A/N: A late "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year," everyone! Yes, yes, I know I've been naughty for not updating regularly... yet again. I'm sorry. Please blame school for being too demanding of my time. Anyway, here is my present for all of you guys. Waaah, I really want to finish this story but I don't want to compromise the little quality it has so I'm trying to type up the chapters when it's clear in my head what I want to happen and how I want it to. Then, it just keeps getting longer and longer in my head so...

Anyway, thanks to all those who subscribed, favorited and reviewed.

Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 35 Mission Accomplished

"Going somewhere?"

Ino looked up from tying the straps of her heels. "You always seem so surprised." Ino stood up, and looked at herself in the mirror. She heard Sakura close the door behind her. Satisfied with how she looked, she turned back to her best friend. "I'm the one who should be surprised since you actually got up before me on a weekend."

"There's always a first, you know," Sakura said, gathering her stuff.

"Are you going somewhere?" Ino inquired, now preoccupied with blowing her hair.

On her way to the bathroom, Sakura answered, "Yeah. Tsunade-sama asked me to go grocery shopping today so I'll drop by Konoha."

"Running an errand, I see," Ino mocked. "I don't get it, though. You two rarely go back home so what do you need groceries for?"

"It seems like she's been staying up late recently, always locked up in her office. So she decided to just stock up in there."

"In other words, you're gonna go buy bottles of sake, right?"

Sakura grinned. "She probably expects me to but I don't think I will. That way she won't ask me to shop for her this early again."

Sakura went inside the shower and Ino was left to worry about how she should do her hair today. After a few minutes, she decided to just tie it in a ponytail. Ino double-checked if she got everything she needed. Slinging her bag on one shoulder, she crossed the room and called out, "I'm going, Sakura!"

"Yeah, be careful," came Sakura's muffled answer.

Ino was about to go out the door when she caught sight of something in her peripheral view. Lying on her bedside table was Sakura's phone.

"Sakura?" Ino called out again. "Where did you say you were going to shop?"

"Konoha."

Ino rolled her eyes. "I meant the name of the shop."

"Uh, I'm not sure, it's Bag… something. Why are you asking?"

"Just curious," Ino said as she put the phone back. She went to the door again. "Bye then. See you later!"

Today marked the day when the ban his father issued was lifted and Sasuke planned to reunite with his beloved car and he was looking forward to it. So much so that this early in the morning, he was already washed up and dressed while Naruto was still sprawled on his bed, pillows at his sides, comforter on the floor. Then again, it wasn't so unusual that he got up earlier than the loudmouth.

Drying his hair with the towel, he scooped up his keys, his wallet and his phone and placed them all in his pockets. Leaving his unruly hair be, he went out of the room and made his way to where he parked his motorcycle.

Just as he was about to swing his leg over to the other side of the bike, his phone beeped.

New message. 'Meet me at the grocery store in Konoha in an hour.'

Sasuke frowned as he looked at the unregistered number. He thought for a moment before he realized who the sender could be. He looked at the number again and memorized it before he checked his call log.

'What does she want now?' he thought, annoyed. If his memory served him right, and it always did, she was giving him the cold shoulder these past few days for some reason. And being who he was, it never occurred to him to ask why. With a click of his tongue, he decided to ignore it.

He got on the bike and revved the engine. In a second, he was but a blur past the school gates.

"Good morning, Uchiha-sama," the red-haired receptionist greeted Sasuke as he stopped across from her, matching it with a smile meant to be flirty. "My name is Shizuka. How may I help you?"

"I'm here to check out my car," Sasuke curtly said.

"Yes," the receptionist. She typed something in the computer and proceeded to retrieve Sasuke's electronic pass key. "I could take you there if you want, Sasuke-sama."

Sasuke glanced at the girl, then at his card, oblivious to his name being casually called. "No need," he said as he swiped the card from her hand and walked away. A few steps away, he stopped and turned his head. He clearly saw the girl's face brighten again, eager to please. "By the way, do you-" Sasuke began, hesitant. "Do you know where the grocery store is?"

Sasuke rounded the third corner from the car park, just as the girl told him to. There, sitting in the middle of small tents and makeshift stores, was a huge building, called Bag it Up. Sasuke killed the engine as he parked the motorcycle on the side, pocketed the key and hung the helmet on the left handle. Then, he entered the store.

He tried one aisle after another, looking for a sway of pink. Ten aisles later, he felt frustrated and looked at his watch. It was past the one hour mark.

