Disclaimer: I'm flattered you would even think I own Naruto
Chapter 4: A New Team
Sakura left the ANBU headquarters and went home cooked a quick lunch, and then took a nap. She woke up to several sharp knocks on her front door. She started and jumped out of bed racing to the door not wanting to keep whomever the person was waiting. The bed-tousled woman opened the door and was surprised to see that it was already mid-morning. She had slept all through yesterday evening and the night. However, unsurprisingly, Hyuuga Neji was at my door with a brown parcel tied with twine.
"Hello, Hyuuga-San, would you like some breakfast? I just woke up and apparently I fell asleep right after lunch yesterday, so I am famished." Sakura politely asked as she led him into the kitchen to sit at the table.
"Breakfast would be appreciated Haruno-San and you just waking up does explain your disheveled appearance, although I was tempted to think it was due to something slightly less innocent," Neji remarked with a smirk, mind obviously in the gutter.
"First of all, did you just make a joke? I thought you were all uptight but, apparently not. Second, don't call me Haruno-San, Sakura is just fine, especially if you are going to joke with me in that manner," Sakura replied amused.
"Alright, but you have to drop the honorific too," he replied emotionless, already back to his stoic attitude.
"Agreed. I'm just going to go and get dressed. I'll be back in five minutes, so sit down at the table and make your self comfortable. There's coffee if you want it," Sakura said trying to be polite while she rushed out of the room wanting to get dressed and out of yesterday's clothes. She ran to her room and started to change. As an after thought she raised her voice a little, "Don't you even think about using Byakugan or I might have to send you through my wall."
"Hn," Neji grunted loudly, smirking to himself in Sakura's kitchen
Sakura came back to kitchen looking considerably more put together, "you know that really isn't a response."
"Hn," he replied again.
Sakura sweat-dropped. "Are pancakes good?"
"Hn," he smirked.
"Now you're just doing that to annoy me," she said making a shadow clone to cook breakfast.
"What's the shadow clone for?" he asked looking at it suspiciously.
"Cooking, I don't feel like it," she replied languorously.
"You mean you are lazy," Neji teased lightly.
"No, I just hate cooking and house-cleaning," she replied slightly defensive.
"So, Sakura tell me why you needed secrecy," said Neji still managing to become impassive in less than a heartbeat.
She took a deep breath, "I'm going to tell you something you must never tell anyone else, not even Tsunade-sama. OK?" Neji nodded. "If you do, people that are precious to me probably would be targeted," she paused looking over at him to make sure he understood.
"I will start at the beginning I am from the Haruno clan, which was at one time just as renowned as the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans. However, due to various circumstances my clan started to wane. We were well known for our blood-line limit. My grandfather Ataru Haruno was the last ninja in our family to have possessed the genzougan, our family bloodline limit. Until, about six months ago, I discovered I had the kekkai genkai too. The genzougan allows me to see chakra and increases my chakra and speed abilities; like the Byakugan and Sharingan but, it's defining feature is it allows me to see into the future. Six months ago I convinced Tsunade-sama to give me six months to become ANBU level, and she did. I trained for six months and I came back two days ago and you know the rest. What you can't tell Tsunade or anyone else, well besides my clan's secrets is that I didn't use my bloodline limit, except to fight with Kakashi-sensei and I toyed with all the examiners. If people knew I had a bloodline and that I was Haruno Sakura, I wouldn't be able to keep my secrecy, people would come just to fight to see how they measured up to the Hokage's apprentice, I couldn't be a medical ninja, and my friends would be in danger if people knew who I was." Sakura finished her long explanation.
"I understand and I'll respect you wishes and not say anything," Neji said solemnly.
Sakura smiled brightly and her clone served breakfast. They ate in relative silence for a few minutes before she remembered the package. The Kunoichi opened the package carefully and there in the package was a new uniform. Included was the black under garb, the white guard shin and arm guards, my two masks, and an ANBU forehead protector. Sakura gasped when she saw the masks, they were magnificently done. The first mask didn't have eyes and was painted with fox markings. Fox masks stood for cleverness and clear thinking ability. It was painted with an orange red paint and every stroke of the paint brush was clearly defined. The second mask, the one with eyes was painted as a wolf; for strength and unpredictability. It was a medium-light grey and the craftsmanship on this mask was as brilliant as the first.
"You like them? The ANBU captain's masks are always more detailed and life-like than regular masks," said Neji with a slightly appreciative tone. In a strictly business, tone Neji rattled off a new missions briefing, "Your next mission is going to be next weekend. Tsunade wants you and I to meet with her Friday at 6 in the evening. Also, Tsunade told me that you should meet your new team. She said that she doesn't care if you spy on them or meet them face to face but you should know about your team before the mission briefing. Thanks for breakfast I have to go now." Then Neji walked out the door. Sakura grinned evilly, Tsunade said that she could spy on her new team.
The next day Sakura spied on all three of her new teammates during their own individual training sessions. The Kunoichi stayed far away and used her ability to see chakra to see their movements and map out their battle strategies. Then later that day she sent them each a little note saying to meet at training ground 16 on Thursday at 4 in the afternoon.
THURSDAY
Sakura was excited to meet her new team but, felt a little guilty. It was Thursday afternoon and five past four and she still have another fifty-five minutes scheduled for her shift at the hospital. She did it on purpose of course but, she guessed she was just too nice not to feel a little guilty. Luckily she only had just one more patient.
