By the end of the second week, the hospital was completely reformed and working as an organized unit to get things done "Now what" Gaara asked as he realized there was very little to do since all the medics were up to par now.
His most important precious person shrugged her shoulders "How about we start working out the details for the herb trading system brat" Chiyo suggested, knowing that she'd lost the bet hands down, seemed Sakura was not at all like her mentor, who lost bets.
Immediately the girl perked up and brightened, Gaara chuckled under his breath at her excitement as they headed to the Head Medics Office "Okay Chiyo-sama, like I said Hidden Leaf will send you herbs you need and don't have, if Hidden Sand returns the courtesy" Sakura explained.
Once they were all seated, Chiyo pursed her lips "Nothing else" the elder questioned incredulously, could things really be as simple as that or was Tsunade trying to pull her leg, who knew with the Slug Princess after all.
"That's it Chiyo-sama, nothing else, a simple herb trading agreement between our two villages is all" the pinkette said seriously, Chiyo sighed and looked to her wrinkled hands trying to think of something else to add to the deal.
While Gaara was silent "Do you have a list of herbs Leaf has so we can narrow it down to what we don't have, so it can be traded, we'll do the same for Leaf" the red head wanting to help the meeting along.
Sakura beamed at him just as the Elder thought up an idea "I'll agree on two conditions Sakura, one you get Tsunade to agree to a medic exchange program, to come here and teach the medics of this hospital advanced techniques, we of Sand will participate as well" Chiyo stated.
"And the second condition Chiyo-sama, also here you go the list for all the herbs we have stocked in Leaf's General Hospital" Sakura narrowed her dull eyes on the old woman before her wondering what the woman was thinking come up with such a strange idea.
Even her boyfriend, though the word was strange and foreign to her still, as Temari had told her was eyeing Chiyo oddly, who thrust Sand's General Hospital list of herbs at him "Right I'll get started on this then" Gaara sighed.
Pulling out two blank scrolls to write down herbs from each list for Leaf and Sand "You start looking for my replacement and an assistant for the new Head Medic" the Elder announced very seriously and Sakura let out a gasp.
"Your stepping down Chiyo-sama" the pinkette looked visibly upset at this, Chiyo gave her a wry smile, of course she should have known the brat would get attached to her after spending nearly every day together for two weeks, barring two days.
Behind them Gaara didn't dare interrupt "It's not like you won't get to see me whenever you come to visit next time Sakura so don't act like it's the end of the world" Chiyo snorted a lot softer than usual, fond of the girl before her.
It wasn't often she'd admit she was wrong but just this once was okay "Okay, and I'm sure I can get Tsunade-shishou to agree with the medic exchange program" Sakura took a deep breath ready to start looking for Chiyo's replacement.
With that the three of them stood "By the way Elder Chiyo-sama, this is the list of herbs we don't have here in Sand" the red head set down the list, while handing the other to Sakura as they left the office behind going out to the floor.
Nothing was amiss so they began their rounds "And I haven't forgotten what I promised you brat, to teach you something exclusive to Sand" the old woman cackled reminding herself that she couldn't forget not after she'd already given in.
Sakura's smile was blinding "Looking forward to it Chiyo-sama" the pinkette exclaimed happily making her way around the hospital with ease, Gaara on her heels, while Chiyo split up from them, leaving them to their own devices.
"Can you imagine the look on your Hokage's face when she realizes that you got more than she bargained for" Gaara whispered, peering around cautiously on the look out for any good candidates to replace Chiyo "Quite hilarious right" the copper haired teen smirked.
When she looked thoroughly amused at whatever she'd imagined within her minds eye "Precisely but I don't think Tsunade-shishou will find it as funny as we do though" Sakura giggled lightly and hoped she wasn't blamed for it.
That idea was all on Chiyo after all "Maybe not" Gaara grimaced having seen how Sakura fought but not wanting to find out how much stronger the Hokage was than Sakura, who was still learning under the woman.
