First thing in the morning, Sakura fell out of bed. While laying on the floor, she groaned, lifted her head, and smashed it on the open desk drawer beside her bed.

Clearly, Sakura thought, it was a good day already.

After rushing in the shower, skipping breakfast entirely, and running to the hospital, she made it to her office only to look at the gargantuan stacks of paperwork piled on her desk.

Throwing her lab coat off, Sakura marched around the edge of her desk and plopped into the black chair. She leaned on the desk and tapped her fingernails against the dark wood. To do or not to do?

What was with her recently? She certainly wasn't lazy, by any means. Or was she just getting more restless with all this sitting? When was the last time she'd punched something? Running a hand through her pink locks, Sakura thought how nice it would be to go on a mission. Or at least go train.

Slyly she looked at the paperwork and thought, what if she didn't do the paperwork and did go train? Then the deadline popped in her head and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. But what could the Elders actually do? It wasn't as if someone could take her place.

The Elder's orders were what made her so reluctant. Sakura knew very well the Elders were just sour; a rumor was going around that they might be done away with. The Council had been broken up years ago, after Lady Tsunade found out Danzou and his ROOT. But the remaining Council members still butted their heads into the politics of Konoha, arguing their right to do so as the Elders of the village.

Since their roles were technically not compromised by Danzou's exile, they won that argument. However, there was wind that that might change. Especially if a new Hokage was about to be named. A new Hokage like Naruto.

Tapping her fingers again, Sakura tried not to think, to worry. Politics was a pain. A reliable one, though, one easily predicted. The Elders would make an uproar if someone confronted them with the situation. A systematic overthrow would be needed, one that needed all the villagers to agree. An open rebellion. Political disputes did nothing. Angry mobs of villagers were much more effective, Sakura thought, amused.

She shook her head and looked back at the stack of paperwork. Then at the clock. No new patients had come in... If she worked for a couple of hours, she could take work off early.


Trees cracked under her fist, bark flying from the impact and leaving scratches on her face. Her chakra felt deliriously good as it flowed into her arms and legs.

How long had she been stuffed up in some office? It felt like years.

Sakura aimed another kick and smiled at the series of trees that were wiped out. Was this the most effective way to train? Definitely not. Was it the most enjoyable for her? Yes. Endlessly she worked her way through the forest until her arms started to ache. She frowned because she was hardly ever sore from training like this. Perhaps she was trying to make up for too much lost time.

Stopping to take a breather, Sakura sat down and raggedly gulped in breaths of air, the back of her throat burning. With a cringe, she praised her earlier decision to train far away from the village. Someone was bound to eventually get on her about leveling parts of the forest. Distinctly Sakura remembered being told once—when she and Tsunade had gone on a 24 hour training session—that she lived in the Leaf Village. And that they needed trees to keep that title.

Her arms sagged with the amount of chakra she had expended, and she noticed how bloody her hands had become. Her gloves were in tatters.

Worry, strain, restlessness and frustration seemed a little less heavy on her shoulders, but more than anything, Sakura vaguely felt like screaming. On a whim, she leaned on all fours and screamed. Sweat trickled down her brow, then she sat back. Her legs felt like rubber. Her arms, too. Her hands throbbed.

It felt good.

Sakura stood up and thought of the years she and Tsunade trained, of the late and stuffy afternoons. Impulsively she fisted her hand and relished the feeling of earth breaking under her, as if she were actually powerful, as if she were actually capable of doing something. Boulders flew in every direction, plummeting into the ground and causing a domino effect. Sakura stood back and glimpsed at the fissure she left.

With a sigh Sakura flopped down beside one of the rocks she'd torn up. From here she couldn't quite see the forest line.

That was what she was doing when Sasuke dropped into the barren clearing. Everything was beige from the earth, and he made a startling contrast to the scenery. Clad in a dark blue shirt and medium gray ninja pants, he stopped directly in front of her.

Slightly panting, Sakura wiped the pink strands from her forehead and licked her lips to ask, "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Still studying the broken ground and the collapsed trees, Sasuke said with disinterest, "Naruto wanted to eat with everyone. He told me to find you at the hospital." He put some emphasis on the hospital, reminding her that she really shouldn't be here. Pausing, he murmured, "Maybe you should get a hobby," as he continued to eye the scratches, tears, and streaks of blood along the fallen trees.

