before dismissing them with tears in his eyes.

They left the gym together and found that this time it was the rest of the division who was waiting in the lobby for them to finish. Even Kakashi was already there, waiting to give out his final instructions before the rest of the allocated leaders took the stand.

"And that's all of them," he cheerfully said. "I'm sure Kurenai has already instructed you all to read those packets of yours so make sure you see to that tonight and during the trip tomorrow if that is applicable to you. All IUs and the DUs of Team 4 will be traveling to the Ame-Hi border city by train while rest of you will be taking different routes directly into Ame under different covers and from different check points. Remember you are not there for infiltration, just casual information gathering-- anything you can from who runs the country to who is their public ally. We just need the basics now before we can even begin planning Phase I, but keep in mind time is key. The sooner we find a way to end this the sooner the war is terminated." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"The details of your transport are in your individual packets, so as I said, read it. Most importantly: good luck everyone. Konoha is counting on you." Sakura looked at the large white folder curiously; she hadn't read it yet but she supposed she would have to get started immediately after getting back to her room.

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"But it would only take me five-- maybe ten minutes to get what I need," Sakura urged. Neji folded his arms imperiously as Shikamaru looked on, bored and uncaring.

"Everything you could possibly need is to be supplied, Haruno. Besides, we cannot afford the risk of having someone who can recognize you see that you're back at your flat; it would be suspicious," the arrogant Hyuuga chided.

"He's right, Sakura. Your landlord's already been contacted about your leave and the council has allotted the funds to keeping your home secure and maintained during your absence. There's nothing left to worry about." Sakura looked at Shikamaru, uncertain with how to refute his claim that there was really nothing necessary about her going back to her home for a few minutes. He was right-- he was always right, unfortunately.

She sat back in her seat and started swirling around the iced tea in her cup out of boredom. With it being so early in the evening everyone had already went to get something to eat and returned to the first floor of their apartment building. On this floor was a peaceful seating area that reminded Sakura of the hospital that her father had worked in with its white-wash walls and sterile-looking seats.

She had lost interest in conversation for the while and decided it was about time she got to looking through her packet. Inside she found a small stack of bound papers, most of which contained information on what she already knew about Ame thanks to her work in the capital. She even recognized some of her own additions to the growing knowledge of Hi's shady neighbor country, including the two pictures of Tsuchi and Mizu officials meeting with Ame higher-ups that she had supplied to the council three days ago.

When she neared the end of the folder's contents Sakura came across a paper addressed only to her, which detailed the proceedings of tomorrow's transport to the border city. She was to arrive at the central ANBU office building at 6 A.M. where she would receive her train tickets. Any extra necessities and personal items were to be brought by her and in minimal storage.

'That sounds easy enough,' she thought, reassured. Maybe her first mission wouldn't be all that bad.

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"Alright! This is going to be so exciting, ne Sakura-chan? It's your first mission!" Naruto prodded the half-awake woman who brushed his hand away dazedly. Team 4 and the other IUs were already situated in one of the train cabins of the extensively branched Hi railway system. Not wanting to appear too suspicious being back in the bustling city of Konoha, the group split up and arrived at the train from different locations. Sakura was vaguely surprised to feel true breeze and see the real sky after being subjected to living underground for three days, despite the fact that its imitations of a natural suburban environment was superbly accurate.

Naruto started bouncing around in the seat adjusting his position continuously like an overexcited toddler, anticipation and eagerness clear on his face.

"Naruto!"

"Enough."

Sakura and Sasuke both spoke at the same time as both were sharing the same seat as the energetic ANBU and were quick to anger by any positive attitude at this time of day. Ibiki, Anko, and Shikamaru sat across from them, each sitting with arms crossed and face dull, also irritated at the blonde's display of energy. Naruto was certainly a horse of another color in this crowd.

After Naruto had quieted down and eventually fell asleep an hour later, obnoxiously leaning on Sakura who had sat in the middle of her teammates, the pink-haired woman was terribly weary and was desperately thinking of something she could do to kill time. Sleeping was out of the question as her neck ached awfully every time she allowed her head to droop and she had already read through her packet a few times—there was only a short while that one could do that before enough was enough. She settled on returning her gaze to the window to watch the clouds like the pineapple man in the row across from her.

