Disclaimers on all that I don't own, especially the Naruto characters that belongs to Kishimoto. So don't sue.


Chapter Eight: Part 1,

By Winterwing3000


"A mission, Tsunade-shishou?" she asked, looking perplexed. It would be her second mission after in-training with the Hokage.

"Yes Sakura. A requested escort mission to the Silk Country. But it is only a C-rank mission, so take with you another genin or chuunin. You are to leave in two hours. Understood?" Tsunade said in a serious tone.

"Wakatta!" the roseate girl nodded and took the scroll from Iruka-sensei, who gave her an encouraging smile. She hadn't seen her teacher for a long while now, not since after Naruto's departure.

Just as she turned to go, she looked back over her shoulder. "Ano… who will I be escorting?"

Tsunade waved her hand in a nonchalant manner. "You'll see him at the East Gates. Kotetsu will be there with your escort. Dismissed!"

"Hai!" she left in search of her teammate for the mission and looked around for the next available nin. Asuma-sensei was out training with Ino and the rest of them, and Team Gai was probably doing the same. That left with only Kurenai-sensei's team.

They just returned from D-rank mission yesterday so they won't be going out for another few days unless there was an important mission. She decided to ask Hinata first, since the Byakugan user would be a great advantage when they might encounter some problems, which Sakura prayed not to happen.

And she would be the easiest to work with. Not that she held anything against Shino, but his bugs were a bit too creepy for her, and Kiba, he seemed to be awfully rash when it came to missions with other teams.

Finally reaching the door of the white-eyed clan, she took a deep breath and lifted a hand to knock on the door. The wood felt hard against her knuckles.

A few moments later, the door opened with a young man, whom she assumed to be a Main House member. "You are?" he asked.

"Um, I'm Haruno Sakura. I'm wondering if Hinata-san is here?" she said awkwardly. Sakura still wasn't used to those white eyes that seemed to penetrate her inner self.

"Please, come in Haruno-san. Hinata-sama is currently training with Hyuuga-sama. I'll take you to them." The Hyuuga allowed Sakura to step through the door and led her through what seemed to be an inner city within the Hyuuga walls. There were many houses, and there was large mansion in front of her.

The entire perimeter around it was surrounded by a cultured garden and fenced with its own lower walls. Trapped in certain awe, Sakura almost forgot to take off her shoes as she entered the house. Quickly slipping them off and placing them on the veranda, she followed the man.

They traveled through a large maze-like route before ending up in a large dirt courtyard. Hinata was in a pause with her training exercises with her father. Sakura could see the sweat rolling down the meek girl's neck. But the heiress didn't seem to mind. Her eyes were bulged with veins as she stepped into a stance. The clan-head stood still, eyes in the same state as his daughter. Neji stood off to the side, his head turning to look at her.

The young Hyuuga told her to wait in the hall as he went up to his lord. Hiashi directed his hard stare at Sakura, who wished to divert her eyes. Hinata relaxed her shoulders and turned to look at Sakura, smiling gently as she caught the pink-haired girl's gaze and waved.

The Hyuuga boy came back over to Sakura and led her to the father and daughter. "Sorry for bothering." The eisei-nin bowed. "Ano, may I speak to Hinata-san?"

Hiashi regarded the medic-nin before nodding to Sakura. "You'll be training with Neji tomorrow. I'll be testing you on your Kaiten in a week."

"Yes, I'll do that, Otou-sama." Hinata gave a short bow to her father. She looked at Sakura. "Yes Sakura-san?"

"I've a mission, C-rank. It's an escort mission to the Silk Country. I was wondering if you want to help me in this. It's okay if you're busy."

"Ah! Sure! I won't mind. I'll go pack right now." Hinata said, her smile apparent in her eyes.

"Great! I'll meet you at the East Gate in an hour!" Sakura told her and left.


Sakura quickly stuffed the mission scroll into her weapon pouch and grabbed her shoulder bag, slinging over her neck. She reached for her headband on her desk and headed out of her room. With a goodbye thrown over her shoulder to her mother she left the house and toward the East Gates.

When she reached the gates, she saw Hinata appearing from a road to her left, followed by Neji, so the medic in-training walked over to them, curious as to why the Hyuuga-tensai was coming with.

"A-ano, Otou-sama wishes that Neji-nii-san come with. J-just in case." Hinata fidgeted uneasily, resisting the urge to poke her forefingers together. "I-Is it okay with you, Sakura-san?"

