It had been several days since Sakura's and Ibiki's first meeting on top of the Hokage's monument, and during that time they managed to accidentally meet there again a few times, it was usually after her shift in the hospital and for Ibiki, it was a brea

I in no way, shape or form have any rights to Naruto.

It had been several days since Sakura's and Ibiki's first meeting on top of the Hokage's monument, and during that time they managed to accidentally meet there a few times again, it was usually after her shift in the hospital and for Ibiki, it was a break from the interrogation unit.

She never asked about Sasuke again, realising that Ibiki could have been dealing with Sasuke prior to arriving on top of the monument, they never really talked about much, both just happy to relax, unwind and breathe for a few minutes, and if they did talk, it would be random stories, in true Ibiki style, not much personal information was given, but Sakura wasn't too put out. In Ibiki's case, he was amused by how free the kunoichi was with her emotions and how with abandonment would tell many personal stories about her team and her friends, he realised quickly that she was telling him stories that she never told others, stories involving sending her team-mates 20 feet in the air or across the training fields due to her inhuman strength, but he especially liked hearing how she had made Hatake tremble in fear for his Icha Icha, when she threatened to destroy the entire collection and demolish the book shops in Konoha, and all because she caught him reading it in front of the academy kids.

Oh yes, he thought with a smile, this young woman was interesting.

It had now been nearly been 3 weeks since Sasuke's return, and Team Kakashi was starting to get impatient to know the verdict and his punishment.

Sakura was once again sitting on top of the monument, letting the peaceful atmosphere soothe and relax her, hearing the familiar thud of military boots, she held up her hand offering half a bento box. As he took the box she smiled at him, privately appreciating the eye-candy he presented, ummmm she loved the look of the trench coat on him, it just added sexiness to him..Sakura... behave, control those damn hormones.

Ibiki smirked at her gesture, sitting down beside her, he began to eat and just relax, there was never any pressure to talk, something he liked and appreciated. After a few moments, once he had finished the bento box, he addressed the young medic beside him

"The Uchiha's interrogation finished, his sentencing will be tomorrow"

"Oh…. Thanks for telling me, Morino-san" Sakura sighed and began thinking of the possible out comes, would it be the harshest penalty or……… Her thinking was interrupted by Ibiki uncharacteristically trying to comfort her… trying.

"There is no point dwelling on possible outcomes, it is up to the Hokage and Council, you will cause yourself unnecessary worry Haruno"

"Thank you, Morino-san… I better go find Naruto, when he hears this, he'll be all set to harass Tsunade-sensei." With this Sakura stood up and gathered her remaining boxes from lunch, turning around before she left, she looked Ibiki in the eyes "Thank you, Morino-san" and with a slight wave began to walk down the monument.

Ibiki watched the young woman leave, her pink hair shining and her face illuminated by the sun, he marvelled at her nature, caring more about her team-mates than herself. Thinking back on the Uchiha's interrogation and considering what he said not just about his former team-mates but about Sakura, he grimaced, he might just keep and eye on her for a few days, just to make sure she didn't blow her cover in retaliation to something he would say.

Ha, he thought berating himself; you just want to make sure she's not hurt, Christ, she's getting to you.

--

The next day Team Kakashi, comprised of, Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, Naruto and Sakura, stood in front of the Hokage in her office, it was unorthodox but Tsunade was going to give Sasuke the sentence she and the council had decided on the day before, in front of his old team. Team Kakashi were not to surprised, they had long gotten used to the unorthodox methods of the Hokage, as had the whole Village.

They did not have to wait long until Sasuke was escorted into the room by an ANBU team accompanied by Morino Ibiki, surrounding Sasuke at all sides, they presented him to Tsunade.

Tsunade took in the appearance of the young man before her, he had grown up, he was at least an inch or more over six feet, his hair was a little longer, his face matured, but he was a pretty boy in her opinion, yes, the fan girls would be excited, but he definitely reminded her of all the pretty guys who turned out to be gay. Thinking of this, she turned to look at her apprentice and with pride saw that she was not fawning over him, but in fact watching him with a calculating look- a look worthy of Ibiki.

Ibiki had slyly watched her from the moment he came in to the room, he was surprised to say the least when he saw the look on her face, it was one he had a lot, watching the enemy for any sign, any motive. He snapped his attention back to the Hokage to hear the Uchiha's verdict.

Tsunade's honey brown eyes met the Uchiha's as she began to speak.

"Uchiha Sasuke, it is the decision of the Council and the Hokage that you not be put to death for the betrayal of Konoha, or endangerment of your team-mates."