During their lunch break after picking out several of the medics as candidates for the positions in question, Sakura and Gaara made a trip to the messenger bird tower to send off the herb list and a detailed letter scroll to Tsunade, explaining the trade Chiyo wanted in exchange for the herbs.
Before going to the Sand Siblings House like they'd gotten into the habit off "You guys seem a lot more relaxed today, what's up" Temari immediately noticed the difference in the two besotted teens, they weren't dog-tired for one, even if it was only lunch.
"Chiyo-sama broke down and relented to the trade system that Tsunade-shishou wants to implement between our villages, plus the hospital is a completely organized unit now" the pinkette grinned excitedly keeping silent on the conditions to agree to the deal.
Temari blinked "What that's awesome Sakura-chan" Naruto cheered excited for his adopted sister, guess the time frame didn't matter so long as someone had drive and determination, anyway was possible in the smallest amount of time.
"Yeah congratulations on that" Sasuke nodded, just a tiny bit miffed that the others on the team were the first ones done with their side missions given to them personally by the Hokage herself and resolved himself to work harder.
What neither he or Naruto really realized was that they already considered the Sand Village, home away from home, but that was for another time "Just how exactly did you get that old woman to agree anyway" Kankuro inquired curiously.
Messing about with his puppets like usual, adding the new poison thanks to Sakura's help to all the weapons inside "Hard work and indomitable perseverance" the red head knew because that was her motto, had been ever since that second meeting in the Tea Shop.
For her dream of course, also not explaining the conditions that had been set, since they weren't sure how everything was going to go yet, as there was still one more week left to get through "Congrats then" Kakashi nodded his head.
Proud of his students who were all making their marks as Chunin "Ah, I think I've just thought of another idea for the hospital" Sakura exclaimed suddenly making everyone jump in the midst of making a plate as lunch was deemed ready to eat.
"Oh and what's this idea Sakura" Gaara asked tilting his head to the side and wondering what she was thinking about, it had to be good otherwise she wouldn't have said anything about the idea, it was just a matter of talking it over.
Her smile lit up the room "Summons, we can find a summons scroll for the medics and have a few of them sign on with it" the pinkette explained seriously, it would also improve communication to a very high degree at the hospital, employing summons after all.
Their brows rose in response "That's actually not a bad idea Sakura-chan" the silver haired Jonin chuckled, that girl really was something else and as she grew into her abilities, she'd be a highly coveted medic around the world by all villages.
But with Gaara at her side, no one would touch her "Course it's not Kakashi-sensei, but what kind of summons were you thinking of" the blue eyed blonde in the room turned his attention on Sakura, who shrugged, clearly not having figured that part out yet.
Plus she had to inform the medics and get them warmed up to the idea as well "We'll figure that out when it comes to it" the red head said with a little shrug, knowing that Chiyo would be the first one to be informed, followed by the other medics.
"Let us know how it goes then" the brunet in the room snorted lightly, abandoning his puppets for the time being in favor of eating lunch like the rest of them, hungry but not overly so, kami he was going to be so spoiled before Sakura left, it was going to suck once they were gone.
Sakura and Gaara nodded "Right time to get back to work" the ebony haired teen stood once all the food had been devoured except the extra plate and flask of tea that Kakashi took off to Baki, with that he and Naruto were gone, off around the village again.
Temari shook her head "I've got things to do, see you for dinner you guys" the teal eyed blonde waved disappearing herself as Gaara and Sakura returned to the hospital and found where Chiyo was holing herself away.
Upon skidding to a halt before the woman, she looked at them "What is it brats" Chiyo grew impatient waiting for them to catch their breaths, finally Sakura found her voice after a couple minutes and blurted out her idea.
"How would you feel about employing the use of summons around here as well, they'd be a near permanent fixture in the hospital, plus it would increase the level of communication, inside and also outside of the hospital" Sakura reeled off.