She had wanted the window seat herself but Sasuke had beaten her to it and was unwilling to relent. Sakura was certain he'd refuse the seat to his own grand-mother had she been the one to ask. To her further exasperation, she noticed Sasuke's reflection in the window; he had been gazing out of it ever since they had boarded the train and whenever Sakura looked out as well she would see him scowling at her own reflection like he was the only one with window rights. It wasn't before long that Sakura was fed up with it all.

"What exactly is your problem?" she blurted out angrily. His gaze went to her reflection again as if he were speaking to it instead of the real image.

"I'm not the one with any problems," he spat out.

"Then what, may I ask, do you think is my problem?" Sakura was seething.

'The nerve of this man,' she thought.

"Hn."

"You can't even come up with anything credible? I can't imagine what you'd do under pressure while on duty." She scoffed at the thought of the stuck-up Uchiha acting as anyone else but himself when he was supposed to be in a disguise of some sort.

"I can say the same in regards to you," he bitterly supplied.

"What are you getting at?"

"Face it, you're not prepared. Just make sure you don't do something stupid and screw up the mission." Sakura's face was quickly growing red and she fought to keep her voice down in the quiet cabin. The pink-haired ANBU was not known for her level headedness but certainly her scowling colleague must have set a world record in amount of time to push every last one of her buttons. Shikamaru had already woken up and was watching the two with mild interest.

"Are you calling me incompetent, Uchiha?" she snapped. Sasuke shrugged.

"This is an important mission, not some little field trip to the capital. Mess this up and you're not the only one who has to face the consequences." Sakura was sure things were just about to get messy until she was rapidly halted by another voice.

"Relax kid, Kakashi trusts her and so do I. This girl knows her stuff," Ibiki abruptly provided. It was unusual for him or Anko to talk with the others in the division much; Sakura attributed it to the intensely different backgrounds, field of work, and age gap of the two interrogation unit members, but it could have just as easily been the mere oddity that was their personalities. She felt a sense of honor that the battle-scarred man was actually defending her.

"Thank you, Ibiki-san," Sakura said. Sasuke merely "hn"ed again and returned to face his window. And now Sakura was back to square one.

------------------------A few hours later-----------------------------

"Oi! Watch where you're going! Moron." Naruto continued to grumble to himself and crossed his arm with a huff as the golden taxi zipped past the group and back into the sea of pedestrians and traffic. They were walking along a narrow sidewalk on one of the busiest roads of the Ame-Hi border city, heading for the Hi police department's secondary branch headquarters, which was conveniently located only a block from the train station.

Despite the fact that they were fully adorned in civilian wear and equipped with only a small pack of basic necessities, they trudged on like weary soldiers through a confounding jungle thicket from one battle station to another. Perhaps this wasn't too far from the truth after all. The Ame-Hi border city (which had a true name at one point but was forgotten for reasons that could not even be recalled and was now just referred to as Ame-Hi) was a considerably large city like Konoha but was by no means to be considered as affluent or prestigious. The air was heavy with smog, the weather annually drab, and the locals were just about as dreary and coarse as the general atmosphere.

The Ame-Hi Police Department was a stout building and appeared somewhat poorly maintained on the exterior. Sakura discovered that there wasn't much worth talking about indoors either as the Konoha ANBU shuffled in one after the other. The lobby was stuffy and a rather loud hum that filled the room was coming from an AC unit that didn't seem to be doing anything but make noise. A portly middle-aged woman sat at a desk at the end of the small entry and adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose as she looked up to see the newcomers.

"You the guys from the capital?" the woman asked, exposing the wad of gum she was not-so-subtly chewing on. Anko nodded and handed her a small form from the confines of her bag which the woman glanced at and put aside for later reading.

"Uchiha-sama is just down the hall and to the right; he shouldn't be too busy right now."

True to her word, the room that the secretary had pointed out was indeed open and a pleasant male voice from within announced that the ANBU were free to come in and to shut the door behind them.

