Sakura nervously twiddled her fingers as everyone placed their orders with the waitress. She had never sat so close to Kakashi before…and the thought of being sandwiched between him and Itachi didn't sit well with her.
"-And what would you like?" Sakura vaguely heard someone aiming a question at her so she looked up at the waitress, who was looking down at her.
"I've already ate. I'll just have a…" Sakura starts before looking quickly through the drinks menu. "You know what, I'll just have a glass of water with a slice of lemon and lime please." She finished. The Waitress scowled slightly at Sakura before scribbling down her order.
"The food should be with you in 30 minutes today I'm afraid, We're quite understaffed. But we will all work towards getting the food to you in a timely manner." The waitress apologised before walking away from the table.
Sakura looked at the back of her head, as if to read her mind. Something about the waitress made Sakura feel perturbed.
"When did you find the time to eat?" Itachi questioned, in Sakura's mind uncharacteristically, as he turned his head to face Sakura.
"I picked myself up a snack on the way to my…uh…apartment." Sakura lied, Itachi seemed to believe what she said as he looked from Sakura to Kakashi and started a quiet conversation with him.
Sakura decided that during her dining experience in a new restaurant this far back in time, that she would not eat anything so that her senses were heightened, in case anything was poisoned.
"So, Sakura." Sai spoke up, snapping Sakura out of her daydream. "Since we'll be working in the same team, I think it's best that we exchange information about each other."
"Well, that does make sense…" Sakura giggled softly as a glass of dirty water was placed in front of her, half full and lacking the requested fruit. "Excuse me." Sakura called out to the waitress that was about to walk off.
"Yes, what is the problem?" she responded in a patronising way.
"It seems that you've served me the wrong drink." Sakura gave the waitress a chance, but she wouldn't be able to keep her calm for too much longer.
"I can't see the problem here, kid." The waitress crossed her arms, which propped up her already huge breasts, something Sakura only saw as a cry for attention.
"Okay," Sakura growled slight at the waitress. "I think you might need glasses because for starters, the glass is half full, and you seem to have forgotten the purity and the fruits in the water. In fact, it just looks like you've urinated…" Sakura says as she picks up the cup, subtly infusing her hand with chakra to form a thin layer of protection around it like a glove, and sniffs it slightly. "You've literally pissed in my cup and served it to me, what kind of service is that." Sakura finished in a louder, more agitated tone.
"Oh…" The waitress nervously looked around her shoulder. Sakura peeked around her shoulder too to see a big brute man sipping on what Sakura assumed to be, her drink. "I'm deeply sorry about that! I do normally wear my glasses but today I was told to leave them at home to keep a more professional look…" She muttered off before reaching out to grab the glass. "I'll make you a new one straight away."
Sakura pulled the cup away from the outstretched hand of the waitress before examining the glass further.
"That fucking pig…" Sakura muttered as she noticed wide, slightly dirty fingerprints on the side of the glass. "Sorry, please excuse me for a second." Sakura apologised before expertly climbing over Itachi.
"Oh…miss!" The waitress held Sakura's shoulder as she whispered. "I wouldn't mess with our manager, he can be really aggressive when he's confronted." She finished, shaking slightly in fear which made Sakura angry. She smiled at the waitress slightly before looking at her wrist and arm through the sleeve which was now exposed. Displaying red marks and bruises, Sakura couldn't stop her anger from escaping her.
"Don't you worry. This won't take a second."
"Sakura, I don't think it's wise to pick a fight here." Kakashi noticed Sakura's dangerously heavy aura but his words were pointless. Sakura carefully removed the waitresses hand from her shoulder and stormed over to the manager before chucking the glass of urine in his face.
"Are you enjoying the drink I paid for, dirty pig?" Sakura hissed at the gross man. He grunted furiously before picking up the glass he was drinking from. He took a few milliseconds to compose himself and wipe his face down, allowing Sakura to carefully place the cup down and prepare to defend herself.