Sakura bit her lower lip. Last time she went on a mission with Neji wasn't so bad, but his presence was overwhelming at times. She knew that he only came as the sworn protector to Hinata… And even if she did say no, she'll have to find another replacement and that'll take even more time since Kotetsu was already waiting at the gates with a young man next to him.

She gave them a quick smile. "Iie, it is fine. I'll brief you guys on the mission as we go, ne?"

The trio walked up to the elite chuunin and glanced at the youth standing behind him. He had short brown hair, dark brown eyes and was pretty tall and lanky. Sakura guessed that he was probably older than she by three years at most. He was slightly taller than Neji but his entire body poster screamed arrogance.

"Kotetsu-san." Sakura said, "Is this our escort?"

"Aa, this is Shishido Kourin-san. He is the youngest son of the Silk's feudal lord. You're to escort him and return within four days."

"Hai!" the eisei-nin looked at Shishido. "Are you ready, Kourin-san?"

The brunet looked down at the shorter genin and grunted, turning away immediately. Sakura felt her Inner Sakura flare. WHAT A RUDE KID!

She forced a smile and said, "Um, okay. Let's head out then!"

Neji brought up the rear with the escort in front of him. Sakura and Hinata stood off diagonally from Kourin, forming a triangular formation with Neji. No one spoke, leaving nature to bring in her voice with the sounds of birds and buzzing bees.

They crossed a stream bridge, leading them deeper through the forest path toward the Wave country. Silk was located twelve miles from Wave. Trade had prospered between the two countries after Gato was removed from the scene. The large body of water which separated Wave from the Konoha mainland led downstream to Silk so it would be the quickest, and perhaps the safest, route to reach Silk without any problems.

"Oi, when are we going to stop? I can't go on forever you know." Kourin said, grabbing Hinata's left arm. "And if my father finds out that I've been mistreated, you're not going to get paid."

Hinata grew nervous, eyes avoiding contact with Kourin's stern ones. "A-Ano… Shi-Shishido-san. I'm s-sure that we'll be s-stopping soon."

Sakura stepped forward, while Inner Sakura was raging (Just who does this kid thinks he is?! Some kind of king?!), but Neji suddenly appeared out of nowhere, hand gripping tightly onto Kourin's exposed wrist. "I will not be responsible for any of my actions if you do not unhand Hinata-sama."

"N-Neji-nii-san!" Hinata squeaked.

Sakura cleared her throat. "Shishido-san. Please let go of Hinata-san. We can take a break in a few moments. Hinata-san and I will have to secure the perimeters. Neji-san will wait here with you."

Kourin stared hard down at Sakura. "Are you sure you're not just looking for an excuse to abandon me?"

"Please understand, Shishido-san. If we do not secure the area, there can be a possibility where other shinobi are targeting you. We're just trying to keep you safe, as you have requested for an escort."

He turned away when her green eyes refused to back down. "Hmph, fine. Bring back some water for me too."

SHANNARO! He wants water! How about asking nicely! Inner Sakura waved a maddened fist as Sakura tried to smile. "Sure. Let's go, Hinata-san."

"H-Hai." Hinata leapt after Sakura into the tall foliage.

When they were about a few meters from the pair of males, Sakura turned to look at her friend. "Are you okay, Hinata-san?"

The Hyuuga heiress nodded. "I'm fine. Just shaken."

"I understand." The medic in-training sighed. "I don't really like him myself, just so you know."

"Ahh, I think he's just being himself. He was raised in the lap of luxury after all." Hinata said, analyzing the life of Shishido Kourin. Sons of a feudal lord tended to live quite the comfortable life with every person at their beck and call. Also with her own personal background, she was raised with similar privileges albeit in a slightly harsher family environment.

"Still, he doesn't have to treat us like dirt," Sakura mumbled, fixing a trip wire between two low bushes. "Could you do the same a few meters east of here? I'll take the west and we can go back to the break site."

"Sure." Hinata jumped to the next area. Sakura went to fix her next trap.

When the two kunoichi returned, they found Neji sitting almost on the other side of the dirt road, eyes closed. Kourin was glaring at the ground, impatiently and tensed with his hands clenched.

Hinata walked over to Neji, handing him a canteen of water. Sakura went over to their escort with one after taking a drink from her own.

