Sakura's lip was puffy and swollen. She had been, and was currently, grinding her teeth against her lower lip, and she felt it begin to tear. The tender tissue threatened to break and flood her mouth with the crimson liquid it held beneath the thin fleshy layer. It was a nervous habit she had just now developed, and she didn't mind the pain. Perhaps the blood could quench her thirst, her mouth was too try, and her throat too tightly constricted.

In front of her was a dazed Uchiha, an emotionless painter, and one intensely angered Kyuubi container. The other two didn't seem to know what was going on, but Sakura was positive Naruto would inform them shortly.

Despite being determined not to show emotion, she showed her slight fear. She bit down harder on her lip, brushing her teeth painfully fast against the flesh. She was sure she looked silly, but at the moment, she didn't care.

"You are not joining ANBU." Naruto shouted. This caused Sai to noticeably widen his eyes, and Sasuke to take on a shocked look. Naruto continued, ignoring the others, "I forbid it! You are not risking your life like that, Sakura-chan!"

"Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?" She asked. Her wrist itched, and she remembered the seal that was still present on her skin. Would he stop if she blew up his house?

The look in his eyes was similar to the one she had seen him have when he was taking on Sasuke a few years ago. The skin tore, and blood poured from her lip, dribbling down her mouth, but unfortunately the stream that fell into her mouth did nothing to satisfy the dryness of it. The thick coppery taste made her shiver.

Her attention never left Naruto, even when Sasuke spoke. "Sakura-chan, you're not joining ANBU." She felt a few droplets land on her pants. They were water-proof, and apparently blood-proof, too. She didn't feel the moisture press against her skin, only the small warmth radiating off the splattering blood. She sighed gently, her gaze turning into a glare that never left Naruto's. "Do you know how dangerous that is? You could die, you most likely will die."

Her smirk played along her lips, and she exhaled. The blood bubbled over and changed course because of the hot air that bellowed from beyond her lips, and now it was dripping onto Naruto's couch. "I know how dangerous it is, I know the likelihood if my death. I've healed many ANBU ninja's, I know what the possibilities of death are." Her tongue ran along her lips, catching and smearing the red liquid, drawing as much of it as she could into her mouth. She wanted to scare Naruto as much as he was scaring her, and if that meant creeping everyone else out, so be it.

"No." The word shocked her. Those familiar blue eyes became tinted with an emotion she had never seen in them, and they suddenly reminded her of her own. Shallow, hollow eyes looked down into hers. She didn't remember seeing Naruto change position, but now he was kneeling in front of her. "What good is a medic nin, or an ANBU, without chakra? I wont remove the seal. You're not joining ANBU."

Her fingers rubbed against her skin harder, the friction coming from the contact causing the skin of her wrist to heat up. After another minute, she brought her hand to her lips. Her tongue glided effortlessly along her thumb, coating it thickly with saliva. When she was done, she brought it down quickly to the seal. The saliva dripped onto the ink, but her fingers were suspended above her other hand. Naruto tightened his grip on her wrist, pulling it back to her lap.

The silence became heavy, but Sakura was unwilling to break it. Her fingers reached for the seal, her index and middle fingers ghosting over heated skin.

"Let her do it." Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke all turned simultaneously towards the fourth member in the room. His eyes suddenly held a new light, and Sakura found herself entranced by it. "We will always feel connected to her as a team but," He stepped forward slowly, closing the gap between him and herself. When he was close enough, he sat beside her, signalling that he was on her side. "We need to let her do what she wants to do. A book I read said that is one of the best ways to an effective friendship, and Sakura and I are friends. I want to protect her, too, but I want her to be happy, as well." He looked up at the other two, and Sakura studied his face for a minute, before looking in the same direction as Sai.

After two and a half minutes of this staring stalemate, Naruto released his grip on her hand, but not before removing the seal on her other wrist. She gripped her right hand in her left, rubbing the palm of her hand against it gently. Her teeth stopped grinding against the beaten up flesh of her lower lip, and she looked at Naruto, half expecting him to lunge at Sai.