Chiyo gaped at her "Of course we'd need sometime to find the right summons and warm the other medics up to the idea as well" Gaara continued where Sakura left off and shifted uncomfortably when the old woman just kept staring at them.
"It's one thing after another with you brat, fine, fine but I'm leaving that up to you" the Elder groaned, it was absolutely unbelievable, here she was the Head Medic and a little brat was nearly running the hospital by herself with the help of Gaara.
The two teens shared a triumphant smile and headed for the store room "Mm was sure that someone said they found a couple of creature summons scrolls and put them here" the pinkette mused to herself, but it wasn't like she'd be able to find them.
So Gaara took over and after nearly searching the entire room, found three summons "Coyotes, collared peccaries and gecko's" the scarlet haired teen listed clutching the scrolls in his arms as they headed to the meeting room.
Once within, Sakura flared her chakra, calling all the medics to her side, while sending four clones to keep an eye on each wing while the meeting was in session "Okay now what is it, surely there isn't anything else left to do right" one medic asked.
Resigning himself to what he thought was more demeaning tasks, they all looked exhausted, because they'd gotten a major overhaul, the pinkette smiled apologetically "Not exactly, I wanted to know your thoughts on employing the use of summons in the hospital" Sakura said.
They all stared at her "You have the choice between these three creatures and just a few of you have to sign, for a field medic bringing in an injured team, summons will be a good way to send a message ahead for the hospital to prepare for them" Gaara explained.
Immediately the room filled with noise as the medics talked amongst themselves, five of the best stepped forward and Sakura memorized their chakra signatures "We'll try Gecko's please, they seem the most clean after all" the medics said.
With that the summons scroll was unrolled and in a small plume of smoke a gecko larger than their heads appeared, speckled yellow and red, the gecko looked them over without a word, it was a tense silence.
Before "Consider signing the contract all five of you, I sense we will be treated well" then the gecko was gone and the summons scroll was signed by the five medics, with more to sign on later should they ever feel like it.
Just like that her idea had been accepted and the meeting ended on a high note for Sakura was practically twittering in happiness as she walked through the halls of the hospital, hand in hand with Gaara as they made sure nothing was amiss in any of the wings.
Everything was running smoothly, and Sakura was quite pleased with herself "Thanks for all your help this week Gaara, probably wouldn't have gotten through it without you" the pinkette admitted and then for only the third time pecked him quickly on the cheek.
A flush rose to his cheeks like wildfire "I didn't do much" the copper haired teen flushed red and fidgeted awkwardly but otherwise was quite happy that he'd gotten another kiss from Sakura as they scouted out the medics silently of course.
When it was nearing dinner time, a situation arose in the hospital, someone was brought in with broken ribs and a punctured lung and the medics panicked because they didn't know how to handle that sort of medical emergency.
Sakura stepped in of course "Let the others know whats going on" she shooed Gaara off, who wanted to stay with her, but because this was such a emergency he wasn't allowed in the operation room as she took charge and directed the medics with ease.
Chiyo overseeing the operation as two medics were positioned on either side of the patient, Sakura in the thick of all the chaos, their medical chakra glowed bright as the bones were mended carefully and the puncture wound was sealed, before the fluid was extracted.
This whole operation took two hours, and Chiyo watched in awe the passion Sakura had to save lives, especially someone she didn't know as she trudged from the operation room, utterly exhausted and a thick sheen of sweat on her forehead, dripping down her face.
"Go brat, I'll handle the rest" Chiyo nudged the girl off and she went, winding her way down the halls to the lobby and out into the village, senses trained automatically on Gaara who at that moment appeared before her in a swirl of sand.
She was practically dead on her feet as she leaned against his chest "Hold on, I've got you Sakura, no don't go to sleep yet, you'll regret it not eating" Gaara adjusted his grip on Sakura and picked her up before body flickering to the house.