"You fucking bitch," He growled venomously as he smashed the glass on the table, gaining the attention of everyone in the restaurant, before striking at Sakura.
Sakura dodged all the attempted strikes with ease as he had no particular technique in fighting.
"Stop, moving!" he continued flailing around. Sakura found an opportunity to strike back but Itachi had swiftly got in the middle of the two and stopped both of them.
"This is not an appropriate place to fight." He stated monotonously. Sakura was about to wind herself down but Itachi seemed to have let his guard down. The brute man started to aim a strike at Itachi instead.
Sakura hesitantly shielded Itachi from the attack as the broken glass cup tore through her arm horrifically, in the same instance Sakura used her right had to deliver an ordinary blow to the managers face, knocking him out cold.
"What the hell is his problem. What kind of manager does that?" Sakura laughed triumphantly as she turned back to the group she was supposed to be eating with.
Sakura looked puzzled as they were all staring at her, she was about to speak up before she noticed that the whole restaurant was onlooking the bizarre situation.
"He peed in my cup, don't worry, he deserved that punch." Sakura tried to reassure the crowd.
"Sakura…Your left arm." Kakashi pointed with an ill look on his face. Sakura looked down and noticed that the glass cut deeper than she initially thought, but she wasn't worried because she could fix it quickly.
"Haha…. At least the blood didn't get on my dress!" Sakura joked as she hovered her right hand over her left arm. "I'm okay guys, Sorry for interrupting your meals!" Sakura turned around and called. However, the whole room was silent.
"Someone had to stand up to him!" a man spoke up from the corner of the room. "He's a bully and he deserved what was coming to him."
After that statement, the room started to fill with noise again making Sakura sigh in relief. She sat herself back down on the seat next to Kakashi.
"Um…I'm really sorry about that." Sakura apologised again. "I can tell that he's been getting away with abuse…" Sakura hissed softly to the waitress.
"Uh…He did deserve that…but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do now." She turned back around to where the unconscious manager should by lying but he was nowhere to be seen, neither was Itachi.
"I guess the problem has already been sorted." Sakura smiled sweetly. "I plan on getting the police involved too…if you don't mind." Sakura said absently before turning back to the table.
"So, I'm ultimately an expert in medical jutsu as I trained under one of the legendary Sanin." Sakura restarted the previous conversation but she noticed that Kakashi was leaning away from her.
"What's wrong, wimp?" Sakura teased with a smirk on her face.
"Don't you need to go to a hospital or something?" He suggested timidly, making Sakura grin further.
"I'm an expert." Sakura repeated before removing her hand. She'd completely closed up the wound, but there were still streaks of blood running down her arm. "Could I have a damp towel please?" she asked the waitress. The waitress walked off without saying a thing as Itachi had returned from wherever he went.
"Let's go. Sakura has caused too much trouble here." Itachi said before walking away. Shin and Sai immediately followed after him.
"What's he in a mood for?" Sakura muttered childishly before reluctantly following after the shinobi. Kakashi was close behind, not uttering a single word.
Itachi lead them to a familiar building in the Uchiha compound before rummaging around in his pocket for keys.
"This is Shisui's house. Aren't you trespassing?" Sakura spoke up, but her question was ignored. After Itachi unlocked the door, they all entered the house. Kakashi closed the door behind him as Sakura sat down on Shisui's comfortable armchair.
"That was unprofessional." Itachi commented, as if scolding Sakura. Shin and Sai wordlessly sat on the sofa as Itachi and Kakashi looked down at Sakura.
"I'm only twelve, and that guy must've been in his forties, what right does he have swapping my drink for his urine? I mean, C'mon! That's completely disgusting!" Sakura protested as she crossed her arms.
"Even as a Genin, you should know that you shouldn't be using ninjutsu on plain civilians." Itachi continued, making Sakura scoff.
"News flash, Uchiha, I didn't use an ounce of Chakra in that punch." Sakura retorted, narrowing her eyes at him.