"If you're really considering this," Naruto's head hung low, so much so, Sakura couldn't see his eyes. "I want you to think about it." Sasuke nodded his head in agreement, the initial shock fading from his face as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking down on his pink-haired teammate.

She sighed gently, suddenly fearing for her life. These next words could make Naruto lose control in anger or whatever emotion she had seen in his eyes earlier, "I.. .I have. I've thought about it a lot. That's why I'm going to turn in my papers and wait for my initiation if I'm considered a candidate," She turned to Sai and gave him a bright smile. It may not have been genuine, but she doubted the emotionless boy was expecting a real smile. "Now."

Before any of the three boys could react, she vanished, leaving puffs of smoke in her wake.

For the second time in much too soon, a lifetime would be too soon, Sakura thought, she was facing the Hokage's scowling face. The concern on Tsunade's face did not outweigh the sheer terror in her eyes.

The Hokage had requested an ANBU ninja that was specialized in the medical field as well as fighting. Sakura highly doubted Tsunade was even aware that her requirements left only one ninja who wasn't already sent on a mission. Did the Hokage even know she was an ANBU, now?

"Sakura, I wasn't expecting you." The Hokage finally spoke. Sakura bowed, and when she rose, she put her mask back on. Tsunade had commanded her to take it off earlier, most likely to confirm her thoughts about who was standing in front of her.

"I am sorry, Hokage-sama. My commander informed me that I was the only ninja available that met your requirements." Tsunade asked when she became an ANBU. "Hokage-sama, if I may request, may we continue with our meeting? For you to desire such specific traits in an ANBU gives me the clue that this mission is an important one."

Tsunade studied her closely for a second. Sakura knew it was not in her best interest to say such a thing to the most powerful ninja in all of Konohagakure, but if this was as important as her commander made it seem, she would need to be briefed as soon as possible.
"You're correct, Sakura. I apologize for asking such a frivolous question." Sakura heard the sarcasm in her former mentor's voice, but reassured the Hokage that she need not apologize. "This mission is an important one, as you've suspected. Team Thorn was sent off several months ago on a mass assassination mission, and then Team Wing after them when we heard nothing. We have sent out two more teams after the missing ninjas, and we still have heard nothing from any of the four teams. I am going to infer that there are casualties and fatalities involved, and it is your job to finish up whatever they have started, heal, and bring back as many as you can.

This is a highly dangerous mission. Based on what I've got, which isn't much, the chance of dying is greater than the possibility of living. You leave tomorrow at dawn." She disclosed the location for this mission, which surprisingly was just outside of Fire Country, and dismissed her former student.

Sakura left quickly. She didn't need to absorb any of the information she had been given other than the location and the major details. This would be her first solo-ANBU mission, and she wasn't going to scare herself by thinking about death.

Her thoughts clearly weren't written on her face, the mask having been moved aside, because Shizune gave her a warm smile. Sakura waved as she passed, making her face even more unreadable by encasing it beneath her clay mask. She didn't have to think about the mission details for very long, because an extremely flustered blond came racing towards her. As much as she wanted to sidestep away from the annoying ninja, the corridors offered little room, and he was coming in the direction she desired to go.

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan!" Sakura contemplated disappearing back into the Hokage's office and asking if she could bring Naruto along with her, the mission was high risk, after all. The gruesome thought brought a smile to her lips, but was quickly dismissed as he drew closer. Her thoughts were brought back to her, however, as he shouted, less than a foot away now, "I've got a super secret mission, Sakura-chan!"

Her blood began to run cold, icy tendrils of realization gripping her. Perhaps it was a different mission? Surely he couldn't- "I was told you're on it, too!" Sakura deadpanned. His hand wrapped around her wrist and he began to dash off in the direction he came from. She forced her hands together, and began to perform the appropriate seals she needed for this getaway.

If he noticed her vanish from his grip, he didn't show it, continuing to madly race down the stairs, grinning like an idiot as he went.

A fist sailed passed her ear, disrupting the air and causing it to breeze against her skin. Quickly taking the offending arm in hand, Sakura flipped the cloaked assailant onto the ground, his jutsu failing as their back thudded against the ground with a sickening pound, making him visible to her. A kunai whizzed by her head, nicking her ear before she could move out of the way. Before she could tackle the owner of the blade, she was forced to the ground, a shuriken embedding into her left arm.