"Just tired, medical emergency, been working on healing the patient this entire time" Sakura croaked when she felt all the concerned stares as she was set down and handed some deer meat and daikon radish soup, with a flask of peppermint tea.
When she was done eating she leaned heavily against Gaara and went to sleep instantly "Kami that's just awful" Temari grimaced, feeling for the girl as she was carried off to be put in bed, by Gaara of course, and if that wasn't the cutest damn thing.
It was watching him tuck her in and fuss with the blankets to make sure she was comfortable that was the real kicker "Poor Pinky, she's gonna be dead tired tomorrow" Kankuro curled his lip, if only the medics weren't incompetent, then Sakura wouldn't have had to exhaust herself like that.
"Agreed perhaps we could go find that Granny Chiyo and beg to let her give Sakura-chan another day off" Naruto piped in only to flinch when a loud banging erupted on the front door, Gaara was quick in storming towards it.
Looking quite irritated for the first time since they'd all showed up in Sand and yanked the door open only to find the Elder in question as the culprit "Everything's settled, patient is resting in a room, tell that brat not to come in tomorrow" Chiyo snorted then was gone.
Everyone stared in shock "Guess we don't have to beg now Dope" Sasuke sniggered quietly not wanting to set off the red head again should they accidentally wake Sakura and even if it was early, the lot of them headed to bed.
"Is everyone already asleep" Baki popped into the house and looked around in confusion when he didn't spot the teenagers or rather the one he was looking for as Kakashi nodded his head "Give this to Sakura-san, there's a personalized message from the Hokage in there" he handed over a scroll.
Then was gone "Yeesh" Kakashi sighed feeling bone tired and he hadn't done much since the bandits had been taken care of beyond scouting every once in awhile, he'd been cooped up in the mans office almost as much as Baki himself had been cooped up.
Despite his curiosity about what the message for Sakura, he went to bed like the others "Here Sakura-chan, there's a message in there for you from Hokage-sama" the silver haired Jonin tossed the scroll at her the following morning.
She still looked run down, completely exhausted to be precise, but she unrolled the scroll and ran her finger over the letters until she found the message for her, her smile diminishing by the second until her shoulders were slumped in defeat.
Whatever the message was, wasn't good as she handed the message to Gaara who read it as well, the same look appearing on his face, defeat, "We still have to try, isn't there anything you can write back to make her understand the situation" the red head prodded.
But at least he wasn't willing to give up, everyone watching them in concern and curiosity "Maybe I have one thing up my sleeve left" the pinkette nodded after taking a deep breath and began writing furiously.
A long detailed letter and Kakashi knew that whatever it was, was important "By the way Elder Chiyo came by and gave you the day off" the brunet interrupted once the letter had been rolled and tied and sent off with a clone to the messenger bird tower.
His response was a wane smile "Let's go hang out Pinky" the teal eyed blonde ushered her friend from the house, didn't ask about the message and just let the girl around the Sand Village to take her mind off things.
"Okay what's going on and don't lie" the second Uchiha Heir demanded of Gaara, who didn't have a chance to disappear on them as well, he sighed and sat back down pinching the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted.
"Chiyo might have backed down on the herb trade deal, but she made two conditions, one isn't going so well" he grimaced giving a partial truth, he didn't want to say anything until they were sure that the idea was going to be given a proper chance.
Sasuke groaned, of course nothing was simple "Yeah what's the condition I bet we could help out and make that old lady say uncle you know" the blue eyed blonde huffed, tired of being left out of the loop but Gaara shook his head and vanished.
The day passed by quickly and then they were onto the next, the start of their third week in the Hidden Sand Village "Hokage-san must be quite fond of you Sakura-san" Baki caught her and Gaara as they were heading to the hospital.
A letter scroll held precariously in his hands for the girl who froze, because she hadn't thought the woman would respond as fast as she did this time around "M..Maybe" there was a small stutter in her voice, fear of the message and what Tsunade had said preventing her from taking the scroll.
