Her stomach dropped, her heart rate accelerated, and her breathing stuttered into short gaspy-breaths. She backed up, feeling behind her for the doorknob; she knew that look, and she was afraid.
Im in some serious trouble!
Tsunade barely resisted rolling her eyes at the slightly comical reaction of her pupil. Honestly, all she did was look at her. Sheesh, you'd think I was a vampire looking for a blood donation or something. Tch. Honestly. Tsunade raised her hand, and Sakura took another step back and actually opened the door.
"Sakura! Stop messing around! Get in here and close the door!"
Sakura flinched and cowered, shutting the door, but not moving forward any more than was strictly necessary. Tsunade couldnt help it, her eyes rolled at this. She sighed.
"Im not going to eat you Sakura. I just have a mission for you." She held up her hand again, showing Sakura the scroll. Sakura glanced up. Just a mission? Then what was the creepy 'Your-in-some-deep-crap' look for?
"Whats the catch?"
Tsunade tried out the innocent look she'd been practicing. "Who says theres a catch?"
If Sakura hadn't been as frightened as a rabbit that was trapped in a car with a dozen foxes, she might have rolled her eyes. Well, she probably still would not have rolled her eyes, at least not at THIS woman. Eye rolling at her sensei usually was followed by head-rolling. Figuratively speaking of course.
Sakura decided to play 'dumb,' (A natural talent of hers, actually). "Oh, I just figured there might be a catch, since you are telling me this personally, rather than just sending a scroll." No need to mention the general aura of mal-intent swirling around the chair Tsunade sat in, the 'Your-in-some-deep-crap' look, the laughable 'innocent' expression Tsunade failed to pull off, and the tickle along her spine that told Sakura whatever this mission was, something was bad about it.
"Oh. Well, Sakura, its really no big deal to tell you in person since I see you everyday anyway. Its no big deal, an easy mission, with decent pay too. Nothing at all to worry about. This mission should be a cakewalk for someone of your intelligence. It'll be like a little vacation for you, I wont even give you any homework while your gone. Easy-Peasy."
Even after this (reassuring) statement, Sakura still felt a little... unconvinced. For one thing, Tsunade had said 'no big deal' twice. Clearly, she was playing down something. Another thing, when did Tsunade NOT give homework? There was a catch somewhere in there, she could almost smell it. Time to fish it out.
"Ok! Sounds great, when do I leave?" She took the scroll from her teacher. The outside of the scroll read "CLASS C MISSION - POSSIBLE CLASS B - Recon, Retrieval, Other." Possible class B? What happened to it being a cakewalk? She took a steadying breath, and opened and carefully unfurled the scroll. The first line made her groan, the second made her gasp in horror, and the third would have knocked out her previous self. As it was, the 'new' Sakura still managed to feel a little faint. "...no. ....Please, no," she whimpered pathetically.
Tsunade hid the pity she felt for the girl, saying coldly; "It is what it is Sakura, your a shinobi, suck it up. You are specifically required for this mission, obviously. All other eligible shinobi are on other missions. I will require weekly reports, it should take around 3-5 weeks, and you will abort the mission after 2 months at my say-so. Take the rest of the day and get ready, you'll be leaving tomorrow at 6 AM. Got it?"
"Yes, Tsunade-shishou." Sakura bowed and left quickly.
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Sasuke suddenly felt a strange animosity towards Naruto and Lee. For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt that, somehow, they would be doing and enjoying something Sasuke would not approve of. Something Sasuke would hate. Something to make him beat them into a pulp, and then sell them as orange juice. Naruto at least. Lee would be green juice. He tried to shake it off the inexplicable spontaneous evil intentions, what could they possibly do to make him feel so violent? Im spending too much time alone, my imagination is running wild again.
He looked around. This place wasn't as nice as his last secret glen, but Orochimaru had relocated them all and this was the best Sasuke could find. Of course, it was very beautiful, in its own way. He had just preferred the sun and the clouds to this... cave. He sat on a rocky outcropping, overlooking a small underground pool of water. A little ways away, the slight trickling of the small waterfall gave music to the otherwise silent underground haven. A small amount of light permeated the cave from an unseen crevice, and it caught on the moving water, reflected off the hues of the rock wall and gems, making a sparkling, colorful display. For a cave, it was very beautiful.
Just not as beautiful as the thriving plant life and serenity of the forest glade. Not as soothing as the quiet hum of life all around. Sasuke wouldnt admit to himself that he was homesick, but he did miss the trees, the green, the life of Konoha. Here, everything was rocks and water. It was so... quiet. Forlorn, colorless. He felt lonely. Kabuto can't be considered good company, and hanging around Orochimaru for company was just laughable. Now that he was away from them, Sasuke realised just how many friends he had, (not that he would admit to missing them though). He thought again of Naruto and Lee. (((I wonder what they are up to now?)))
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Class C Mission - Possible Class B - Recon, Retrieval, Other
Team leader Haruno Sakura, with Uzumaki Naruto, Rock Lee, and Sai.
Gather information/evidence at Bliss (Gentleman's club/massage parlor) on target, suspected to have abducted several low-class kunoichis of neighboring countries. Haruno will be employed as a seasoned massage specialist at the club to gather information from the regular clientele. Teammates to gather information from other means available, and act as customers of Haruno's at Bliss in order to keep up regular communication and information exchange with Haruno.
Mission Objectives:
1. Gather hard evidence on target and accomplices (if any)
2. If sufficient evidence is gathered according to class 3 kidnapping standards, tract target(s) and detain, bring to Konoha for questioning. 3. Search for missing kunoichis, if alive, emancipate and bring to Konoha for questioning. If dead, consult Hokage for further instruction.
Target(s): Mitsude, first name unknown, civilian (non-shinobi), no personal information available. Possible accomplices. Suspected in the abduction of 12+? missing kunoichis of genin-rank, from countries outside Konoha. Possible civilian abductions. Location: Bliss, City of Leaves, Wind Country.