Sakura snorted and moved to get up, nearly doubling over in surprise at her wobbling legs. A cold shiver of exhaustion shuddered through her body as she tried to regain her balance.

Sasuke's hand took her elbow and stayed there, keeping her from falling. The glare he fixed on her was disapproving. "That was stupid."

"I know." Sakura laughed. "I guess I don't get out much."

With her free arm, she smoothed out her skirt and straightened her shirt, then leaned over to fix her shorts. She felt messy and unprepared around him. Sasuke's scrutiny contributed to that.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?" asked Sakura. Why was he still standing there?

"Just come on," was his answer. Sasuke kept his hand on her elbow and made a sign with his other. She'd blinked and when her eyes opened, she was staring at her empty apartment. Sasuke nudged her toward the kitchen. "Go fix yourself." He turned around and leaned against a blank space of the wall, arms folded.

Sakura walked off, miffed. Even if she did look bad, she told herself, he didn't have to be so blunt about it. When she stared into the mirror, Sakura realized he had meant something a little different. The scratches on her arms, face, and knuckles were angry and inflamed.

Sakura frowned at the way her knuckles throbbed. "Those were my last gloves, too," she griped under her breath.

Absently Sakura ran her hand down her arms and across her cheekbones, healing the shallow wounds. Taking a roll of wraps from a cabinet, she moved toward the bathroom by her room and spied on Sasuke in the living room.

It was nice having someone in the house. Empty houses creaked and groaned, cold and silent.

She rounded the corner to the bathroom and stopped. Peeking out the door, Sakura wondered if he would mind... She closed the door again and started up the shower, determined not to take long. Hurriedly she ignored the soothing heat and stepped out of the shower, dressed, and towel-dried her hair.

Barefoot, Sakura jogged to the kitchen and began wrapping her hands with medical tape. She couldn't see the clock, but she thought that she'd only taken about seven minutes. When she walked back into the living room, she spotted Sasuke in the same position.

"Sorry," Sakura apologized, not knowing whether or not they were already late.

Sasuke's eyes focused on her, and she nervously patted her slightly damp hair. He was acting... differently today. Her thoughts were sent back to what she had said to him yesterday.

"What?" she questioned.

The pad of his calloused fingertip brushed her cheekbone, right under a hairline scratch.

"Oh." She lifted her hand to touch it, wiping the wound away without a thought. "I'll just be another minute," she said.

He nodded and seemed satisfied that that was the only cut she missed. She walked back to her room and grabbed another pair of shoes. She stopped by the mirror, smoothing out any wrinkles on her baggy shorts. With a nod, she marched to the living room.

Her cheek still tingling from the healing chakra, she thought, he had nice hands.


The streetlights were bright against the black air when Naruto hollered from the stand. Kakashi sat with his orange book, offering a one-hand wave as Naruto rushed out of his seat, still slurping down his ramen.

"Sorry, I already ordered!"

Sakura laughed and followed him into Ichiraku's. Sasuke, she could feel, hesitated outside before he took a step forward and pushed the hanging cloth out of his face. He took the seat next to her, as he had once done, and sighed as if he were preparing himself for the rest of the night.

"Don't act like you actually mind." Sakura looked at him knowingly.

He didn't disagree.

After the orders were taken, Naruto pounded his fist on the table to call the attention from his team members. It also made everyone in the stand stare. "I propose a toast! To the first Team 7 reunion ramen dinner! Believe it!" He had a huge, happy grin on his face and Sakura smiled along with him.

There was only one thing that could make it better in her mind. She added considerately, "But Sai's not here."

Naruto scrunched his face up and jutted his lower lip out. Eventually he drawled, "Yeah, I guess it's too bad Sai couldn't be here. He is in the group... But he's not a charter member, alright?" He finished with a boisterous laugh.

"So," Sakura began, breaking apart her chopsticks delicately. "What's everyone been up to?"