Baki frowned seeing the hesitation and realized that this letter was no simple correspondence between Master and Student like he'd thought it was unlike the letters from Stone that came every three days for the three Leaf Chunin.
Gaara was also eyeing the letter with trepidation in his gaze, but he took the scroll and then directed Sakura down the streets to the hospital where they vanished within "Do you know what's wrong with Sakura-san, Kakashi-san, she was hesitant to take that letter from Hokage-san" he questioned once he got back to his office.
"Apparently Lady Chiyo made two conditions, one of which might be impossible, I read that message from the other day and Hokage-sama seemed furious whatever it was" Kakashi sat up, though he hadn't understood the message though whatever she was taking about.
The acting Kazekage sighed and sat down in his chair "Why Lady Chiyo, why do you have to make everything so bloody complicated" the turban wearing man groaned, fed up with one of the respected elders of the Sand Village at that current moment in time.
~Meanwhile~
Upon entering the hospital both Gaara and Sakura vanished down the hall to the Head Medics Office, only to find Chiyo not there "Want me to read it Sakura" Gaara offered carefully, she nodded silently so he unrolled the scroll.
Running his fingers over the words written in braille, heart dropping with each sentence, until he got to the final paragraph, relief filled him "Read this paragraph here Sakura" the red head grinned as he took her trembling hand.
Placing it on the scroll and having her read the last thing written, her entire countenance brightened and she squealed quite loudly "I did it, I did it, we did it" the pinkette cheered happily throwing her arms around Gaara hugging him quite tightly.
"What's all that racket" Chiyo grumbled making her way down the hall from where ever she'd been since they'd arrived over twenty minutes ago "Oh it's you two brats, whats going on" the old woman scowled eyeing the scene before her curiously.
Gaara looked like he was having trouble breathing as Sakura gave him a bone crushing hug "Tsunade-shishou agreed to the exchange program and I've already picked out your replacement and his assistant" Sakura announced releasing Gaara from her hold.
He inhaled air greedily, subtly of course and exhaled glad he could breathe again and that he wasn't being crushed anymore "It's those two you had in the operation room isn't it" Gaara guessed when he was sure he wouldn't give away the fact she'd left him breathless.
She nodded eagerly "Beside Chiyo-sama, their the best two medics in the hospital, though we'll have to reassign a couple medics to take over their positions in the North and West Wings" the fuscia haired teen explained.
Everything was coming together "Did she say when it would be possible to start the program" the elder demanded to know, relieved that Tsunade hadn't refused her one last request, even if they always had been at odds with one another.
"Three months to train the medics on how to teach the medics here, and the program will run for two months I believe" the copper haired teen ran his fingers over the last paragraph again reading each word carefully to make sure he wasn't making a mistake before nodding decisively.
Chiyo shook her head, now she really had no choice but to give in "Fine, that's good enough for me, shall we inform those two on their promotion" Chiyo snorted, glad that she wouldn't have to worry much longer and that the hospital would be in more than capable hands.
The teens nodded and the two males in question were dragged away for a private meeting "From this day officially you Iyashi-san will be the Head Medic and you Hoshu-san will be his assistant" Sakura announced.
Both males gaped "B..But what about Chiyo-sama, is this a good idea, you can't just fire her, she's better than either of us" Iyashi, grimaced not liking this sudden turn of events, he didn't think Sakura had the right to fire Elder Chiyo.
"Oh Sakura's not firing her, Elder Chiyo is stepping down, we'll inform the other medics and have Chiyo-sama explain the situation to them as well" Gaara explained carefully, this whole mess was almost over and done with and then it would be back to Leaf for Sakura and the others.
Iyashi looked at Sakura, who felt his stare and nodded "That's great news, but what happens if something we can't handle pops up like the day before yesterday" Hoshu frowned, and Sakura promised that she would talk to Chiyo about that.
