Disclaimer: No, in between this chapter and the last one I have not acquired Naruto, its characters, or its plots.

A/N: Sorry for the enormous delay in between chapters. And I decided that is was time for the time-skip, so there are few years between this chapter and the last one. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed!

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter 21-

After Time Has Passed

Sakura knelt on the rough bark of one of the innumerable trees that surrounded the village. Her verdant eyes were concealed as she concentrated on the sounds surrounding her. Most were native to the forest, small animals clattering through last year's dead leaves and the wind playing a gentle refrain among the foliage. Her own breathing was barely a sound even to her own ears and she knew her dark attire wouldn't give away her own position.

Finally she caught the sound she had been anticipating. Not even opening her eyes the sharp coolness of a kunai found its way to her hand and she threw it with deadly accuracy.

Opening her eyes she turned to look at her target. Said target was coolly twirling the deadly weapon around one slim digit and his pale silvery eyes met hers with familiar amusement. "Almost, Haruno." He teased.

One corner of Sakura's lips twitched and she fought to control her sly smirk. One of Neji's dark brows rose in question, which Sakura took as her cue to make a swift sign. "Bang," she whispered.

Neji gave an undignified yelp as the kunai in his hand exploded, filling his hand with painful metal shrapnel. His teasing glance turned into a dark glare. His next "Sakura" was delivered warningly and through clenched teeth.

Sakura obligingly canceled the genjutsu and the illusionary pain disappeared. "What was that?" Neji asked.

"A trick Anko showed me. Usually you have to attach paper tags to kunai if you want them to explode, but if you want to put in more effort you can engrave the symbols directly onto the metal."

Neji gave his hand an experimental shake, as if to test that the pain really had been an illusion. It wouldn't have been the first time Sakura had used double-layered genjutsu after being taken in under the metaphorical dark wings of Anko. "That's a pretty nasty trick."

Sakura nodded. "It only worked because I knew you would catch it. You would have cancelled the genjutsu if you had blocked." Her sly grin could no longer be contained and spread across her face. Her gloating didn't last long and her lips fell into the gentler lines of her smile. "It was pretty bad, huh?"

"Yes, and I won't believe for a second that Anko didn't try it on you a time or two, so you should have known better." Neji's chidings were given in mock disdain, but soon enough he couldn't help but smile back.

Sakura gave a kind of helpless shrug that said without words that he knew her mentor very well indeed.

The open look on Neji's face disappeared as he voiced his next question. "Any word from the rest of your team?"

Sakura's face closed off just as abruptly. The promised mission, the last time Team Seven would have been able to work together before going their separate ways had never materialized. Instead her teammates had disappeared, never even taking the time to say goodbye, though Naruto had been thoughtful enough to leave a note. "None." It had been years since there had been word, at least for her. That was why the word was delivered in the same brisk, cold tone that she reported the most distasteful of her missions.

She was fairly certain everyone was still alive, given that Jiriaya's publisher had sent word that there would be another book in his infamous 'Icha Icha' series released and the missions assigned to Kakashi and Sasuke were all completed.

While they had been off gallivanting around, Sakura herself hadn't been idle. Anko had taken to training her with unholy glee and she had been working with Gai-sensei in her spare time to improve her five-style taijutsu. That went without mentioning her missions and training sessions with the ANBU member who had been introduced to her and Neji as Yamato. Rounding out that four-man squad was a taciturn artist called Sai who reminded her, in appearance at least, of Sasuke.

In the years that had passed she had used Amanozako twice more, but with luck and determination had never descended beyond the Second Kingdom. Despite the time that had passed no one knew of the demon or the personality that called itself Orochimaru. There had been close calls certainly, ones she was sure would expose her, but they had played out in her favor. Sakura thought Tsunade might suspect of favoring various dark and destructive jutsus and she was certain Anko thought her a great deal more malicious than she actually was, but she was willing to let them think that in exchange for keeping her secrets. And Anko would never try to get in her head ever again, which was a bonus really.