On the far left of her, a very agitated Naruto was crashing through the assailants like they were nothing, partially thanks to the many clones that surrounded him. Sakura brought her knees to her chest, hooking her sandals onto the jacket of the one on top of her. Before he could move away, she launched her feet from her torso, forcing the female into the air. After many treacherous seconds, Sakura was able to free herself from the others, giving her enough time to race over to Naruto.

She did not use that time for the intended purpose, however. She, instead, began to pummel her way through the murderous crowd. She clutched her left arm to her side, and and ran as fast as she could with no real destination in mind. Occasionally, she would slam her head into the neck or torso of an enemy, barreling her way around blades and sharp metal. She did not do this unscathed, however, and the blood pouring from a head wound into her eyes was proof enough.

Her breath grew ragged as something dug into her right thigh, and got louder and more forced when the object twisted and ripped down her leg. She didn't hesitate to look at it, however, nor did she plan to heal the wound. She needed as much chakra as she could get, which meant saving her wounds for last.

A large mass of bodies came into view. It was blurred, and tinted a strange red, but that could be due to the blood in her eyes. She raced as fast as she could towards it, slamming her shoulder into an obstacle and moving it out of the way.

The battle was dying down, Sakura could tell. The screams of pain and anger were becoming little more than bloodied gurgles and cut off shouts. Whatever was in her leg gave way, and fell off with a small thump. She was so close to the bodies, she could make out faces and injuries. With one last bout of energy, she smashed into the nearest person in the ugly pile, and forced her chakra into them.

They were dead.

She threw them out of the pile, focusing on the next one. She was dead, as well. And then the next, dead. The next, dying and too far gone to save. Body after body was thrown out, until she was certain there was not a single ninja alive or salvageable in this disgusting horde of people, threads, and smashed ANBU masks. There was someone digging a weapon into her side, but she paid them no mind. They were clearly weaker than she, their blade only just breaking the skin.

Sakura was beginning to lose hope of finding a single Konoha ninja she could bring home to their family, a single ninja who would stop even one person from worrying, when she found them. "Med.." They groaned loudly as she removed another person from the pile. "-Ic..." Sakura found them easily, their mouth gaping and their eyes shut tightly. Upon stumbling onto this finding, Sakura thrust her hands onto their bare chest, pumping her chakra into his veins. His lungs were the only thing incredulously damaged, the threat of suffocation almost becoming real for this man.

Something rammed against her, forcing her to loom over the man. His eyes cracked open slightly, and his white pupils met her dark ones. A Hyuuga, this man was a Hyuuga. She knew he fought valiantly, then. She continued to pour her chakra into him, healing his wounded lungs as best as she could. When he was done, she forced him to crawl off of the pile, and she began her search for the next one who could be saved.

A faint buzzing filled her ears, and grew steadily louder until she could no longer ignore it. The pile had diminished into just two bodies stacked onto each other, and she felt that they were going to turn up dead, too. Turning her head to address the chakra signal that was so desperately begging for her attention, she came face-to-fist as a hand thrust into her face, the chakra laced skin fizzing and sparking against her, filling her with an enormous amount of pain. The lightning-like feeling flooded her systems as she was thrown backwards, her stomach and face slamming against the ground before her legs. She skidded across the hard and rocky dirt, tumbling until she was flipped onto her side.

Looking up from the ground, Sakura glanced up at her assailant. Her breath caught in her throat and her lips opened in a silent scream as she looked into those white pupils, the ones she had looked into just a little while ago.

"Sakura-chan!" Someone screamed, but she was paying too much attention to the man who was closing the distance between the two of them. The chakra that flooded her veins was too weak, too little of an amount, to be of any use, and her wounds were beginning to throb.

Blood filled her lungs and created a sticky mess in her throat, coating her uvula and pooling from her lips. She was choking on her own blood. A hiccup cleared her throat for a second, forcing the blood to splash onto the ground. Just before blacking out, Sakura gazed deeply into those eyes, not allowing her fear to take hold of her.