Then they were back out on the floor while the rest of the medics were informed about the most drastic change yet, strangely enough no one complained "And don't worry brat, I'll stick around for awhile to make sure no one dies" the old woman smirked.
And with that after some rearranging Iyashi and Hoshu were settling into their new positions quite nicely by the end of the day "Okay you seem chipper now" Kakashi sighed when the couple appeared looking their ages again.
"We completed the two conditions Chiyo-sama set, so in three months time once we get back, a medic exchange program between Leaf and Sand will be up and running, also the hospital has a new Head Medic as Chiyo-sama has decided to step down" the pinkette chirped quite happily.
Kakashi stared, and stared, then his jaw dropped "You mean that's what Hokage-sama was talking about in that message the other day" the silver haired Jonin asked incredulously, though now he could see why Sakura would have been hesitant to read a letter from Tsunade.
"Precisely, she wasn't exactly happy sounding in this letter either, but at the very end she agreed to the program" the scarlet haired teen held out the letter which was quickly read through and Kakashi choked out a laugh.
He then realized that out of all of them that Sakura had gotten the short end of the stick with her side objective because Chiyo, despite growing fond of his student was a very stubborn and slightly cruel woman to put a young girl through all she had for amusement.
Or maybe it wasn't for amusement, at least not towards the end anyway "So does that mean the hospital is all straightened out and reformed" the teal eyed blonde questioned in the resounding silence as dinner was passed around.
Lasagna was that nights supper, that they'd picked up because they weren't sure if Sakura was going to be utterly exhausted again like she had the other day, at the question Sakura nodded, digging into the food with vigor.
Just then Baki popped into the house like usual "Elder Chiyo has informed me that a medic exchange program between Leaf and Sand has been given the green light by the Hokage herself" Baki stated making them all laugh.
"Yeah we already know that, it's why Pinky has been so down on herself lately, Gaara to" the brunet snorted mid bite as another plate of lasagna was dished out to the man, so he could eat with them as they'd become accustomed to.
Baki huffed "Wish I could have been informed before this, I could have helped you convince Hokage-san to agree much sooner to the idea" the turban wearing man eyed Sakura who smiled sheepishly but looking overall better than that morning.
"That's Sakura-chan for you" the blue eyed blonde grinned, knowing why she hadn't asked for help, she wanted to convince Tsunade herself to agree, otherwise she would have felt useless to those around her.
Sasuke shook his head and chuckled under his breath "Still can't believe this mission is almost over thought, I'm really gonna miss this place" the ebony haired teen sighed before his eyes widened, he and Naruto had done it, completed their task.
With that they all went to bed and before they knew it the rest of the week had flown by Baki and his former students showed up to see the Leaf Shinobi off "Make sure you come visit again" Temari hugged her friend.
"Of course Temari-chan, I'd miss you to much if I didn't, I'd miss all of you, most of all Gaara" Sakura smiled brightly, the proud owner of a miniature puppet, thanks to Chiyo teaching her the chakra strings the way they did in the Sand Village.
A Mistress Puppeteer in the making the Elder had said "Likewise Sakura, I'll be writing just to warn you" Gaara took his turn hugging Sakura, pleased to see the sand bracelet still situated upon her wrist, then he turned and shook Naruto and Sasuke's hands before nodding at Kakashi.
Who nodded back "Just send a message if your ever in trouble, the Leaf Village will always come to your aide" Kakashi faced Baki while the kids were bidding each other farewell until the next time, it was a really adorable sight.
The acting Kazekage nodded "And we'll extend the courtesy" Baki chuckled, glad that everything had turned out despite the few conflicts that had arose at the hospital, but in the end, Sakura had managed and the hospital was now making itself known to the world.
"We won't forget to write back either" Naruto waved enthusiastically as they started their trek across the desert in hopes to reach the border before nightfall, they wanted to get back to Leaf quick and share all their adventures with their friends and peers.