"You're right on time," the Uchiha said, smiling politely. The man appeared affable and easygoing, reclining back in his chair casually and motioning the rest of the group to take the unoccupied seats of the large conference table in front of them. His outwardly appearance was boyish—though Sakura later discovered he was almost to his thirties—and his smile was genuine. Although he seemed laid back he carried such a refined and trimmed air that was innate to all Uchiha that Sakura was almost taken aback by the contrast.

"I see there are a few familiar faces among you." He looked around at each of them in greeting before turning to Sakura. "I'm Uchiha Shisui, director of the AHPD" he said, addressing mainly the rookie of the group. "I apologize for not shaking your hand properly but I'm afraid I was just handling a handful of mission reports." A snort came from Naruto's direction.

"I'd like to welcome you all to our little city and I hope you find the accommodations adequate. I've been informed of recent developments in Konoha and abroad and have been notified that I am to be the only one in this department to receive this intelligence. Unfortunately, the budget's been a bit tight in this sector up here and so our equipment is a tad outdated and again I apologize for any inconvenience…" Ibiki put up his hand in reassurance.

"We are grateful for the arrangements on such a short notice. We only require limited equipment so I assume everything will be well." Shisui nodded and stood up, indicating the conclusion to the short meeting.

"Well then, if you'll follow me right this way…"

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Sakura twirled a pen rapidly between two fingers, slightly agitated as Ibiki and Naruto tested the communications equipment.

"Testing, testing." Naruto poked at the tiny microphone clip-on piece.

"Hold on, it's all static." Ibiki put a hand up to his own headpiece to push it firmly into place.

"How about now?"

"I can't hear the radio over you. Try going into the next room." The blonde got up and exited the stuffy office-turned-war-room as instructed. The other four in the group sat around uselessly, waiting for something to do. Sakura was growing antsy with the idleness, as it allowed for her to reflect on her current situation.

Her earlier confrontation with Sasuke, combined with her dream two nights ago and her general fear of ineptitude, was beginning to disturb her more than she was prepared for. Her three fast-paced days of training felt to her like her school days when she used to cram before her exams, and all the important details she had gathered at the facility were already beginning to spill over the edges of her overflowing short-term memory reservoir. She still had no idea what was going to happen and what she was supposed to be doing. However, her thoughts were instantly interrupted by a shrill ring that consumed the tiny room.

"I meant turn up the goddamn mic, not your voice!" Ibiki roared at the energetic youth who reentered the room shyly.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

"At least it's working now. Are we finally ready to get going?" Anko urged impatiently.

"Ah. Naruto and I can begin the preparations," Sasuke spoke up at last. Sakura felt a bit lost.

"Preparations for what?"

"The Dobe and I are going to our destination in Ame for some information retrieval," the goofy blonde grinned, punching Sasuke in the arm.

"Oh… So then we just stay back in the station?" Sakura inquired again. She felt a little relief at the thought.

"Yep. That's what the IUs do at least," said Anko. "If you're up to it and feel it's necessary you can do a bit of snooping around the city for some investigation practice when you're on your breaks. Just be as discreet as possible."

"Hai." That sounded like something she could do. Maybe all she needed was a little bit of practice to soothe her uneasy mind. As the young ANBU's thoughts wandered her two teammates began gathering their supplies and gearing up for their session in Ame. When Sakura had at last snapped out of her trance Naruto and Sasuke were already nearly ready and were currently securing their earpieces while Ibiki helped make sure they were properly concealed.

The two remained in their civilian clothing and carried only minimal gear for defense and communicative purposes. Sasuke had even put on contacts of a shade of green that reminded Sakura of the rolling grassy plains of her home country, as well as an A.H.U. baseball cap that he purchased at a stand near the train station in order to partially veil his Uchiha heritage. To Sakura the two looked like a pair of college students heading out for the weekend. She wished them luck.

"Thanks Sakura-chan," Naruto grinned.

"Hn."