"Tsk." He knew he shouldn't have come. What was he thinking anyway?

Deciding to stick to his original plan, he headed back to the exit. At least, it was early enough that only a few old people were shopping. He got on his bike, wore his helmet and started the engine in an agitated manner.

He sped toward the same direction he'd come when suddenly, in a blur, as he was a corner away from the car park, he thought he saw what he was looking for. He stepped on the brakes and looked around. Immediately, his eyes landed on a pink head peeking out from behind a bookshelf in what appeared to be a bookstore. It must be newly constructed, if the balloons at the entrance and the long line of people were any indication.

Sasuke darted his eyes back to the pink head, which abruptly turned to another direction and ran toward it. His eyes followed her until she stopped behind a growing crowd in one corner of the store. She craned her neck to see past the people in front of her, trying to get a glimpse of whatever it was she wanted to see. Sasuke's brows furrowed as he contemplated whether he should go to her or not.

After a while, he parked his bike in a spot opposite the bookstore and removed the keys from the ignition. Clutching his helmet under his left arm, he went inside the store, his eyes trained on the pink hair several feet from him.

About a couple of feet away, he called out to her, "Sakura." But she didn't look back. He tried again. "Sakura." The name fell on deaf ears once again. Maybe the chattering of the crowd, as well as the shrieks of some women, was too much for her hearing. Annoyed, he went directly behind her, lowered his head to the side of her head close to her ear and was about to say her name again when, in the blink of an eye, his eyes widened and he was frozen in place.

Sakura was on her way to the grocery store when she saw a newly opened bookstore on the way. She looked at her watch and concluded that it wouldn't hurt to look around first. Giddy with excitement, she went inside.

The store interior was unmistakably chic, with crazy designs for shelves. One shelf in the far right was a spiral staircase and the books were placed on the steps. Some books were in clear glasses hung from the ceiling. There was even an electronic directory wherein you may type the title or author of a book you were looking for and it will guide you to where it is from that spot.

Going further in, she saw a small group of people gathering around something. Looking around, she saw a poster saying that someone was having a book signing event that day. She narrowed her eyes to read it better. Realizing it was one of her favorite authors, she gasped and immediately joined the gathering crowd. However, by that time there was hardly any space for her to squeeze in and she could barely see the top of the head of the person sitting on the table.

She craned her neck, to no avail. She tried tiptoeing, too, but some of the people in front of her were just so tall and unruly for her to see properly. 'Maybe I should try somewhere else,' she thought. She turned her head when she – her lips, in particular – collided with something soft beside her.

A cheek. She just kissed someone's cheek! Or was it in the junction where the cheek and chin met? It didn't matter. What mattered was that she just kissed someone! She jumped backward immediately. As she did so, she clearly saw the person's face and as soon as she recognized him, Sakura's eyes widened to its limits and her hands flew to her mouth.

Sasuke didn't know how long he stared at the floor. 'D-did she just…' he trailed off over and over again. It was so sudden he wasn't sure how to react.

"S-Sasuke," he heard her call him and somehow he became even more unsure of what to do. "Sasuke, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I wasn't paying attention and… I'm really, really sorry."

Realizing his head was still bent in an uncomfortable position and his mouth was still open, he straightened and composed himself. Clenching his fist and jaw, he let his eyes fall on her.

It was a big mistake.

Sakura stood there, brows furrowed, eyes cast downward. She was fidgety, shifting her weight from one foot to another, her hands tugging a lock of her long hair, holding on to it like some lifeline. But most of all, she was flushed. Really, really flushed. Sasuke felt his jaw laxing, so he clenched it tighter and looked away.

"It was an accident," Sasuke said, more to himself than to Sakura. "Don't worry about it."

He heard her sigh in relief but when she spoke, her voice still shook a bit. "T-then, what are you doing here?"

"I went to the grocery but you weren't there," Sasuke said, still not looking. "Then, I found you here."

"Grocery? Why were you there?"

"You told me to come." Hearing no response, he glanced at her from the side.

"…N-no, I didn't."

They exchanged confused looks for a second but both their minds wandered back to what happened and looked anywhere but each other. From the corner of his eye, Sasuke could see her still fidgeting and it made his fingers twitch for some reason. It annoyed the hell out of him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, scrolled to the message and let it hover in front of her face.

Meet me at the grocery in an hour.

