A.N: I know, I'm late on my update, so I'm sorry about that. We were in the negative digits though with the weather, and I decided to be a lazy bum and sleep like all day to stay warm. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, but I thought you deserved at least this chapter. I feel kind of bad for the somewhat short chapter, but I hope it'll do. Please review!
Another thing, I don't think I'll have an actually couple in this story, I'm getting close to the end, and I can't think of someone for her to end up with. Now, she might go on a date or something at the end of the story, but other than that I don't know, honestly. This story is more focused on friendship and adventure anyways.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Tough
Chapter Ten
X X X
"Sakura!" Hinata yells, sending her best friend a bright smile, "I've missed you so much. I'm glad to hear that your team and Shikamaru's passed with us. It would have been terrible if we all didn't pass, don't you agree?" Sakura smiles gently at Hinata and nods, pulling Hinata into a hug.
"I have to agree with you there, Hinata; I would have been heart-broken." Sakura replies, walking towards a tree and leaning against it with her arms crossed over her chest, "Let's hope the other's get here soon. I want to congratulate all of them and train. Ino isn't suppose to come with the boys, is she?" Hinata shrugs lightly and stands next to Sakura.
"I don't know, Sakura. I hope she doesn't, I'm not in the mood to deal with her hanging all over Sasuke or teasing one of us. I feel bad for Shikamaru and Chouji. I wonder how they are doing with her..."
"She's trying to become the leader of the group; claiming she's the best and that it's the only way for us to survive." Shikamaru answers, stopping behind the girls and yawning loudly, "Troublesome girl; if you ask me."
"Yeah," Chouji mumbles, stuffing his face with more chips, "Asuma-sensei says we need to work on teamwork more, but besides that we are doing fine. He did say Ino needs to train more, but that's something we expected."
"Your parents are happy, aren't they?" Sakura asks curiously, tilting her head to the side, "Ino's dad, Shikamaru's dad, and Chouji's dad were teammates before, right?"
"I suppose they are; I think they want Ino to end up with one of us." Shikamaru grumbles, sighing loudly, "When are the other idiots showing up? Why aren't Sasuke and Naruto with you, Sakura?"
"They aren't always with me, jerk," Sakura grumbles, sending Shikamaru a glare, "I can be by myself once in a while. I don't need protection."
"I never said that." Shikamaru stats, staring into her eyes, "You've been acting a bit different lately, ever since we passed the academy. Are you okay?"
"He is right about that, Sakura." Hinata adds before Sakura can deny their accusations. "You've been wearing bandages around your arms all the time now, and your head has a cut on it; that you are failing miserably at hiding it." Sakura sighs softly.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Sakura mumbles, closing her eyes and sliding to the ground, trying to take a quick nap before the others arrive.
X X X
"Guys, I think Sakura's hiding something big from us," Hinata whispers after everyone arrives, "And be quiet, don't yell, or run over towards her. We are trying to figure her out, okay?" She glances over at Naruto, giving him a warning glance. "You guys are with her more than us, wanna tell us what she's been up too?"
"I see her in the library all the time," Sasuke answers, rubbing his chin and closing his eyes, "Her 'father' is with her all the time now, too." Naruto nods in agreement.
"I think she's worried about what we'll think. If bluntly ask her, I don't think we'll get an answer. Me and Sasuke will need to spy on her, I suppose."
"I wonder what has Princess like this though; I know this is weird, but her scent around her changes sometimes. It's not always her natural scent." Kiba adds, shrugging his shoulders, "It usually only lasts for a few minutes - when she's spacing out - and then Sakura's scent takes over." He looks down at Akamaru and tilts his head, listening to the dog bark in agreement, "Akamaru says he can smell the scent most of the time; even when we were smaller, but it's been coming out a lot more lately." Shikamaru closes his eyes and listens to everyone closely with a frown on his face. Sakura is hiding something for them, and he fears that it's something bad.
"Kiba," Shikamaru asks, "What do you feel around the strange scent?"
"It kind of frightens us," Kiba answers immediately, "It has this dark-like quality. I honestly wouldn't want to fight her when she's like that." Shikamaru nods once and rubs the back of his head, sighing.
"Troublesome woman," He grumbles while laying down on the ground and glancing up at the clouds, watching them roll through the sky.
"I just hope for the best," Hinata says gently, glancing over at the sleeping pinkette with a frown, "Sasuke, Naruto, you guys better take good care of her."
X X X
"Kenji-chan," Sakura greets, walking into the house with a new stack of books. She closes the door and enters the kitchen, setting down the new stack, "I got some more books. Thanks for helping me," Kenji looks up at her and nods, sending her a small, sad smile.
"No problem, Sakura." He tells her, ruffling her hair playfully, "How was training with the gang?" She shrugs lightly.
"It was pretty good, I defeated Hinata and Kiba again." She smiles happily and takes a seat next to him, "Did I tell you about my dream earlier?" She asks suddenly, her voice becoming softer.
"No, what did she say this time?" Kenji asks, putting the book down and staring into his daughter's eyes worryingly.