"Better not or we'll come to Leaf and kick your butt for forgetting" Kankuro threatened with a grin, and then they were gone, out of sight and he already missed them because everything would be boring again.
The second Heir of the Uchiha Clan gave a light snort "Kind of glad to be going home though, I think we earned a break after all we've been through these past three weeks" Sasuke grimaced, the village had been practically in shambles.
Probably because their official Kazekage had been murdered and the bandit attacks that had taken them to Sand in the first place, unsurprisingly Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura nodded in agreement that they all earned a break.
As they set a fast pace across the desert of Wind Country and reached the border of River Country just as the sun was sinking on them again, all of them hungry from not stopping for lunch, made a quick dinner then went to bed.
After a hasty breakfast the following morning they all packed up and made the trek to the border leading into Fire Country on a straight path to the Hidden Leaf Village, it was four in the afternoon when they arrived home after nearly a month of being gone.
They all stuck together though as they signed in and made the trek to the Hokage Tower to give their mission reports "SAKURA" Tsunade stood when her brat apprentice entered the room and charged over to the girl, who flinched back.
Immediately Tsunade knew she shouldn't have done that "Relax, I was mad, but now I'm not, not at you though, Chiyo that old bat just knows how to drive me crazy, other than that I'm extremely proud of you Sakura" the honey eyed blonde soothed.
Hugging her apprentice in a bone crushing way, Sakura relaxed and tears sprung to her dull eyes in relief "Just didn't want to let you down" the pinkette sniffled returning the hug while the males turned their heads away at the heart jerking scene.
Just a couple minutes later the two females let go of one another and straightened "Our mission reports Hokage-sama" the silver haired Jonin put the reports on her desk as she sat and allowed her to read through each one of them.
"We also completed each of our own side missions you set us" the ebony haired teen admitted, relieved that he and Naruto weren't the odd ones out and it had been rather easy to see the Sand Village as another home despite only having three weeks.
Tsunade nodded her head listening to them as she read "If we'd had another week, we could have got more done around the village to but oh well" the blonde knucklehead shrugged, eager to see his adoptive Mom again after all this time.
Her lips quirked up "Well congrats on a mission well done, despite some issues you all did very good, which has earned you two weeks off, now shoo" Tsunade waved her hands dismissing three of her Chunin and one Jonin from her office.
All of them vanished through the door and Kakashi disappeared in a plume of smoke outside the tower, the younger members of Team Seven shook their heads and headed down the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village to the almost completely abandoned Uchiha Compound.
Further in after shutting the gates to the house "Oh my babies your home" Mikoto was the first one to spot them standing in the kitchen doorway as she turned from finishing up dinner, a feast like usual and rushed over to them, each teen receiving a bone crushing hug.
Hearing the squeals, Itachi and Shisui looked up "Welcome home Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, how was your mission" Itachi asked politely as the trio sat around the table and dinner was dished out for everyone to eat.
"Like hell, no seriously, the bandits were sneaking in through a village escape route, not only that but they'd kidnapped a child as well, then Naruto and I went around helping civilians the rest of the time, those jobs were not easy" Sasuke scowled.
Remembering how the horrible shape the village had been in "But I think Sakura-chan got the worst of it, having to basically reform the hospital nearly all by herself, Gaara started helping her though in the second week" Naruto grimaced.
While Sakura nodded "Really now and just how horrible was the hospital Sakura-chan, surely not that bad right" Shisui prodded at the silent girl, who was absorbed in her food at the moment, though upon being asked a question.
She paused and took a deep breath "Awful, it was filthy, disorganized, the medics had below average chakra control, lacked communication, had terrible bedside manners and couldn't perform a critical surgery to save their lives" Sakura admitted.
Making them realizing that Sakura really had gotten the short end of the stick with her separate mission from the boys "Poor dear, but I'm assuming you managed to get the hospital up and running all proper right" the Uchiha Matriarch smiled.