"Shishido-san? The water you-." Sakura held out a canteen of water, only to have it grabbed roughly from her hands without a word of thanks.

UNGRATEFUL BRAT! Her inner voice howled. Let me at him! Lemme at that brat!

She squished down that voice and stood not too far away from Kourin.

Looking up into the sky, she noted that it was about late afternoon. The sun would be setting a few hours, no doubt. They'll probably reach the bridge to Wave in an hour or so and take a boat down the waters and get to Silk by nightfall.

That is if their escort didn't ask for another break.

"Let's get moving." Neji said, standing up. "We'll arrive at Silk by evening if we keep moving."

Someone seemed to have turned into a mind reader, Sakura commented idly in her head, packing her canteen into her bag. Hinata stood up, readjusting her bag. They waited for Kourin to stand, but gave no response. Finally, he stood, brushing off his pants and fixed his "wind-blown" hair.

"Hmph. I'm barely rested and you're telling me to move already. I'm telling father to deduct your pay."

Neji looked stonily at Kourin, but gave no comment as he took the lead this time, the girls securing the back. Hinata looked meek when the older client walked past her.

This was going to be a long trip there. Maybe she could practice her knowledge of herbs while walking. But that'll put her at risk if they were attacked. Her mind would not be concentrating on her surroundings and she'll be perfectly open.

That'll leave a gap in the defenses and Shishido might be injured, which will definitely grate her nerves. She could already picture what he would say. "You guys are worst ninjas possible. I don't know why I bothered to hire you guys. I'll have my father stop all trades with Konoha. Then you'll see what your stupid village can do."

Groaning, Sakura mentally berated herself and kept walking. Long trip indeed.


Unfortunately for them, they did not manage to make it to the Silk Country's capital city, where the feudal family resided, much less get past the border of the Silk Country. From their break in the forest to the time they reached the large sea fed lake next to the Wave Country, they were forced to take three more breaks and caused them to arrive there when the sun slipped away and night emerged.

"We will have to make camp," Neji told the group when they stopped at the docking village by the large lake. "It is too dangerous to be traveling along Wave's borders at night."

"Hmph, good decision," the feudal heir said, crossing his arms as he observed their surroundings. The water was black in front of them and the forest was noiseless behind them. The village was dimly lit as the fishermen retired early for their morning trips. "I will stay in the village's inn. See you tomorrow morning."

"Ah! Shishido-san! That's unsafe!" Hinata said, reaching out to stop the older male. The moment her finger touched his arm, it was slapped away. Hinata started at the sudden contact and backed away, stung from his reaction. Neji reached her side in a flash but he was stopped when Hinata held a hand out.

"Don't lay your bloodstained hand on me," the older boy hissed. His eyes flashed dangerously for a second. Sakura held herself back from snapping out when she noticed that Kourin's hand was subtly trembling.

Instead she stepped forward, clasping her hands together behind her and nodded. "We understand. Neji-san will escort you over to the inn and stay with you until you retire for the night. We will come get you at dawn. So please don't wander off, Shishido-san."

Neji stared at her and Sakura stood her ground. "You will, won't you Neji-san?"

The male ninja turned his head to regard his younger cousin. Hinata smiled and nodded. "I will be okay with Sakura-san. I'll see you at camp, Neji-nii-san."

"Very well," Neji conceded. "I will escort Shishido-san to the inn and return to camp. We will set up camp forty meters from the last docking bay at the edge of the woods, just before the grass meets the sand. Keep your radios on just in case. Channel 3."

"Hai!" Sakura and Hinata answered him. They watched as the two males walked away in silence. Neji was walking slightly behind their charge and had his guard up. They walked into the village and soon were swallowed by the evening mist.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Sakura's face dropped into worry. "Are you okay, Hinata-san?"

The dark haired teenager managed a nervous smile. "Ah, I'm okay. Just a little startled. I shouldn't have touched him so personally. But let's set up camp!"

The roseate kunoichi frowned but agreed. "Yes, let's get going. We can get a good night's rest before making the last stretch of the way."

They parted ways once they marked their camp location. Hinata took on the role to gather wild berries and to hopefully catch some fish for their night meal. Sakura went to scout the surrounding area and to gather dry twigs and branches for their campfire.

