Not owning of Naruto, please. Please no sue.
Sakura opened her eyes. The sun shone through the window, filtering through the branches and leaves of the tree out in front. The leaves fluttered, sending a kaleidoscope of green dancing over the ceiling.
She remembered the night before, and sat bolt upright. That had to be a dream, yes? Right? RIGHT? Throwing back the covers, she ran to the living room. The glass on the floor. The window facing the alley still open. She started hyperventilating. What got into me? Dear God, I've kissed the most evil man on Earth! Her stomach clenched, making her double over. Alright, alright, calm down. It was probably just a genjitsu or something. No need to vomit. She took deep breaths through her nose, willing the disgust to go away.
With a good shake, the last of the uncertainty fell away, and she was completely sure she had imagined it.
As she got on her clothes, made her breakfast, and collected her things for work, she repeatedly had to shove the niggling in the back of her mind. Get a freaking grip, Sakura. She headed for the door, pausing to look at the shattered mirror on the floor, considering cleaning it up.
A chill writhed up her spine, making her shiver. She slipped on her shoes and walked out the door, locking it firmly, as if trying to lock away the memories.
Sakura put on a cheery façade for the walk to the Hokage's office. She waved to people she knew, exchanging small talk.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" A familiar blond came running up to her, a rush of orange and black. "You're out of the hospital!" Naruto grinned warmly. Sakura laughed. Though Naruto could be annoying at times, his smile was infectious. "You ready to hunt down the older Teme?"
Sakura's smile instantly dropped, a dark glare taking up residence on her otherwise pretty face. Naruto noticed this and took a step back. She forcibly shook this off as well, smirking darkly. "Oh you wait until I get my hands on him, Naruto." He chuckled weakly, still freaked out by her sudden change in demeanor. "You going to training?"
Her revert to normalcy seemed to soothe Naruto, who put his customary grin back on. "Nope! I'm going to the Hokage's office with you!"
She blinked. "Really? What for?"
"She says she has a mission for me." He shrugged. "If Tsunade-baa-san gives me a mission personally, it must be a good one!" Sakura nodded, motioning for him to follow her.
A block from the Hokage's residence, Sakura saw Hinata and waved. Hinata had recently begun classes for healing. Hinata went to wave back, then saw Naruto, looked away, and blushed.
"Mou, Sakura, she didn't wave to us."
An evil idea crept into Sakura's head. "Hey, why don't you go over and say hi? I'll wait."
"Yeah! That's a good idea!" Naruto rushed over to the Hyuuga heir, whose blush deepened with every step nearer he got. "Hi, Hinata!"
"Ah….um….hi, Naruto-kun." She studied her feet intently. Sakura followed Naruto over at a slow pace, watching with amusement. "Training today?"
"Nah, I have a mission from the Hokage!"
Hinata looked up with admiring eyes. Internally, Sakura snorted. It was so obvious to anyone other than Naruto that the young woman was totally infatuated with him. "Good luck, Naruto-kun."
"Thanks!" he exclaimed, puffing out his chest. Sakura was really fighting to hold the laughter in. Hinata looked back at her toes, shuffling them a little bit.
"Naruto….*chuckle snort* we need to get to Tsunade-sama."
"Oh! Yes! Got to go, Hinata. Talk to you later!" Hinata nodded with a tiny smile. As Naruto and Sakura headed off, Sakura spied Hinata looking longingly at Naruto, and began to laugh. "Mou! Sakura! What's so funny?" That made it even better. Sakura was positively dying with laughter, tears running from her eyes, face turning red. "Sakura-chan!"
She stood as the giggles subsided, wiping her tears away and straightening her shirt. "Naruto, you really are a dobe."
"SAKURA!" Naruto was highly offended. Sakura cracked up again.
"AHAHAHAHAHA You really have no idea! HAHAHAHAHA!"
"What? I have no idea of what?"
"Naruto, why do you think Hinata blushes so much around you? HAHAHAHA!"
"I don't know…." Naruto rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "It's really weird."
Sakura collected herself again. "For God's sake, Naruto, she likes you!"