Sakura realized she had been standing quite dazedly for too long and shook off her burst of nostalgia. Instead she met the sympathetic eyes of her sparring partner. Neji had aged well, his hair still long and silky-fine, his formal clothes adding dignity to his already impressive stature. In the mirror of her mind Sakura knew her own appearance. Athletic rather than curvaceous, her long pink hair pinned up with senbon. Ribbed sleeveless black turtleneck top, her forehead protector tied loosely around her neck. Standard issue fitted black trousers tucked into knee-length open-toe black boots. Two-section bracers covering her upper arms and forearms, fingerless black gloves protecting her hands. Rather colorless except for the crimson fabric that her forehead protector was attached to, the Fire Country symbols that appeared on the upper section her bracers and a slim crimson sash tied around her waist with the circle crest of the Haruno clan featured at either end.

"So are you ready to spar, or are you going to persist with your tricks?" Neji asked, assuming his ready position.

"You're just mad you fell for it." Sakura didn't bother with a ready position. They both knew that she would be the first to attack. It was a familiar ritual between the two of them, both hand-picked candidates for the next generation of ANBU. Sakura's strikes were quicker and surer than they once were, but Neji was her equal and perhaps her better.

A blow that would have easily shattered his jaw was avoided with a quick twist of his head, shattering the tree trunk that took the blow. His counterblow caught her in the solar plexus, but a quick redirection of her chakra negated the worst of it. A high roundhouse kick was caught and he used his advantage to prod several sensitive nerve centers in her leg. Using her hands she brought her other leg around in a punishing blow that dislocated his shoulder and stopped his painful actions.

Green chakra flaring Sakura ran her hands lightly over her leg until the tiny muscle spasms Neji had induced quieted. Her pause gave her opponent ample opportunity to pop his joint back into place. Neither of them had even flinched. The distance actually favored Sakura, who could better maintain distance combat, but Neji's impenetrable defense had only grown more secure with time and without the use of fatal force Sakura was at a disadvantage.

"There will be a mission this afternoon." Neji told her as he targeted more of her chakra points and nerve centers indiscriminately. At this point he was simply playing, though the speed of his attacks didn't abate.

"Isn't there always?" Sakura returned, attempting to get under his guard with a series of sweeping low kicks, following them immediately with a high kick that clipped his jaw and sent him staggering backwards.

His retaliation was swift rain of kunai that told her he had not appreciated her action. One managed to open a shallow gash along her cheekbone, but she avoided the rest easily by a twisted flip that brought her into the air. What was less easily avoided was Neji himself a moment later. Still in motion from avoiding the kunai Sakura couldn't reverse her momentum fast enough to prevent Neji catching her with one arm, pinning both her arms to her side. The other hand danced along the length of her neck, pinching the sensitive nerves there and temporarily paralyzing the kunoichi.

Now, there were actions she could take using medical jutsu, even if she couldn't move. But both she and Neji knew that he had won this round. The pins and needles sensation of returning feeling alerted her that she could move if she so wished and Sakura took advantage of her proximity to Neji to give him a sound poke in the ribs.

He raised his eyebrow as he took a step back. "What was that for?"

"That was low. You know I hate people messing around my neck." This was a phobia born of a too near association with one of Anko's numerous summons. Anko had thought it was hilarious. Sakura had thought it less so.

"Sorry." Neji really didn't sound all that sorry. Sakura glared at him from underneath lowered brows and saw the beginning hints of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Abandoning shinobi strategies entirely, Sakura pulled a leaf from Naruto's book and simply caught the prodigy in a flying tackle that tumbled them both from their leafy perch.

Shinobi reflexes allowed them both to land easily on their feet and face the older shinobi who had appeared in a whirl of leaves with composure that fairly screamed they would never stoop to something so childish as tackling each other during a serious sparring match. Yamato raised a single brow to impressive heights as he surveyed his sometimes teammates.