"Hello, Hinata. Are you feeling better today?" Sakura asked walking through the door of a recovery room.
"Hai, my injuries are much better," Hinata replied.
"Ok, let me just check out your injuries and then I'll sign your release," the young medical ninja said. She checked the other Kunoichi's injuries. It took about twenty minutes. Hinata's injuries had been extensive. She was on a mission when some ninjas attacked while she was low on chakra. She managed to injure them but, they pursued her when they realized she was a Hyuuga. Luckily, another Konoha ninja was nearby and heard the fight and decided to help. After Sakura finished with Hinata, she decided that since her shift only had about twenty-five more minutes and she was all done with all her patients for the day she was going home to change into my ANBU uniform and wait till about five to go to the training grounds.
At about five Sakura transported herself to a tree above the entrance to the training grounds, and waited for her ANBU ninjas to notice her. They were all lounging about 10 feet away relaxing. One of them noticed Sakura right away. Sakura could tell by the way his body tensed slightly. The other two ninjas weren't paying much attention so Sakura whipped three senbon from her weapons pouch and flung them at all three of her new subordinates. The one that had originally noticed the mysterious ANBU in the tree was able to dodge and fling a kunai back at her, the other two managed just to dodge but their senbon, and in an instant later they had kunai of their own to use and were in a defensive position.
"Konichiwa, I am your new team captain." Sakura said while jumping gracefully from the tree. She walked over towards my new team and stood beside them. They all looked down at her, because they were all tall men. The shortest was 5'10, the next tallest was 6' and the tallest was 6'1.
"You are our new captain? You are late! You are so small. What are you like 12? You can't be our captain," the man that was 6' stupidly said.
"I thought the ANBU tests were supposed to weed out the idiots," Sakura said secretly pleased that there was a person a little like Naruto on her team. The rest of the group chuckled nervously; obviously a little smarter than this guy. "What are your names, list them from shortest to tallest."
Akane, was the shortest, he had brown spiky hair and blue eyes. Kaito was the tallest, he had dirty blonde hair with hazel green eyes. The idiot's name was Kenshin, he had black hair, and green eyes. Sakura had some pretty good looking teammates. "First of all Idiot, you can call me Saku, I am 16 not 12 if you continue to demean my stature or position I will personally show you a lesson you won't forget." The Kunoichi said in a threatening tone to get her point across.
"Such big words from a small kunoichi," Kenshin said mockingly. "I bet I could take you down easy."
"I think you are an arrogant jerk who wants to fight me and lose," Sakura said starting to lose her temper just a little.
"Finally, you get that I want to fight!" he said.
"Ok, all of you against me, fight to kill," She said while thinking this is turning out to be more and more like Kakashi-sensei's training practices.
"We'll hurt you hurt you if we fight you hard," said Kaito.
"Am I not second ANBU captain? It's either you hurt me or I hurt you, your pick," the feisty woman tossed over her shoulder as she moved about 20 feet away. "Are you ready?" she asked them.
They replied, "Yes."
"Alright, go," Sakura shouted
She put her blindfold on again and opened her senses. Kenshin was coming at her fairly quickly. Which wasn't surprising at all, in fact Sakura had expected it. He threw a kick and a couple of punches, she blocked all them and threw her own chakra-enhanced kick which connected with him and sent him flying towards a tree twenty feet away; knocking him unconscious. Then she stared back at the other two. They looked at each other and then both went after Sakura, one started a genjutsu which she immediately dispelled before he could complete it. They tried trapping their captain between them and using taijutsu, but Sakura merely blocked and finally moved at her top speed and before they could comprehend her movements their chakra points from the waist down were all blocked and they were laying on the ground. "I decided not to hurt you two, because you weren't the idiot who questioned my capabilities." she said walking over to them and unblocking the chakra points then going over to their teammate.
They stood up and looked down on me again and Akane said, "Kenshin has always had a sharp tongue and very little common sense, so please excuse him. Let's start over Saku-san."
"I can see you are the wise one, alright we will start over," Sakura said as she finished healing their teammate.
"What the hell? Why aren't you attacking her?" exclaimed Kenshin when he woke up.
"She already beat us up and healed us that's why," said Kaito. "You know she beat you with one move you probably should show her some respect."
"Hai, I will. Thank you Saku-san for healing me and forgive me for misjudging you," said Kenshin.
"Ah, it's alright and it's water under the bridge now so don't worry, besides I'm used to it," She said in good humor. "Now for some rules, you can't take off my mask, no matter what. Keeping your teammates safe and alive to me is very important and I'd rather fail a mission than lose my team. You may ask personal questions, I might not answer though. Lastly, please listen to all commands promptly; it is very important you do what I say to the letter, for the safety of everybody. I look forward to working with you. You are dismissed." Sakura waited till they left and the transported back home.
That weekend Sakura's team met up with Neji's and completed a mission the Hokage had given them successfully. It was almost dinner time, so after the first and second ANBU captain's teams left, the captains decided to get dinner together. They changed into regular clothing and then since they were sick of ramen. Obviously, for having the same choice in friends, they decided to stop and eat in a real restaurant. It was a casual restaurant, the conversation flowed freely and both enjoyed the intellectual company. This was the start of Neji's and Sakura's habit of eating dinner after every successful mission together.