Once the two ANBU had left on their way Sakura collapsed into a nearby office chair. The room was silent and the other three IUs made no move to make it otherwise, all seemingly deep in thought or just bored already. The jade-eyed woman started swiveling around in her chair in uninterestedly while hoping someone would break the silence. Said deed was done with the quiet opening of the door. However, Sakura was disappointed when she had noticed that it was merely Ibiki leaving the room with unknown intent in his otherwise blank expression. Looking around, she had also noticed that Anko was already doing her own thing on one of the department computers, leaving Sakura afraid to disturb the older woman, and Shikamaru had produced a book and had begun reading.

She sighed quietly to herself. She hadn't thought to bring anything to do. Back at home, the pink-haired female would have read when she had the time to herself, most likely with a nice warm cup of chai tea and a blanket to curl up under, even in the summer. Sakura never thought of her past-time as boring but every now and then Ino would bring up the suggestion that she should liven up her life while she was still young; the blonde certainly did expose her childhood friend to the more wild side of life on many an occasion back in the day, though Sakura never opted to go out on these escapades on her own. She sighed again, this time feeling somewhat homesick.

It was only three in the afternoon but Sakura felt like she had been away from the headquarters for days and all she wanted to do was have a long soak in the tub followed by a nice nap afterwards. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes; perhaps she could make that last part work out at least.

A furious echo of clicks and taps began the moment Sakura felt unconsciousness consuming her. Irritated, she opened her eyes to examine the source of the racket and remembered that Anko was working at the computer. She supposed the woman was doing something important but that didn't quell her slight annoyance at being interrupted from her close escape from reality. The typing stopped as Anko noticed she had an attentive audience.

"Am I disturbing you?" The older ANBU didn't seem too sympathetic.

"Not at all. I was just thinking." The younger one didn't seem that truthful. Anko shrugged and resumed her work, ignoring her colleague again. Sakura at last decided no good would ever come out of remaining where she was and stood up to leave the room.

If she couldn't have her tea then maybe some coffee would suffice.

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The AHDP was quite the labyrinth to the poor pink-haired ANBU. She had passed hallway after hallway, closed door after closed door, and witnessed not a single soul. It could have been 5 minutes or an hour since she had left Anko and Shikamaru and she would have never known the difference.

Sakura would never admit it even to herself but deep down she was beginning to be slightly wary of the crumbling and smelly building. She nearly jumped at every little creak and thump she heard. She was certain she had heard activity and maybe even some voices here and there but every corner she turned and every doorway she peaked into was dead empty. There was not a soul anywhere.

Unfortunately, she hadn't thought to bring her headset with her and she had long since had her cell phone removed from her person—which she regretfully hadn't noticed until now—and none of the rooms she passed seemed to have a phone in them. She supposed it wouldn't have mattered if they had, however, as she had no idea what number to call. In addition, most rooms seemed to be empty office and conference rooms with little to no furniture and all other rooms were closed and the lights off.

Just when the petite woman was about to lose all hope, an all too familiar and (only for now) very welcoming scent whiffed past her nose invitingly.

Someone was making coffee and they were nearby.

She tried to follow the smell only to realize that she had no idea which way it was coming from. Now desperate to find a way out of her dilemma she closed her eyes to focus on her olfactory senses, blindly groping the air in front of her so she didn't run into any obstacles.

'Geeze, I hope no one sees me like this.'

Apparently fate was bored as well. Without warning Sakura suddenly felt something encircle one of her outstretched wrists firmly. She froze, fearful of what sight she would discover if she were to open her eyes, which remained clenched shut tightly in apprehension. She knew she was being absolutely ridiculous at that point but she felt had felt so lost and out of place, almost like she was in a dream, ever since she had began her first day as ANBU that nothing seemed normal anymore. A light chuckle came from the area directly before her and although it wasn't mocking, Sakura couldn't help but feel rather childish for her actions.

"Aren't you a little old to be playing hide-and-seek?" Sakura could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and she resisted the urge to hide her face in embarrassment. At last she finally built up enough courage to slowly wedge her eyelids open, taking in the view of the tidy scarlet tie of Uchiha Shisui. So he was taller than her.