Naruto looked up as his fist dug into the neck of the last enemy. All around him, there were bodies. How he was going to get them to Lady Tsunade, he didn't know. Surely she would want all of them for questioning.

Feeling guilty that he had somehow forgotten her, he began to call for Sakura. His hair whipped around as he searched for his teammate, but she was nowhere to be seen. Bringing a hand to the back of his head, he scratched idly, his thin and finely cut fingernails digging gently into his skin.

A strange noise filled the forest. His head swiveled around, looking for the source. All around him, wildlife was destroyed. Animals that had been caught in this madness could only be distinguished by tufts of bloodied fur, trees and shrubs were uprooted and smashed, and if there was a river in their location, it would surely run red.

The sound got louder and louder. Looking over the bodies to make sure there was no motion, he set off in that direction. Was Sakura using her chakra to heal those left behind? No, it wouldn't be that loud, if it gave any sound at all. Rolling possibility after possibility in his head, Naruto stopped cold when he found out exactly what it was.

It was not a band of rabid bees out for revenge, nor was it hundreds of cicadas that had been awoken. Naruto watched as Sakura's face met the balled up fist of someone he didn't recognize, and he watched as she flew back, her blood staining against the already reddish dirt.

Naruto began to run towards the one who had hit her, feeling an immense anger bubble within him. He only halfheartedly controlled the Nine Tails as he ran, picking up speed as he went. Unfortunately he was only far enough to watch when he started, the destruction leaving trees bent and fallen over which offered him a good view of what had gone down, and he was still at least a mile away.

His voice, which was hoarse from his screaming in the heat of combat, shattered the silence this clearing held, "Sakura-chan!" His voice wasn't recognizable to even him, and if he hadn't been sure he was the one to speak these words, he would have looked for who had. The figure, which had seemed blurred at first, became clearer, the Leaf crest torn and ragged on his uniform. "Don't you touch her, you bastard!" Naruto cried as the person walked closer and closer to Sakura.

Closer to his Sakura.

Suddenly, it was as though he was on the outside looking in. The creature running at break-neck speed with a murderous intent was not himself. It looked like him, and most likely felt like him, but it was not him. Within seconds, Naruto felt his fist draw back, and something slammed against his knuckles. When he finally regained control, which was minutes after that, he realized that in his shock of seeing Sakura hurt, he had blacked out, and his anger had taken full control. To be honest, he was lucky the beast, the Nine Tails, had not crawled out instead. Her assailant, however, was not lucky either way.

His blood washed away the dry dirt below, leaving muddy, bloody, puddles. His skin was torn open and slashed, and Naruto felt the man's flesh beneath his fingernails. Despite this, Naruto could see the rise and fall of the injured man's chest.

Good, he thought, Tsunade can deal with him. He wanted to kick him in the throat and watch his stomach fall one last time, but it was not up to him. Suddenly feeling something in his arms, Naruto looked down at the bundle of stained red clothing. Sakura's mask was pressing against his arm beneath her head.

There was a steady flow of liquid coming from her mouth, and she was wheezing slightly, but she was alive. Relief washed over him, and he found him clutching her tightly to his chest. He stopped when she let out a strangled cry.

"Sakura-chan," He whispered softly, sliding down until he was sitting cross-legged with her in his lap. He buried his face into her hair, nuzzling her gently. "Sakura-chan."

Sakura yawned, and resisted the urge to stretch her torn muscles. Naruto had threatened to make sure she didn't, lest she reopen her wounds, and she wasn't particularly eager to experience what he had come up with. He was already super protective, he rarely let her out of his sight, and when she wasn't, he was still close by. He wouldn't even let her sleep by herself, insisting she sleep in his arms. He said it was to make sure she was safe, but she suspected a different reason.

He had given her time to herself, but she knew he was close by. Her thoughts were confirmed when a firm and familiar pair of arms wrapped around her waist. His head rested against her neck, his chin against her shoulder. She readjusted her head to look down at his, her eye coming dangerously close to a strand of hair that threatened to poke her in the eye. "Naruto, what are you doing?" She asked, hearing his clones tromp through the forest after them.