Sakura didn't understand. What was he trying to say? "Sasuke, what-"

"You sent it."

Sakura looked at the sender and gasped. It was her number alright. But how did it – "Ino!" she hissed under her breath. Sasuke withdrew his phone and shoved it back to his pocket. He looked pissed off… and maybe he had a right to be. One, Ino made him go somewhere he didn't want to be; two, she just invaded his personal space; and three, she just k- Sakura felt her face heat up again just at the thought of it.

"Stop that."

She wasn't sure if he had said anything because he still wasn't looking at her. "What?"

"Stop fidgeting," Sasuke said, his glare at some random shelf deepening. "I said not to worry about it. You're so annoying."

She was going to call him a jerk, but his ears were starting to redden. She didn't want to anger him further. 'Relax, relax,' she repeated in her head until she let go of the lock of hair she was gripping. "I-I'm sorry I troubled you. Ino was playing pranks as usual and I don't even know how she got your number – well, maybe I have an idea but I'm not sure. But I'll make sure to give her a piece of my mind the next time I see her and-"

"Sakura."

Sakura met his glare and his head tipped to the side. She looked around. A few people were staring at them already and she bowed to them in apology as they resumed wandering around the store. She turned her head to the sudden movement near her. Sasuke was walking away, hands shoved in his pockets. She opened her mouth to call him and ask where he was going but she ended up biting her lip to stop herself.

She was still shaken so it was better to just let him leave.

"Sakura-san!"

Sasuke heard somebody scream at the top of his lungs and he turned around to see overly hyperactive guy with thick eyebrows walk toward Sakura.

"Oh, Lee-san," Sakura greeted with a small bow.

"I woke up today feeling the full blast of youth," Lee said, doing embarrassing poses. "I was walking around when I felt an urge to enter this store. Now, I know why. The power of youth doubled now that I saw you here, don't you think so? You feel it, too, right? Right?"

"Uh…" Sakura said, unsure of what to say. "I… guess so."

From his spot, Sasuke could see the eyes under the fuzzy brows glisten with delight. He concluded that he was a lot weirder than Naruto. Then, idiot number two continued, grasping both her hands in his. "I knew it, I knew it! You and I are-" Then, he looked at him. "Sasuke? You're here, too?"

Sakura turned toward him, too, her shoulder almost bumping his chest. She took a step back, surprised by his sudden proximity. "Oh, sorry."

"It's getting late. Don't you have to go somewhere?" Sasuke asked Sakura, upset.

Sakura looked at her watch. It was almost 11:30. "Ah!" She turned back to Lee. "It was… nice to see you, Lee-san, but I have to get going now. I have to run errands, you see."

"Then, I can come with you," Lee offered. "Today is our break for training. Though, I was thinking of running a hundred laps around Konoha for fun. But I'd gladly spend the remainder of the day with you, beautiful lady."

Sasuke's eye twitched and the vein on his temple throbbed. What's with this nauseating proclamation? "No need." Both sets of eyes turned to him again. "I'll go with her. There's no need for you to come."

When he realized what he just said, he fixed his glare on Lee, just so he wouldn't have to look at Sakura. Inwardly, he was berating himself. He should have just checked out the car and went for a ride. Lee opened his mouth to say something but he wasn't interested in it, whatever it was.

"Let's go, Sakura."

Sakura was sure her face was in a very deep shade of red now as Sasuke continued to drag her in the direction of the grocery. She tried to slip her arm out of his grasp but his grip didn't even loosen.

Then, the tugging stopped and their walk slowed to a stop in front of the building. She looked at Sasuke, who immediately dropped her wrist like it was hot pot.

"Get everything you need fast," he said before he went inside.

He was mad. No, he was furious, that much was obvious to her. She sighed. This day was becoming more and more stressful. Wanting to get the day over with, she went inside, picked up a basket and made her way to one of the aisles.

Several hundred kilometres away, a metallic door slid shut behind Danzou as soon as he entered the large circular hall where his subordinates gathered, waiting for the specs for the next mission. As he stopped in front of them, most offered him a small bow in respect, except for the six people sitting at the sides. They were always the exception. Their disloyalty didn't sit well with him but no matter. Long ago, he brushed it off as them being in a rebellious phase. At least, they were at his disposal when the situation required it.

He let his eye scan the crowd in front of him and confirmed that all who were summoned was present. He snapped his fingers and the screen on his right glowed to life.