Sakura reluctantly tilted her head upwards to look the man in the face, taking in his highly amused façade and humorous glint in his deep onyx eyes, which were so much like Sasuke's and yet so different—more full of life and of the love for it.

"I- I was a bit…"

"Lost?" He smiled gaily. "Not to worry, I'm not sure even I know my way around here entirely, yet, and I've been director here for four years!" Laughter again. Sakura forced a smile. Was that supposed to ease her worries somehow? At last the Uchiha became a bit more serious.

"So what is it that you were looking for, Sakura-san?"

"I was just a bit bored, actually." She trailed off at the end of her sentence, beginning to feel even more foolish.

'I may as well go ahead and ask him if he has some paper and crayons while I'm at it.'

Shisui looked pleased at this bit of news.

"Is that so? It just so happens that I've got some time to kill, myself. Have you ever played Reversi?" She shook her head.

"Come with me, I'll show you my favorite little hideaway in this dreadful prison." Not wanting to refuse his invitation in her desperate need for human contact she obediently followed the stately director, trying to keep pace with his elegant strides through the maze of hallways.

Moments later the two approached a glass door at the end of the hallway through which the late afternoon sun mischievously shone. The passage, to Sakura's great amazement, led to a small courtyard that was surrounded on all four sides by the squat compound walls, each adorned with a pattern of faded red and white fans, the highly respected Uchiha emblem. The courtyard was as faulted and worn down as the rest of the confounded building but its aged appearance took a more regal and graceful direction with its moss-blanketed stone benches, leafy carpet, and ancient oaks that rustled their leaves pleasantly in the gentle breeze. Sakura thought the sight was quite beautiful.

Shisui continued on into the center of the square, headed towards a small stone table and bench beneath the eldest-looking tree. As Sakura neared the table the director was already removing small black and white pebbles from an indention on the edge of the structure.

"This is actually a Go board," he spoke, "but over the years most of the pieces have gone missing somehow or another and now we just have enough left to play Reversi—not that I mind of course. Sometimes it's more fun to play a less mentally-demanding game than that old-geezer's sport." He placed four pieces into the center four tiles of the sectioned table in a checkerboard fashion.

"The goal of the game is to have the most pieces on the board. When you have two pieces of your own color surround those of the other color, the ones you surrounded are flipped to the other side and become your color as well. So basically it is a surround and conquer game, fighting over the same pieces until we cannot put down any more of our own onto the board." He paused to let the ANBU absorb the information.

"So if I take over a row of your pieces you can still reclaim them if you surround mine?" she asked.

"That is correct. If you leave any space around your piece then it is fair game. Here's a little bit of advice, Sakura." He leaned in closer as he said this as if about to reveal something confidential.

"Do not leave your back unguarded or else you risk losing some of your pieces. Even if there is not much else around you at the time, keep in mind that eventually that space will be filled by the end of the game. No piece is safe—that is, except corner pieces. With the corners, obviously you cannot be taken over; you're guarded on both sides and hold the upper hand." He leaned back again and folded his hands while Sakura examined the board to picture what he had detailed for her.

"Alright, I think I got it," she said.

"Very well. I won't go easy on you though." She nodded.

"I will be white."

"Which color goes first?" asked Sakura.

"White." He reached out to make a move.

"H-hey, wait a minute! Shouldn't the beginner go first?" she argued.

"But you're black," Shisui replied as if it were the most obvious fact in the world. He picked up a piece and placed it down on its white side behind one of the black pieces and flipped over Sakura's conquered one. She crossed her arms but didn't continue the argument.

"Your move," he said.

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"You're getting pretty good at this." Sakura began to pick up the pieces of the latest round to prepare the board for the next and Shisui helped her collect them. The two had been playing for an hour and a half and both were tied in number of games won after Sakura had at last gotten the hang of things.

"I learned from the best, I guess," she said in a joking manner. Shisui laughed at this but said nothing and finished clearing off the board.

"Time for the final round: the tie breaker. You wouldn't go too hard on your old sensei now, would you? I'd be ashamed to lose to someone who just began playing if they weren't as bright as you."