Naruto immediately turned all shades of red very quickly, his expression frozen. "Wh-what?" Sakura slapped her forehead. Dobe. "She can't like me!"
"Why not?" Sakura frowned.
"Because she can't! There is no way she likes me!"
"Oh really? You seen the way she looks at you?"
"She-" Naruto paused, eyes wide. He whipped around, staring in the direction the Hyuuga had slunk off. "She likes me?" His lips parted in amazement.
Sakura gave herself a self-satisfied smirk. Haruno Sakura, matchmaker.
The clock in the center of town began to gong. Sakura looked up sharply. "SHIT it's already nine! Come on, idiot!" She seized Naruto's arm, and with her monstrous strength, hauled ass to the Hokage's building. By the time they got to Tsunade's office, Naruto was covered in dust from head to toe, eyes rolling.
"Gomen nasai, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura instantly bowed deeply in apology, grabbing Naruto's neck to make him mimic the movement. Tsunade made a light "che" sound.
"Uzumaki, here." Sakura released Naruto so he could take the scroll from Tsunade's hand. As soon as his fingers gripped the paper, Tsunade's hand clenched tightly on it. Naruto looked up with a questioning expression. Tsunade's face was a frozen mask of seriousness. Sakura blinked blankly. Rarely was she ever with a look of such deep determination. "Tell no one what you read in this scroll, understand? Ask no questions. Do not, under any circumstances, seek to find out what you are carrying. Follow the precautions to the letter, and be as fast as you can. If I do not see you by sundown two days from now, I will assume you are dead, because you did not listen to me." The woman's knuckles blanched white. Naruto stared at her. Everyone is acting funny today….. He nodded curtly, fixing his face into a mirror of her's.
As soon as her hand was off the scroll, Naruto was out the window and gone. Tsunade gazed out the window at his retreating form, until he disappeared into the trees. She sighed.
This lapse was momentary, and her attention snapped onto Sakura, who stood a little straighter at her sudden scrutiny. "You as well, Haruno. Do not repeat what has happened in this office to anyone." Sakura nodded.
"Hai."
Tsunade locked her gaze on Sakura for a minute more, before she cracked a grin. "I can tell on your face, Sakura."
"W-what?" She was startled. For the moment, she had no idea what the Hokage was talking about.
"Well, he blocked the walls with a stealth jitsu, so I don't know the details, but I'm guessing it got a little hot and heavy didn't it?" The realization that hit Sakura felt like a bucket of ice water.
"THAT WAS REAL?" Tsunade sat back a little, frowning.
"What are you talking about?"
"The-shu-eh-ke-nim-fuh-" Sakura sputtered like a moron.
"I remember Itachi coming in and asking to see you, me giving him permission, and the fact that I couldn't spy on your apartment because a high level jitsu was all over the walls." Tsunade frowned deeper. "Unless you saw another missing nin in your home, everything with Itachi was real."
"WHAT?" Sakura felt herself hyperventilating again. Tsunade pressed her fingers to her temples, as if her student was giving her a migraine. "So, he, he really did-and Sasuke-with the clan-and all that stuff and-"
"True. All of it."
"Uchiha-and his brother-SERIOUSLY?" Sakura couldn't control the volume of her voice. Tsunade curled her lip and twisted a pinky sarcastically in her ear.
"Yes, for God's sake! Bloody hell, you don't have to shout."
"And I…..I…..I kissed….."
The floor suddenly swung up to say hi to Sakura's face.
"Bugger. Everyone keeps passing out!"
HUGE FREAKING HINT: The next story's prologue begins in this chapter. Yeah, I think you'd have to be blind to miss that.
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Special thanks to Mischa Rowe for all her reviews!
Itachi: Which one of you called me an emo bitch?
Writer: *cowers* Uh, she did! *points off into the blank wall*
Itachi: Liar.
Writer: Hey, if you already knew, why did you ask? That was mean!
Itachi: ….Who do you think you're talking to?
Writer: An emo bitch?
Itachi: Die. *conjures black fire. Black fire chases Writer around*
Writer: Until next time! Unless Itachi kills me first!