Sakura sighed as she set up the last trip-wire trap and observed the other traps she placed around their camp area. There were a few well-hidden explosive tags on the rocks, some spring-set kunai stashed away up in the trees and trip-wires laced with senbon placed low to the ground.

So far, their escorting mission was fairly quiet. They haven't encountered any ninjas who wanted him dead. This only made her wonder why he would need shinobi as escorts when normal guards would have sufficed. They made more than half way through their journey already and there weren't any hints of harm. When she stacked enough dry twigs and branches, Sakura returned to the designated spot.

Hinata was gutting out the three small sized fish with her sleeves rolled up. Her pearl white eyes looked up briefly when she heard the footsteps approaching the camp. Sakura smiled. "I'm back with the firewood. Do you want me to help you clean the fish?"

The dark hair girl shook her head and returned the smile with one of her own. "I'm almost done. Do you need flint? I have some in my pouch."

"I have some, so it's okay. I'll start up the fire then. Here, you can use these three branches to spear the fish." Sakura passed over the thin but sturdy twigs and knelt down to drop her load onto the dirt.

As soon as the fire blazed, the cleaned fish were speared into the ground and roasting in the crackling fire. Hinata watched the flames and occasionally looked over her shoulder for a shadow of her older cousin. Sakura stared into her lap, consumed by the memories of her time as a genin fresh out of the Academy. She remembered her first escort mission to bring Tazuna-san back to the Land of Waves. They were traveling in peace as usual until they were ambushed by two shinobi from the Hidden Village of Mist. She recalled the fear that locked her knees, the blood pumping heavily through her veins and the adrenaline that pushed her to defend the elder. But then Sasuke-kun jumped to her defense, shielding her from the attack. Naruto became furious and battled their enemies with Sasuke-kun. Finally, Kakashi-sensei appeared and took out the rouge ninjas.

Sighing remorsefully, Sakura closed her eyes as her fists clenched at her sides. Even though Kakashi-sensei reassured her and praised her of her bravery, looking back now, she could only shake her head and wonder why she couldn't have been a better and braver ninja. She should have joined the foray and proved her worthiness to the guys, showing her own abilities. But she didn't because she didn't have the capabilities to do so.

"Sakura-san?" Hinata called quietly as she held out a fish in offering.

Sakura blinked out of her stupor and smiled. "Thank you, Hinata-san! Itadaikimasu!"

Munching heartily on her meal, she set aside her memories of the past and stared into the fire. Her verdant green eyes blazed with an inner flame. She could only focus on the present so that she will be able to be alongside Naruto and Sasuke-kun in the future.

"Buzz, buzz."

The sound was sudden and instantly Sakura's eyes connected with Hinata's across the fire. Immediately they both stood up. Readjusting their headphones, they heard the static come through once more before Neji's voice cleared. "Ambush at the inn. I'm currently in pursuit of the ninjas. They have our client. Over."

"Got it, Neji-nii-san," Hinata told him steadily. Sakura also answered him. "Understood."

Quickly they doused out the campfire and checked their weapons before darting off into the darkness. The camp and the traps were forgotten as they weaved through the forest.

"Hinata-san, can you see where Neji-san is?" Sakura asked as they ran. Hinata activated her bloodline and nodded. "Yes, he is heading east of the village. We can cut through the forest. I also see Kourin-san and several ninjas."

"Then let's hurry," she urged and hopped up to the trees with her chakra. Hinata followed and soon they caught sight of Neji.

"Neji-nii-san!" Hinata called out as they jumped down from the tall branches and ran alongside the male shinobi. "What is our plan?"

Neji continued to look ahead but with his Byakyugan activated. "Sakura-san can take the defense and secure the client. Hinata-sama and I will dispatch the ninjas and maybe capture one for interrogation."

"Sounds good," Sakura told him, even though somehow she felt that she should be the one taking the lead on this mission. But since Neji had more experience than her, she let the issue slide. This was not the time for such trivial things, especially when the young lord was in trouble.

Shannaro! Let's kick some butt!


AN: This was one long break that I took from writing this and I apologize. I didn't realize how fast the years passed and it's been over five years since I updated the story! But I am back to writing this, although very slowly. Let's pray that the next update won't be another five years!

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter! Please look forward to Part 2.

Thank you for my reviewers FakeMirage, hot-ninja-babe, katarauchiha653719, shadow angel 101, seguha, Sakura0890, Rebellia, coeurcasse, and CryingMoonLight.