"Tch, that's not going to work on me, Shisui-san. We're going to play this fair and square. Besides, you were the one who first said you weren't going easy on me," she taunted.

"Ah, you got me there." He made the first move. After a few more maneuvers Shisui broke the peaceful silence again.

"You know, it's been so long since anyone's played against me out here. I never knew how much I missed it until now." He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Shisui-san," Sakura began.

"You can just call me Shisui, Sakura."

"Shisui," she corrected. "Why is this place so empty? I always thought the police department in a city this big would be more…"

"Alive?" he finished her thoughts again. She nodded. He smiled almost bitterly.

"This war has been hard on everyone. Talk in the city is always centered on it and people fear for their way of life, their jobs, everything. Not to mention our rather shady neighbors seem to be a little more active lately than usual," he added quietly.

"We've had a lot of people resign lately. It's difficult to tell why exactly, but I'm sure a combination of greatly reduced funding over the past two years and intimidation on our borders may have something to do with it." Sakura looked at him solemnly.

"You haven't contacted Konoha about the situation here?" she asked.

"Oh I have, trust me on that one. I'm confident something will be done about it once Fugaku hands the torch over to his son. Don't get me wrong—Fugaku-san is a great man and is very understanding, but he also believes in gradualism when it comes to changes. It can be very hard on those of us who depend on change, you see." She nodded, knowingly.

"So Sasuke will be heading the Konoha Central Police Department soon? Isn't he a bit young still?"

"Actually it's Itachi who is next in line, Sasuke's older brother." Sakura smacked her forehead mentally. Of course! She had forgotten about her cold teammate's sibling. Uchiha Itachi was known as an enigma to most people she encountered in the capital. She had never seen him in person herself but what she had gathered of the mysterious Uchiha heir was that he was very reserved, highly respected and powerful at his young age, and recognized as an all-around prodigy. Most people spoke of him appraisingly or bordering fearfully.

"I see. So Itachi-san is the opposite of his father when it comes to change?" Shisui shook his head.

"Not quite. As it happens, Itachi and I are best buds, so to speak," he smiled proudly. Sakura looked at him in surprise. Certainly the man who trumped Sasuke for title of human ice block, or so she heard, could not possibly be close friends with such a light-hearted and carefree individual. Then again, somehow Sasuke and Naruto were friends. She supposed it could work, although the pink-haired woman knew she would never comprehend the mechanics of such a phenomenon.

"Besides, I've already spoken to him on numerous occasions about the circumstances here and he's agreed to do what needs to be done once he assumes the role."

"I'm glad to hear it," Sakura said truthfully. Shisui's pleasant smile turned conniving as he made another move.

"Oh! Looks like I've won this one." She looked at the board in shock. Indeed, Shisui had used Sakura's carelessly placed piece to put one of his own into the final corner, claiming three out of four as his own and securing his victory in the process.

"Make sure you don't let me use you like that next time—I thought we were going to play this fair and square," he poked fun at her. Sakura merely crossed her arms and glared good-humoredly back at the Uchiha.

"I'll keep that in mind for later, Shisui-sensei," the young ANBU grinned.

------------Chapter End-----------------------------------------
Next Chapter:

Sakura froze. Her mind had still been processing the sudden echo of a gunshot that sounded far too near for comfort when her body had already received and responded to the blast mere inches from her face.

"I said don't move, god dammit!" Footsteps approached her and she cringed inwardly when one of the heavy soles of the man's shoes crushed the fingers of the hand that wasn't in her bag, causing her to restrain a quiet whimper.

Another note:

This will be my last update of this particular story unless someone asks me to continue. Otherwise I'll still be writing it as I please but I won't update it until I have completed all or a substantial amount of it and can then go back and do a major edit. I'm not too pleased with how it's starting off so slowly and (I think) blandly but since it's my first time writing in five years I'll forgive myself just a little bit xP I think by allowing myself the time to gain some more writing experience I can truly enhance this story as I'm still attached to the general plot and its intricate twists that I haven't even got to yet xD

So, there you go. No response/reviews means to me that I have failed in my mission to entertain and will thus withdraw until I feel that I am capable of doing so again.

Thank you for reading.