"Was there something you needed Yamato-san?" Sakura asked courteously.

"Is there a change in our mission?" Neji's question followed Sakura's closely.

Yamato stayed silent for a moment, observing how much these two shinobi had grown even in the time he had known them. They worked well in tandem, as well as with a full team, and their impressive skills allowed them to complete solo missions with ease. However, with the news he brought they would no longer be the duo that they had slowly become of the years, though Neji had never abandoned his original team.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Jiriaya have returned. They should be entering the gates as we speak." His announcement caused remarkably little reaction. In fact it was an almost suspicious, near ANBU worthy lack of reaction. Sakura open green eyes suddenly became opaque and her upright stance became so stiff it looked as if someone had inserted an iron rod into her spine. Neji's pale eyes only flickered toward his friend and comrade once, but even that was enough for Yamato to read the quickly flitting emotions that were quickly concealed.

"I understand. Will this affect our mission this afternoon?" The question was asked by Sakura in a tone of near uncomfortable formality.

"No. We will leave as scheduled." Seeing the possibility of an uncomfortable situation developing, Yamato took advantage of the silence after his words to perform a teleportation jutsu, leaving to two companions alone.

After Yamato left Neji turned to watch Sakura. She avoided his gaze, instead walking slowly over to the base of a nearby tree. He followed the movement with his eyes, but didn't move to interfere.

So, they're back. Happy news, is it not Sakura-chan? Orochimaru's voice sounded uncomfortably close to her ear. Sakura didn't answer. She was caught between happiness at the return of her friends and black rage at their abandonment.

Of course, Orochimaru knew this, taking advantage of the situation. Yesss….a terrible disappointment, the way they left. Almost if you weren't quite necessary. But that couldn't be true, right Sakura-chan. They're your friends. And isn't friendship and the bond between comrades what Konoha's all about?

Aware of Neji's presence Sakura answered only in her mind. We both know you don't believe any of that, she snarled viciously.

So touchy Sakura-chan! Orochimaru laughed, and the sound rankled.

In a moment of briefly uncontrolled black rage Sakura drew on gloved fist back and struck out at the poor tree she had been gazing blankly at. The tree, probably upwards of a hundred years old, was shattered in a vicious instant. As she blankly watched the splinters fall to the ground she tightly leashed her temper, an activity she compared to wrangling an anaconda. It was a fitting metaphor.

Neji's cool, familiar hand appeared on her shoulder. We could cut it off Sakura-chan. I'm sure it would make you feel better. Orochimaru sounded irritatingly hopeful about the prospect, which alone was enough to ensure she wouldn't even if she had been tempted. It wasn't Neji she was mad at.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Not yet." Sakura muttered darkly.

"Well, I am certain that the elders would be very, very upset if their remaining Uchiha suffered an unfortunate accident or if Kakashi-san was permanently late for his next appointment."

"Telling me it would upset the elders is not the way to discourage me, Neji. You're not helping." Still facing away from him, she could sense his smile.

"Okay. I could just stand and watch as you become the leading cause of deforestation in Konoha." Knowing Neji was attempting to tease her out of her black mood was uplifting, because the genin she had first met would have looked on her with distaste for her loss of control and probably told her it was her destiny to split up with her friends. If he had been anyone else Sakura may have turned and asked for a hug, but no matter how relaxed he may have become in her presence he was still Neji Hyuuga.

Sakura took a deep breath, savoring for a moment the feelings of building rage and aggression. Then she released that same breath, and with it the darkness in her heart lessened for the time being.

She turned to face Neji with a bright smile. "No, we'll save the trees. Let's go see Team Seven."

As she leaped up into the branches, innate mischief made her turn and say, "I'll make it up in sparring practice after we get back."

The distance separating them wasn't enough for her to not her the strangled sound Neji made. Sakura laughed. Her day had suddenly turned a little brighter.

A/N: Okay, that was a little…boring. But it contained some very important character building. As always, please review because I appreciate feedback.