And the girl nodded "Exactly with the new Head Medic and his assistant settling in to their roles without issue, by the way after dinner can I talk to you privately" the pinkette requested, her cheeks turning pink as she thought on everything else that had happened while they'd been gone.
Itachi lifted a brow at the light blush and narrowed his eyes, something fishy was going on and he was going to find out one way or another even if he had to eavesdrop on their conversation to do it, because he wasn't going to be left out of the loop.
Mikoto nodded "Absolutely Sakura-chan" the ebony haired woman exclaimed happily wondering what her adopted daughter wished to speak to her about and making a mental note to soundproof and seal off the room to prevent any eavesdroppers.
Sakura brightened in response "Can you tell us what else happened while in the Hidden Sand Village" the Uchiha Heir cleared his throat wanting to see if he could get a clue from whatever the girl said next.
"She hung out with Gaara, Temari and Kankuro a lot, even learned how to wield a puppet how cool is that" the second Heir piped in cutting Sakura off from speaking and Itachi found himself disappointed as the blush faded.
Looks like eavesdropping it was "We're going to have a Mistress Puppeteer on our hands before to long" the twenty one year old let out loud laugh, making quite the ruckus as he banged his hand on the table laughing way to hard for a simple comment.
Until he was abused over the head by his aunt and the laughter turned to whines "You deserved that one Shisui" the blonde knucklehead sniggered but didn't duck fast enough when a hand came out and smacked the back of his head as well.
Causing him to sulk as they finished up eating dinner and the dishes were done up before the two females vanished to another room and when the boys tried to follow found themselves flat on their backsides as a barrier rose to prevent them from entering.
Not a sound was heard either and Itachi was just a step away from cursing in frustration, then activated his Sharingan to hopefully read Sakura's lips but she sat facing away from them and he bit his cheek harshly before stalking off, Shisui raised a brow at that but followed his friend.
Meanwhile in the room "So…err I'm in a relationship with Gaara from the Hidden Sand Village, thought you ought to know" Sakura blurted out awkwardly not really sure how to talk about the subject with anyone that wasn't Temari.
Complete and utter silence "Do you understand what that means Sakura-chan, to be in a relationship with a boy" Mikoto asked carefully not wanting upset the girl, who was awkward when it came to human matters.
"I do, though we laid down some ground rules until we're ready to try something new, it's still really new though our relationship and being with each other that way, but we went on a couple of dates and had a lot of fun so yeah" the pinkette nodded.
Hoping the woman wasn't mad, "Oh boy" the ebony haired woman sighed "You haven't told Naruto-chan or Sasuke-chan have you" she prodded and Sakura shook her head "Probably for the best to keep it secret for awhile" she grinned.
Knowing that the boys were going to kick up quite the fuss over their favorite pinkette being with a boy, they all probably thought she was completely clueless about that sort of thing, that's why they didn't suspect a thing.
Sakura smiled sheepishly and the barrier was taken down as she bid everyone goodnight and headed for the caves, upon entering, she was knocked flat on her back as Mita pounced her "Ugh Mita not cool" Sakura groaned lightly.
Thankfully getting knocked on her back hadn't hurt that much as Mita greeted her with slobber to the face "Missed you lots, home now right" Mita bounced up and down, glad that the girl who was her surrogate mother was back.
"For awhile Mita-chan, Tokei-kun, everyone" the pinkette nodded pulling her cubs into bone crushing hugs, they were now over six months old, while Chairo and Kurai were two weeks shy of being two months old themselves.
By the time the exchange program was up and running they'd be two weeks away from being five months old and nearly ready to start venturing forth from the cave to learn how to hunt and behave like a jaguar.
Tokei butt his head in her stomach "Welcome home Mother" Tokei purred as she stripped from her yukata and pulled her fur dress on, before curling up with Hyo, who let out a pleased growl now that she was home where she belonged as they all settled down to get some shut eye.