Naruto interrupted, "No, I wanna know what Sasuke's been up to! Oh, wait. Nothing!" He threw his head back, laughing once more.

"You would know about doing nothing, dead last."

Naruto sucked in an offended gasp and glared. "You wanna start something, huh? Huh?" Sasuke just ignored him, and Naruto fumed next to Sakura.

With Kakashi, Sakura shared a look. Nostalgia.

At length Naruto forgot about sulking—when his third bowl of ramen arrived, that is. He let out a whoop and dove in.

Wrinkling her nose, Sakura leaned away from Naruto as he attacked the soup and sent little splatters of broth onto the table. "That's pretty gross, Naruto."

Beside her, Sasuke made a sound that was similar to a small laugh, and she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

Naruto, although wanting to defend himself, began to choke on the mass of food in his mouth. Sasuke snorted, and Sakura laughed at his reaction. The smirk remained on his lips, softening the tenseness around his eyes. When Kakashi's voice met her ears, Sakura drew her eyes away.

"Sakura. You know, I heard you were running the hospital."

Her train of thought crashed back to reality. Scratching the back of her neck, Sakura laughed without much humor. "Ah, yeah. I guess I am." It was obvious she wasn't thrilled about that.

Naruto had recovered from his choking, and he probed for details. "Run the hospital? What do you mean? Since when?"

Nobody ever accused Naruto of being overly observant, she noted. "Since a little before you left on that mission. So about half a year. Tsunade's too busy with Hokage business."

That didn't satisfy Naruto's curiosity. "But—but how much are you working? I thought you were just pulling double-shifts, but you have to pull all those hours, don't you?"

"People don't die from nine to five, Naruto."

He ran his hand through his blond hair and frowned. "Don't you get tired of being at the hospital all the time? When was the last time you left the village?"

"About..." Oh, this was depressing. "A year ago. When I went to Sand for two weeks." It felt like a lifetime ago. It almost was.

"A year!" Naruto repeated, at a loss for words. Unlike herself, Naruto lived off missions; he always had several lined up.

Kakashi laid his hand on Naruto's shoulder and cut in. "It's good you're always so ready to help people. But you don't have to do everything, Sakura—"

Naruto interrupted Kakashi with an emphatic, "Your kindness is being abused, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura wished he wouldn't get so worked up. She knew she was doing a lot. "No one else is qualified," she explained. "Shizune and Tsunade are off-limits. I'm the only one who can."

"Of course you are," murmured Sasuke.

Sakura turned to look at him.

Sasuke raked his hand across the nape of his neck, then folded both hands on the counter top. "The teaching program is slow," he accused. "And there aren't many medics. If nothing changes, you're always going to be understaffed."

"Hm." Sakura stared at the opposite wall, entertaining an idea. "I'd need the funding for an expansion. I'd need clearance from Tsunade to get past the Elders." She paused and shifted her green eyes to Sasuke, staring at him as if he had the solution.

What to do?

Improvement took a long time, Sakura knew. But she actually felt something like hope in her chest when she thought about it.

The rest if the dinner went along the same lines. Kakashi and Naruto said goodbye, the latter crushing her with a welcomed hug.

Sakura flopped onto her bed that night, ears still echoing with the clinking and clattering of cups, the chatter surrounding the streets, Naruto's cheerful laughs, Sasuke's half-hearted insults, and the occasional low chuckle from Kakashi.

It was a nice sound. She hoped she'd hear it always.


a/n. man. i was hoping for a hundreth reviewer. ah well, maybe this chapter around. and to my fantastical reviewers who make my day:

Lady Rini, jolteonforever, Heaven's Cataract, shkh4ever, geniusgurl777, Sairalinde Inwe, Crystal Koneko, SasuSakuKawai, Misery's-Toll, Unknown, Charm caster, Sakura's Indecision, MidniteCurse4Eternity, and flare-hugs.

three things i'll mention here. last chapter i forgot to mention a specialspecialspecial reviewer that requested more kakashi. my dear Misery's-Toll, i'll keep it in mind. :D to the reviewers, have you read her awesome fic Somebody? i have. and it was GREAT. *heart*

lastly, the time skip is next chapter. (which i'm happy about.)