-{Chapter 3}-

A/N: When I mention a theater, it's one of those restaurant type deals with a theater for entertainment, but for lack of any other word to describe it, I just used theater.

Sakura's P.O.V.

Knock, knock.

"Come in." A voice less than energetic boomed.

I slowly opened the door to the Hokage's office spying the seemingly ever present short-haired assistant with her pet pig trailing behind. In one hand, she was holding a stack of papers and in the other a cup of tea. Shizune gave me a small smile and we both greeted each other with a nod. Closing the door quietly behind me, I turned my attention to the sitting woman who was hunched over, her elbows resting on the desk, fingers interlaced, and head resting atop them. Hard brown eyes stared at me waiting for me to come closer.

"Sakura, I see you got my message." I nodded and the Hokage continued.

"I'd like you to go on a 2-man squad mission to deliver important documents to two representatives of the Land of Tea. In return, they shall hand to you the sum of money promised as well as a scroll." She paused to let me absorb the information before continuing again.

"The location of this exchange will be in a village along the border. It is marked on a map you shall be supplied with." At that moment, Shizune produced a scroll and handed it to me. Taking it, I nodded at the blonde haired woman and stored it in my leg pouch.

"You'll head out later this evening, so please pack your things and be ready to leave in about..," she glanced over at a clock on her wall, "two hours."

Tsunade leaned back in her worn chair, looking me over with a hidden concerned look, and then dismissed me. A bit puzzled by her look, I bowed and excused myself from her office.

Sasuke's P.O.V.

"Oi, Kiba, stop that!" A giggling voice reached my ear as I walked back to the Uchiha compound. At the mention of his name, I immediately became annoyed, knowing that dog boy was around. Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I quickened my pace to avoid overhearing anymore of their intimacy. Unfortunately, as I passed a little ally way, I discovered the two "love birds."

Kiba had backed TenTen into the wall of the building, his arms leaning against the wall on either side of her. He'd been trying to kiss her, with a blushing TenTen fending off his attacks playfully, but eventually caved in to him. Kiba cast a sidelong glance at me as I walked past, still connected to the kunoichi's lips. I felt disgusted, but kept my blank, uncaring expression and moved out of view. That bastard is too careless. What would he have done if it had been Sakura, and not myself, who had walked past them? In my pocket, I felt my hands ball into fists.

After a minute, I heard footsteps behind me. I knew it was him, and I struggled with myself, trying to convince myself it'd be a bad idea to turn around and break his nose right then and there. Silently, I sucked in a deep breath through clenched teeth.

"Yo, Sasuke." I heard him call out and I paused for a slight moment, before continuing down the street.

"Tch." He breathed out from somewhere behind me, then after more quick footsteps, he appeared beside me, matching my pace. I inwardly groaned, not having the slightest desire to chat with him.

"Teme, I know you heard me." He spoke directly to me, then faced forward as we walked. I'm sure if anyone had walked past, they would have felt the tension between us. After a few more strained seconds past, he broke the silence.

"I was assigned a mission today. With Sakura-chan." He stated in an almost smug tone. "It'll take a few days to finish."

I allowed myself a quick glance in his direction and found that he was observing me with a smirk. I allowed no emotions to run across my face.

"Hn. Good for you." I stated simply, returning my attention the road ahead of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see his smirk waver and he narrowed his eyes slightly in a frustrated expression. I took pleasure in how he seemingly couldn't to find a way to faze me.

"Well, if that's all you need to say, then I'll be on my way. I have a mission of my own to complete." With that said, I continued walking toward the Uchiha district and Kiba's footsteps fell still behind me. I raised a hand, waving it slightly, in an attempt to tick him off, then turned the corner.

As I slid open the sliding door to exit my house, a few leaves swirled into the foyer from a building gust outside. I breathed in the fresh air and closed the door behind me, turning my head towards the yellowing sky. Several large clouds painted by the rays of the sun clustered over the expanse of space. A storm might be coming. Better hurry before it hits and find some shelter. I quickened my pace, heading toward the gates of Konoha.

I'd left the Hokage's office before she'd been able to tell me my squad partner for the assignment, so I quietly pondered over who it could be. Not that it mattered, I 'd just work with him or her to get the assignment completed and over with. The task was something of a delivery mission, nothing too complicated and for that I was somewhat grateful. I wasn't really in the mood to go on an arduous quest, but then again, I wasn't exactly in the mood for anything at the moment. I just wanted to take a nice hot bath then slide under the covers of my bed. To fall into the unconscious and not have to deal with anything for a while, but of course that wasn't likely to happen till after the mission.

The tall, wide gates of our village came into sight as I moved closer. A few shinobi stood in front of the gate, speaking to one another or heading to the Hokage tower to report their accomplishments. As I neared, I glanced around for any signs of my partner. I didn't see Kiba around, so I supposed he'd already gone off on his task with Sakura. Why the hell do I even care if he's around or not. I inwardly kicked myself.

Giving a nod toward the ninja on duty, I came to a halt right in the middle of the entryway, fixing the straps of the pack on my shoulders. Another gust of wind blew by and through the loose strands of my hair, something caught my eye by an oak tree just beyond the gate's entrance. On closer inspection, my eyes widened slightly in surprise, for there next to the dull tree, the wind playfully swept through hair like cherry blossoms.

Gah, okay so I owe every one of you readers a sincere apology. I haven't updated this story is SO long. I am so, so sorry! I feel really bad, so today I sat down and really made myself try and finish this chapter up. It's been so long that I can't even remember where I was going with this story, but reading back over it, I came up with a sort of plan B, I suppose. Hopefully I'll be able to update the next chapter in a tremendously shorter amount of time than I did this time.

Once again, I apologize for my lack of effort to post up a new chapter, but I hope you like this one that I've finally finished. Reviews are most welcomed~