"That said, your Chakra will be bound and limited to genin rank , until such time you are deemed safe, you will be watched by ANBU at all times for six months and then periodically checked on, you will be allowed to spar with your previous team or those of their choosing, but only with them in attendance, you will volunteer your time at the Academy and you will pay from your family funds to reequip the Academy, as well as donate to at least two organisations in Konoha and finally,... you will not be able to leave the village for a year on pain of death"

Sakura was surprised, it seemed too lenient in her opinion, even as Tsunade continued to list the restrictions placed on Sasuke, including a curfew and daily check-in, yes he was her team-mate, but he had hurt all of them, especially Naruto. She knew the council wouldn't want to lose a valuable ninja, but…..

Sakura shook her head and concentrated on what was happening, she couldn't help but smile at the happiness on Naruto's face, as he jumped up and yelled

"Dattebayo! The teme is back; let's go have ramen to celebrate!"

--

It had been several days since their celebration at Ichimaru's ramen stand, the atmosphere had been a little strained, but Naruto quickly covered that up, by chatting non stop to Sasuke, Yamato and Sai had been introduced, Sai giving one of his fake smiles and Yamato just nodding, while they had taken team 7's promise to bring Sasuke back to heart, they did not know him, or how they should have addressed him.

Sakura on her part keep quiet, welcoming him back and then happily watching Naruto converse, she had shared a smile with Kakashi, team 7 were together again and it filled them with happiness, even if they were not sure how to say it.

Once at the ramen stand, they watched Naruto devour bowl after bowl of ramen, each slowly eating their own single bowl, Sasuke had actually seemed amused at Naruto's antics and Sakura had given a smile at his words.

"Hn, good to know the dobe hasn't changed"

She had been surprised at Ino's fangirling when Rookie 9 arrived, but laughed it off, as various welcome backs, Hnns, and nods were exchanged in greeting, the group spent a couple of hours basking in the company, before various duties called them away. ANBU arrived to escort Sasuke to the Uchiha mansion's, and with Naruto deciding to keep him company, they had all said their goodnight and left.

Sakura sat at the base of a tree in training ground 3 with Sai and Yamato awaiting the arrival of the others, missions and hospital duties had kept them all from meeting up again as a team, but today was on of the rare days they were all free. Sasuke and Naruto quickly arrived, followed unusually, by the not too late Kakashi, they all just sat down and reminisced on Team 7 antics, reinforcing old bonds and sharing experiences with Yamato and Sai, it had been going well until Naruto playfully challenged Sasuke to a taijutsu spar.

It had quickly become a competition, each blow becoming harder and faster, the boys natural competitiveness taking over, until they started to hurt each other, at this Kakashi and Yamato quickly tried to intervene, but it was not until Sakura quietly used some of her strength to catch Naruto's arm and give it a little crush did they grab their attention.

"Ahhh, Sakura! What was that for, I nearly had the teme" Naruto questioned her dejectedly, his puppy eyes making Sakura smile. While Sasuke hnnd, in protest.

"Oh really? Well who ever was winning doesn't matter, today is my day off and I don't plan on spending it healing the two of ye." She responded good naturedly tilting her head to meet their gazes.

"Sorry Sakura..Hey hey, teme, why don't you spar against Sakura, she's really go…." Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence as Sai came up behind him and "accidentally" tripped him. Sakura sighed in relief, even though they welcomed him back and were starting to accept him again; they couldn't be a 100 trusting, better for him not to know her true potential yet.

"She's weak, why would I spar with her, you… Sai, I'll spar with you," Sasuke retorted.

Sakura felt her heart constrict, tears beginning to gather I the back of her eyes at his words….. After all this time, did he still think her weak?

Naruto started protesting loudly "You can't say that about Sakura-chan! She's strong! She's trained by the Baa-chann, and is a great medic!"

Kakashi quietly berated Sasuke for insulting a team-mate, as Yamato frowned and Sai even added his two cents "Ugly isn't that bad"

Sasuke snorted "She's a medic, that's all, she barely passed the Jounin exams, she's weak and useless as a ninja" He turned to address Sakura "Your just a burden on the team, you should stay in the hospital where your of some bit of use"

With that said he ignored her and turned to Naruto, Yamato went up to the young woman's side to try and comfort her, knowing she was allot stronger than she let on, he wanted to assure her of her necessity for the team.

Sakura nodded understandedly at him, before he could even talk and signalled she was leaving and would talk to them later. Yamato watched the pink haired kunoichi go, again marvelling at the strength she had, to take all the critisizing and putting down from people about her skills, when in fact she was better than most.

--

Ibiki sat at his desk deep within the heart of the ANBU headquarters, reading over the report an ANBU member had just submitted on the

Uchiha, quickly skimming it he stopped and carefully read what was reported of the interaction between the Uchiha and Haruno, he knew this would hurt her, she was stronger than she used to be and even he knew through his short interaction with the girl, that she hated being called weak.