"I'm checking your wounds with my chakra to see if they're doing okay," He hummed softly, moving his head to press his cheek against hers. Now she knew he was doing this for personal reasons, he didn't even know how to do that.

Something in her stomach fluttered, and she tried to push away from him. He turned her so she was against his chest, his chin resting on top of her head. The disturbance in her stomach raged on, growing uncomfortably stronger. Still, she nestled her body against his, closing her eyes.

His hold tightened on her, and she felt herself sigh softly. "Naruto, why are you doing this?"

His voice rumbled softly, and she felt it against his chest, "Sakura-chan, you got hurt really really bad. I thought you died. Can't I just appreciate the fact that my favorite teammate is alive?"

"No," She retorted. "You're too touchy-feely. And I'm not your teammate anymore, I'm ANBU." Her fingers curled in his ever present jacket, closing the material into her grip, giving away her feelings towards his words and proving the emotion in her words to be a false truth neither of them could believe.

He was about to speak, but his clones found them, racing towards the two, bodies in tow. Over two hundred to accommodate all of the bodies and the few live people, and it was extremely taxing on Naruto's chakra systems, Sakura could tell. His chakra signal wasn't faint compared to the three people she had managed to save, but it was seemingly dwindling compared to his usual expanse of chakra.

She breathed, the heat from her deep exhale warming her face. She pressed her head against his chest one last time before pushing him away. If he thought she felt anything towards him, he didn't show it, and she didn't believe it.

She blamed her sudden affection on the I-Almost-Died-aftershock. Looking passed her ex-teammate, she spied one of the clones begin to have a problem with the body he held. She slipped passed Naruto, advancing towards the clone. The extra didn't seem to notice, he was too focused on the hassle on his back.

She watched as the body dug something into the shadow clone, ending its short life span. Sakura rushed towards the falling body quickly, catching it in her arms. The head lifted slowly, and her eyes met that of the Hyuuga's. His eyes held an expression she almost wished she could mirror, but at the same time, it scared her horrendously.

The peace of a quiet evening was shattered as he lurched into her, smacking her to the ground. Not willing to be duped a second time by this injured male, she flipped their positions so she was on top of him. Her hands wrapped around his throat, and she pumped her chakra into him, shutting down his state of consciousness.

"What is going on," She heard Naruto speak, his feet making soft pats in the ground as he walked closer. "Why is he doing that? He's a Konoha Shinobi, right?"

"As much as I'm a Konohagakure Kunoichi." She stated flatly, turning her eyes to his. She switched them back to their usual expressionless valor, and blatantly stated, "I'm carrying him, now." He tried to protest, but she waved it off. Even when he tried to lift the burden from her arms, she pushed him off.

Their peaceful and quiet moment was over.

Sakura groaned audibly, turning in her bed. It was great to be back in Konoha, but she still felt as though she was travelling back home with Naruto. "Naruto," She ground out, glaring over her shoulder. "Go. Home. I can sleep by myself."

He was silent, as if pausing for an intense moment that lasted much more than one. After awhile, he pressed her tighter against him, murmuring softly into her ear, "But what if your wounds reopen? Someone ought-a be there. Just in case."

"It's been a week, Naruto. I think I'm fine." The walls she had built for herself had crashed down, but she constructed a new one, one she felt was much stronger. His actions would usually cause those stupid butterfly's to soar in her stomach, and cause her heart to beat wildly, but not now. As if he was sensing her thoughts, he snuggled her lovingly, but no smile crept onto her lips. "Get off!"

"I agree with Sakura, get off." Someone huffed in the room. Both ninja's jolted from their positions, Naruto clinging to the sheets comically, and Sakura twitching slightly. Sasuke stepped from his place of hiding, and when confronted with the question of why he was even near her house, he responded with, "I noticed Naruto's chakra signal. I was curious."

Sakura fumed, and none too silently. "Get out! Both of you!" She jumped away from Naruto, and slowly stepped towards the offending Uchiha. He poof-ed without hesitation, and when she focused her glare on Naruto, she saw that he was already long gone.

She sighed softly, peeling off the layers of clothing she had been forced to wear near Naruto, and replacing them with a long nightshirt, crawling into bed soon after.