"You're quite strong for a twelve-year-old." Shin interjected, earning him a quick sweet smile from Sakura.
"I don't believe you." Itachi said aggressively, making Kakashi flinch slightly.
"If you come over here I'll prove it." Sakura challenged.
"I think we've had enough excitement for one night." Kakashi interrupted as he waved his hands about. "Let's just get to know each other better. That's our mission after all." Kakashi reminded Itachi before they both sat down reluctantly.
"So, Sakura." Shin spoke up again. "What are your goals in life?"
Sakura pondered for a moment before sighing.
"If I'm being brutally honest, there is someone evil that I'd like to remove from this world." Sakura briefly glanced at Itachi while saying this. "This guy has the potential to completely mess up my future." Sakura muttered to herself. "But, he's someone you guys don't need to know about, he's not from this village." Sakura lied as she remembered all the good moments her and Sasuke shared before Orochimaru entered the picture. "I'd like to become a member of the ANBU squad and protect my village from harm." Sakura rambled on, rubbing her cheek as she voiced her thoughts.
"So you are from this village?" Kakashi questioned. Sakura simply nodded before taking another breath.
"My parents died during the Kyuubi attack. From my knowledge, I was born here before being taken to a small cabin just outside the village…I'm not sure what my parents were like really…" Sakura lied as a flash of pain crossed her eyes.
"How old were you when this happened?" Sai asked, as if interrogating Sakura.
"I-uh…" Sakura hesitated. "I can't quite remember." Sakura answered nervously, earning herself a sly smirk from Itachi.
"That sounds horrible." Shin responded unconvincingly as he shook his head. Suddenly Sakura could feel that pretty much everyone in the room was onto her.
"Anyway," Sakura responded too quickly. "Enough about me, What about you and Sai?" Sakura blurted before her eyes widened slightly. "I mean, Kai."
Sai remained completely composed at Sakura's slip up but she could tell that Shin tensed up.
"Well, I specialise in close combat and my friend here specialises in long range. Neither of us know medical jutsu so it will be beneficial to have someone such as yourself on our side." Shin responded. Sakura sighed in relief as the tension from the room disappeared as quick as it came.
From that point onwards, the next two hours passed quickly. Full of small talk and Sakura feeling constantly nervous about every answer she gave. She didn't anticipate that keeping things to herself would be as hard as this.
"Well, Sorry to cut a good conversation short, But Kezune and I need to rest for tomorrows mission." Sai spoke up as he got up from the sofa.
"Mission?" Sakura questioned as she tilted her head slightly.
"Sorry Sakura, this mission is confidential and it's only for Kai and I I'm afraid. We'll see you in three days before we all travel to the Sand." Shin said as he mimicked Sai.
Sakura stood up and showed the two to the door as they said their goodbyes. Sakura sighed heavily as soon as she closed the door.
"You were lying." Itachi spoke up. Making Sakura jump.
"Shit, Itachi, I forgot you were there." Sakura said, trying to divert the conversation.
"What do you mean, Itachi?" Kakashi asked as Sakura slowly walked back to her seat.
"About her parents and the attack." Itachi stated.
"Yeah, well I'd rather not talk about this, Uchiha." Sakura said defensively as she ran her hand through her hair, noticing the dried blood on her arm. "Ew…I forgot about this." She muttered to herself as she got back up from her seat to clean up the dried blood. "Well, your mission is now complete, I don't need bodyguards anymore." Sakura said, her mood slowly turning sour.
"We're waiting for you to exit Shisui's house." Kakashi informed, causing Sakura to roll her eyes.
"Alright, alright." She hummed as she dried off the water she used to clean her arm with. "I'm leaving. Night." She said before rushing out of the house.
Where was she supposed to go? It was late in the night again and she was supposed to get some camping supplies…But, yet again, the shops would be closed.
