The smell of booze in the air is enough to make Sakura's nose scrunch up in agony. An Inuzuka in the corner of the mission room looks like she wants to throw up, or maybe jump through the window. Naruto, most likely regretting his decision to argue with the Hokage, looks at their client incredulously. The man, a bridge builder named Tazuna who won't admit to having an alcohol problem, gives their team an equal look of disbelief.
"These brats are supposed to keep me from danger?" Sakura can see something along the lines of remorse etched onto his face. Great, this mission may get them all killed.
"Hey! Shut up old m-!" Kakashi whacks Naruto on the back of the head, which effectively shuts him up. He then goes on to explain that he's a Jounin, so Tazuna has nothing to worry about. That is, unless he has something to share with the team. The man shakes his head, and makes his way out of the mission room with three Genin and a Jounin following close behind.
.
They had the order to pack and meet at the gates in ten minutes, tops. Sakura walks to her house, not bothering to shunshin on days like this. She lets Konoha surround her, and the peace is calming. It is good to see the village at its best, before the carnage of war and betrayal touch it again.
"Sakura." Her mother stands there, holding a plate of onigiri. The older woman looks at Sakura, and having known the girl for all of her current life, understands. "Just be home safe. And take this as a snack for the road."
Sakura gives her mother a hug, and buries her face into the crook of her neck. Her mother takes this as a sign of stress, and pats her on the back. Sakura does not say that having somebody there to make her something and take care of her is why she has tears coming down her eyes.
"Thanks, mom."
.
The team, sans Kakashi, is already there by the time Sakura gets to the gate. She is munching on a rice ball and holds out two more for her teammates to take. Naruto looks like she has just offered him eternal happiness, and Sasuke looks like he wants to throw this one away just like the last. There is a popping noise, some smoke, and Kakashi is right behind them. Naruto is surprised enough to start choking on his onigiri, and their team's leader is helpful enough to smack his back hard enough for the morsel to come flying back up.
"I feel so unloved, Sakura-chan." Kakashi points to the saliva covered monstrosity that had just come out of Naruto's mouth. "You didn't get any for me?" His faux-disappointment is somehow conveyed through the one eye that she can see.
Sasuke holds out his, and it is taken by Jounin. Everybody is watching as Kakashi moves it closer and closer to his mouth. Sakura blinks and misses the millisecond it took for him to eat it. Judging by the muttering and sour looks from the rest of the group, she thinks they did too. She will have to ask about how he managed to do that later.
.
They are walking down a very open dirt road that has a lot of tree and brush cover on either side of it. It makes Sakura feel exposed, but she is not as nervous as she probably should be. She knows that there are many things that can hide in the cover of the forest on either side of them, but with Kakashi on their team, she does not worry. He is a good tracker, and they both have the experience that all those who wear the porcelain masks do.
"Oi, why can't we go faster." Naruto has grown bored, and Sakura can understand that. They have been walking for a long time, and the boy does not have the best attention span. Although she also wishes that they could run through the trees as usual, she does have to admire the pace Tazuna is going at for an elderly civilian.
What she does not admire, however, is the way his eyes are scrutinizing the path, as if expecting some danger to appear. She was already suspicious, and now she knows something is going to happen. This C-rank is somehow going to end up with someone injured or dead, she can feel it. Whoever ends up falling, she will make sure that it is not one of her teammates.
.
There is a puddle in the middle of the road. Sakura makes discreet signs to Kakashi. It will not reveal anything, except that which her leader already suspects.
'Danger ahead, confront?'
'Hold, see who is target.'
She nods at Kakashi.
.
Two figures emerge from the puddle, and they look intimidating. Emphasis on look. They have a chain that connects them and, while it might be useful in coordinated attacks against a single enemy, using it against a group will only hinder them.
The chains wrap around Kakashi and his guts spill all over the road. Sakura may or may not signal 'Screw you' to where she knows he is hiding.
The self proclaimed Demon Brothers are approaching Tazuna, exuding Killing Intent. She does not notice it until she sees her two teammates shiver, and not in anticipation.
It is a mere brush against her senses, but she realizes that they have not experienced the adrenaline and instinctive terror real combat can bring. She will protect them, at least until they become used to the sensation that makes the hair on the back their necks prickle.
She flashes in front of Tazuna as soon as the brothers have their weapons raised to hit the target.
.
Sasuke finally manages to work himself out of his stupor, and gets a kunai out from his pouch. He sees them lunge for the client, and he is about to dash over and try to intercept the attack when they both fall and writhe on the ground, clutching themselves and making horrible keening noises. He hears a soft voice say 'Kai' and both of them fall unconscious from whatever hell they were forced to experience.
Something about that jutsu, whatever it was, scares the hell out of Sasuke. He feels his traitorous hands shaking, and his knees aren't working, and he's going to fall over-
"Calm down, Sasuke. I didn't think you would get this upset over me, but I guess I should be flattered." Kakashi catches him as he about to fall, and his cheeky comment grates on Sasuke's nerves. That does nothing to stop the subtle tremors that he still has.
"It- it wasn't you."
.
Somehow the team has decided to keep going. Sakura understands why, but she does not know the reason no messenger hawk has been sent requesting backup. She would send a message herself, but a crow appearing in Konoha with a letter strapped to its leg will not be taken kindly.
Naruto then sends a kunai flying into the underbrush, revealing a terrified rabbit. It's a white rabbit, despite the fact that getting a brown rabbit in this area should pose no problem for anybody above Genin. The people after them were really starting to irritate Sakura. She rolls her eyes at Kakashi, and crouches down just as a giant sword flies at them.
A shirtless man with a Kiri hitai-ate and a bandaged mask lands atop the sword. His back is, for some reason, to them. She wonders how he has managed to avoid getting a kunai inserted into his spinal cord by now.
.
"Sharingan no Kakashi."
She recognizes the swirling red and black that Kakashi uncovers. So that was the name of her accursed eyes from before: sharingan.
.
There is a lot of fog. And once again her teammates are petrified. The man, who has introduced himself as Zabuza, is now listing the different vital organs. Although Sakura wants to, she refrains from adding to his list. Telling him about a unique to kill somebody with a blow to just one kidney is not going to help the situation.
Kakashi is off fighting Zabuza alone, beyond their view in the mist. She knows that she is best left here to guard Tazuna and her teammates while he goes to deal with the threat, but she cannot help but think that directly going up against a high ranking missing nin is a bit foolhardy. Especially since she knows that his stamina is greatly diminished when he uses his eye.
("You have great control over the sharingan, better than some Uchiha. But what you don't have, and never will, is the chakra to keep it active for so long." For three days or three seconds, depending on who is watching, Kakashi is trapped. Then he falls.)
A Zabuza clone decides to appear behind them. Sakura gets the feeling that she is going to be seeing a lot of clones before the fight is over. She stabs it with a kunai and it dissipates. More clones appear and she throws weapons that take them out with perfect accuracy, even without the advantage of clear vision.
(Day after day, she became a little weaker. Her body was deteriorating and her eyesight dissolving with every use. Nothing was clear anymore, nothing but her goals and her mind. She will survive, for a little while longer at least.)