"She said someone put her inside of me, Kenji; she wants to take control over my body! What am I suppose to do? Who could have put that... that thing inside of me?!" Sakura shouts, tugging on her hair nervously, "What if I can't control her, Kenji? What if she comes out when I'm on a mission?!"
"Sakura," He orders, his voice cold and stern, "You need to calm down; that's right, take deep breaths," He instructs, stroking her head softly, letting her calm down. "We'll find out what's going on, okay? I'm going to tell Kakashi about it, just so he knows."
"No!" Sakura argues, shaking her head, "He'll find out if something makes me feel unsafe. For now, I now she can inflict damage to me and me alone; I refuse to let them now right now." She closes her eyes and rubs the back of her head, wincing, "I don't feel safe sleeping anymore; I think I shouldn't sleep anymore."
"You need sleep, isn't your first mission tomorrow?" Kenji asks, picking her up bridal style and carrying her into her room, smirking when she complains loudly. "Here, sleep tight." He says, dropping her on her bed and walking out of the room.
"Jerk!" Sakura insults, curling up into a ball and covering herself up. She will not let her 'inner' self take over her body; oh no, she'll do anything to stay in control. "Good night," She whispers softly, closing her eyes and falling into a dreamless sleep.
X X X
"Stop laughing at me, Saku-chan!" Naruto cries, holding onto his nose with a small pout forming, "That demon of a cat scratched me! And you're laughing! How could you?" Naruto sniffles and turns away, giving her the silent treatment. She laughs softly and shakes her head, humming in amusement.
"Oh, Naru-kun, please forgive me," She says innocently, tugging on his jacket and sending him a sweet smile, "You'll make me sad if you keep giving me this treatment..."
"D-Don't be sad, Saku-chan!" Naruto shouts, pulling her into a hug and throwing her over his shoulder, "Let's find that damn cat, Sasuke-teme!" He then breaks off into a run. Sasuke looks down and shakes his head, mentally face-palming himself. What is he suppose to do about his idiotic teammates?
Sakura quietly laughs and pinches his cheeks, making him put her down. She stretches her arms over her head and nods her head towards the left, signaling her boys to follow. She, too, quietly hides behind a tree and glances down at their target, making sure there was a bow on its ear. She gives them the go signal before jumping out of the tree and landing in front of the cat, scaring it. The cat hisses and jumps up, trying to run away from them, only to be grabbed from behind.
"Aha! Stupid cat, who got you now?" Naruto taunts, swinging the cat over his head and spins himself.
"Dope..." Sasuke sighs out, "Mission complete." He mutters into the ear piece for Kakashi to hear.
"Alright, let's return to the tower then," His voice comes through their ear pieces. Sakura nods in agreement - even though he couldn't see it - and turns on her heel, heading towards the tower with Naruto running after her.
X X X
"Congratulations, team seven! You have passed another mission!" The Third Hokage praises, smiling down at the students, "The day is still early, so I'm going to send you on another mission." He picks up the 'D-rank' mission scroll and blows out of puff of smoke before speaking again, "You can babysit a noble child, pull out weeds, help a client with shopping..."
"No!" Naruto shouts, growling under his breath, "I don't want no damn kiddy mission! Academy students can do these! I want to get out of the village and live, old man! Can't we get a higher mission? It's not like we are weak!"
"Naruto..." Kakashi groans, looking down in shame. He knew he's going to be scolded later for his students outburst.
"I agree with Dope," Sasuke admits, staring into the Hokage's eyes, "We have been on many D-rank missions, and we are finishing them a lot quicker than the other teams." Sakura shakes her head lightly, face-palming herself. Sure, she agrees with them, but she doesn't appreciate them disrespecting the Hokage, "The missions are for us to work on teamwork more, isn't it?"
"Part of it, yes," The Third answers, raises his eyebrows amused, "What do you think about going on a C-rank mission, Sakura?"
"I believe my teammates are a bunch of idiots," Sakura states bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest, "I do agree with them though; we can't really improve anymore with teamwork unless we start learning more techniques. We've been training together for years; we know almost everything about each other." Sasuke glares at Sakura, Naruto cries loudly, and Kakashi sweat drops at her bluntness.
"Sakura, I don't really think insulting your teammates are proof of you guys getting along," Kakashi comments lightly, watching Sakura roll her eyes.
"Sure, sure." She says lazily, sending the Hokage a sweet smile, "I do think we are good enough for a C-rank mission, Hokage-sama." She bows lightly, waiting for him to either deny or accept the request. The Third Hokage hums softly under his breath and rubs his chin, trying to decide what to do.
"Well," He starts out, ignoring Iruka's complaints, "I believe your team does have the best teamwork; team eight is probably close..." Sakura nods in agreement; Hinata, Kiba, and Shino are all good ninjas' and there skills balance each other. "But, I do believe you'll be able to do a simple C-rank escort mission." He sends them a smile, "Bring in the client!"
There it is! I hope you enjoyed it. I want to thank the following for reviewing: Dead-jade-eyes, Splitheart1120, Angelpanda-chan, Dina Sana, Poobear07, Guest, Guest, and Sakura Souen. (It won't let me put your whole name, I don't know why though.)
Kimi-the-Writer