"Guess I'm sleeping rough tonight." Sakura muttered as she made her way to the training field. She stood in front of the three familiar logs before smiling. "It's not going to be the same…is it?" Sakura sighed as she ripped the sides of her dress up to her hips so that she could comfortably sit down cross legged.
For a short while Sakura felt at peace as the nights breeze rushed past her face.
"You're not from here." A deep voice suddenly spoke, disarming Sakura completely as a familiar figure pinned her down by the shoulders with his knees.
"What the hell?" Sakura blurted out instinctively as she used a bit of Chakra to enhance her eyesight. "What do you want, Orochimaru?" Sakura hissed. Orochimaru was very pleased with her reaction so he grinned in delight.
"That's a disrespectful way to treat your elders." He teased.
"And what you're doing isn't exactly what I'd call-" Sakura tried to retort but Orochimaru forced his hand on her mouth while he frowned.
"You talk too much." He spat before leaning closer to her. "You're not from here, there is no records of you in this village and I don't believe the bullshit story Sarutobi is feeding us." He voiced out loud. There was a faint rustle heard by both Sakura and Orochimaru which made Orochimaru frown further. "You're lucky this time, for the weasel interrupting this private affair, however, I promise you that I will dissect you entirely until I find out who you really are."
Orochimaru disappeared without another word, leaving Sakura breathless.
"What a fricken weirdo." Sakura muttered out loud before sitting herself up. She heard footsteps approaching from behind her, and from what Orochimaru said, she could only assume that the guy behind her was the short dark haired ANBU member who wanted to fight with her so badly.
"I'm not in the mood to fight you today." Sakura said out loud before standing up.
"What was that exchange about." He got right into the questions. Making Sakura sigh heavily.
"Look, you may have all the time in the world to spy on me. But I don't really want to be talking to anyone right now. Why don't you just go home or something." Sakura said plainly, trying to keep calm as her stress levels were rising. "Why are you spying on me anyway? If there's anyone you need to spy on, It's Itachi." She voiced honestly as she sat on top of the middle log.
"Why would that be?" The ANBU responded after a long pause.
"He's….Uh." Sakura said, thinking about the most believable fact she could say. "forget I said anything." Sakura reluctantly dropped as the ANBU member decided to take a seat next to Sakura.
"Why won't you fight me?" he asked, slightly annoying Sakura.
"I don't have to energy right now, I need to clear my mind…" Sakura openly admitted as she looked up at the sky. "I need to find a house, I need to find my place…" she continued. "I need to do so many things."
"It seems that you hate Itachi, why is that?" He interrupted. Changing the topic obviously.
"I don't hate him…I think. It's hard to explain." Sakura reflected the question obviously.
"Try me." He said as he firmly placed a hand on her shoulder, completely causing Sakura to let her guard down.
Something about this ANBU member made her feel comfortable, despite their first encounter.
"Your mind would melt if I even tried explaining." Sakura laughed before looking at the man. Slightly irritated that he was hiding his identity. "Itachi…To me it seems that Itachi isn't being honest to the village…There's something about him that makes me nervous."
"That's not because he's strong though? I've heard that he makes quite a few people nervous because of his strength." Sakura giggled at his response.
"Between you and me. I've only ever fought Itachi once, and he wasn't all that great. He doesn't scare me in that way." Sakura replied as she looked back up to the starry sky. "There is something that he's hiding and I want to find out what it is…Orochimaru scares me way more than Itachi does."
The ANBU member stiffened up as he removed his hand from Sakura's shoulder.
"Orochimaru?" he replied inquisitively.
"Yeah, but that's a personal matter. Anyway, Thanks for listening to my rambling, I feel a lot better at least getting that much off my mind. Goodnight…Uh, who are you?" Sakura said in attempts to find out this man's identity.
"Goodnight, Sakura." Was all he said before disappearing from her sight.
Sakura let out another long sigh as she made her way to the roof above Naruto's apartment to sleep for the night.
A.N: There may be a few mistakes in this one but thank you for reading!