He stood up and went to look for her…. To make sure she wouldn't damage any important property, he convinced himself, and it did not have anything to do with the wish to prevent her having tears in her eyes.

Sakura gave a frustrated cry, as she hit the tree, long having lost count of her hits and draining her chakra. She stood in a secluded part of the forest, fallen trees, smashed trunks and mini craters in the ground, testament to her anger and sorrow, along with her tearstained face and bloody knuckles. Just as she was about to punch the tree again, a hand caught her wrist and swung her around, losing her balance, she fell into the grip, and looked up into Morino Ibiki's concerned face.

"Haruno, what are you doing" all he got in reply was, the young woman wrenching her hand from his grip to hit the tree again. Quickly grabbing both her hands this time he pulled her to him

" Haruno… Sakura! Stop, your are going to hurt yourself" he admonished her.

The use of her name by the scariest man in Konoha, pulled her from her anger fuelled tantrum, she looked up at him and saw concern in his dark eyes, she started gulping air and suddenly felt weak, her anger and chakra exhaustion catching up with her.

Ibiki supported her with her arms and gently as if she was a child, started asking her what was wrong.

It quickly brought on a fresh onslaught of tears and anger.

"He called me weak, useless, a burden! I am not weak! Not useless! Not a burden! Im not that stupid, weak, 13 year old girl anymore, im not the SAME Sakura I was back then! I have skills, just because I don't show off, doesn't mean im useless……." By now her anger was gone and once again Ibiki was left comforting the crying woman.

He sighed, he was not cut out for this, looking up at the night sky, he prayed for strength, God, of all the situations to be in, he would gladly trade it for an interrogation. Looking back down on Sakura's pink hair and tear stained face, he felt his heart lurch and a feeling of possessiveness come over him, he wanted to hurt the Uchiha for making her cry, he wanted to see Sakura smile and laugh again.

Placing his hand under her chin, he raised Sakura's face so he could look into her beautiful, tear filled, green, cat-like eyes.

"Listen to me Sakura, you are not weak,... you are stronger than many shinobi, to protect Konoha you hide you true self, letting people think you are ordinary. You are not ordinary, you are a beautiful, kind, caring, amazing young woman, who puts her very heart and soul into helping people, do you understand"

"Ibiki……"

"Shhhhhh, you are an amazing kunoichi, far more skilled than many, hiding you skill, you are honourable…… you are far from weak Sakura"

Looking into her eyes Ibiki couldn't help himself, all of his iron will and control went out the window, he was standing in the middle of the forest holding the woman who had been taking over his thoughts in his arms, raising her face higher, he bent down to capture her lips with his, releasing all his feelings for her into the kiss.

Sakura was amazed, first Ibiki had astounded her with his description of her and now… Oh God, he tasted divine… he was kissing her possessively, his arms holding her tightly, cradling her like she was precious, his lips were firm and passionate on hers. The simple kiss made her body burn, and as she gasped in response, Ibiki quickly took the opportunity to taste her, his tongue sweeping in to claim her for a deeper kiss; Sakura embraced the feelings Ibiki was evoking in her and responded with pure passion for the man holding her so preciously.

After several moments they broke apart, Ibiki keeping her in his arms, not wanting to release her, and looking into each other eyes there was no guilt, no regret. Sakura sighed and rested her head against his chest, content in the moment. Ibiki looked down at her his eyes softening at her obvious contentment and the small smile gracing her lips.

All of a sudden, Sakura's chakra exhaustion from earlier caught up with her and her knees buckled. Ibiki swiftly picked her up in his arms and started walking out of the clearing.

"Lets get you home……."

"Mmmmmmm"

His sentence went unfinished as he looked down at the already sleeping kunoichi in his arms, once again the feeling that he had to protect her came over him, and looking at he dried tear marks on her face, he smiled evilly promising to himself that the Uchiha would find life a little harder now.

Haruno Sakura mattered to him now, and you couldn't just mess with things that mattered to him so easily and not feel repercussions he thought, Oh yes, things wouldn't be so easy for the Uchiha now.

--

Dia Duit,

Well I hope you liked that chapter, and I would love to hear what you think, so please review, I would really like to know if you think im keeping Ibiki in character or if he going too OC.

Im afraid my updates may lack for a bit, I moving over to England on Friday to start college for a year – teacher training, so ill be spending the next two days packing and saying goodbye, but hopefully I might get a small chapter out before then. Plus once Im over I don't know how long it will take me to get an internet connection, but ill try to have long chapters for when I update.

Go raibh maith agat,

The Rose and the Dagger x x x x