"On the screen are the details for this mission," he said as he pointed at it. "Foreign hostilities were detected crossing the southern boundary of the Fire Country at twenty-two hundred hours last night." With this, the screen changed to a footage with a green hue, most likely captured by the night vision surveillance cameras. "If you watch carefully, you will find that there are around thirty of them. Intelligence believes these are Oto undercover military."

He let his eye search for any changes in the faces of the six teenagers. They held their own quite well, except for the yawning face of Shikku and lip biting of Shingan. He briefly wondered if they really didn't care or years of training wiped away any trace of longing. Or perhaps, being lab rats at a young age, they didn't even hold any kind of emotion toward concepts like family or home.

"Your mission," he continued. "Eliminate all targets. Do not leave your marks and do not take any prisoners. We have no need for these people." The screen dimmed before it shut down. "You have only one hour to complete this mission." He let it sink in. "Move out."

After half an hour, Sakura paid for all the items she deemed suitable for Tsunade's taste. Trying to avoid another string of lectures, she bought only two bottles of sake, her alibi being that these were all they had left. All items were organized in three paper bags, the bottles of sake taking up one bag by themselves.

Without saying anything, Sasuke took that bag and one other, leaving Sakura to carry the lightest one, with only chips in it. Sasuke went out first and she followed. Walking behind him, Sakura could just make out the tight set of his jaw and his tense step.

'He's still mad, huh,' Sakura thought, bowing her head. But then, she remembered that she should be mad at him, too, for lying to her about Naruto having practice. This just made them even. She nodded to the ground. Yes, this thing shouldn't bother her. Yes, yes.

"Sakura."

She stopped walking and looked up. She almost collided with Sasuke – again. She felt blood rushing to her face again and she didn't want that. Instead, she shouted at him, "What?"

"Look where you're going," Sasuke said. "And catch up. You're too slow."

Sakura looked up and there it was again – his infamous glare. "A-are you still mad about what happened?" She noticed that his ears were slowly reddening again so she immediately added, "I said I was sorry. Stop thinking about it."

"I'm not."

"Then why are you still mad? It was an accident, you said so yourself. In fact, I should be mad at you for lying to me." Hearing this, Sasuke stopped walking and looked back at her, brows raised in question. "You don't remember? That day you got injured, you told me Naruto had martial arts practice even when he didn't. Why did you do it?" Sakura stopped just in front of him.

"… Because you were…" Sasuke began slowly. "Being irresponsible."

"What are you talking about?"

"I was a patient but you were going to leave me to some strange person. I got pissed off."

It was Sakura's turn to frown. "You're really a jerk, you know that?" Sakura walked past him.

"Is this why you've been avoiding me?" Sasuke said as he fell in step beside her and glanced at her sideways. But she didn't answer.

Finally, they reached the place where Sasuke parked his motorcycle. Sasuke placed the bags he was holding on the ground for a while before he pulled out an elastic bike rope from under the seat. He placed the two lighter bags at the back of the motorcycle and secured it with the rope.

"Hold these," Sasuke said, giving Sakura the bag with the sake bottles. He also pulled out the helmet, which had been dangling from his elbow the whole time. Before Sakura could realize what happened, Sasuke slipped the black helmet on her head.

"W-what about you?"

"I'll manage." Sasuke went on the bike. "Get on." Clutching the bag, Sakura did as she was told.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Hold on."

Sakura looked at the mass of messy hair slightly above her. Hold on to what? Of course, she knew what he meant but she didn't want to. She couldn't possibly find something to hold behind her, not with the bags tied there.

Impatient, Sasuke turned to her. "What are you waiting for?"

With shaky hands, Sakura held on to Sasuke's shirt. She sighed. At least, the sake bottles were preventing any further contact.

An hour. They were given an hour. So they made sure to accomplish the mission in an hour.

As Sai slashed the last Oto soldier, a beeping sound came from the wrist holding the soldier's head in a headlock. Feeling the now absent pulse, he let the masked man fall down with a loud thud. He looked around him. The five other people sent in a squadron with him – like always – were now idle as well.

Just in time.

"Che, piece of cake," came a voice from the receiver in his ear.

As the voice said it, everything around them vanished, leaving them in a wide room, slowly being illuminated by several lights on the ceiling. The observation deck above them lit up as well, revealing the forms of the simulation operators and Danzo.

"Aaaah," said the same voice in his ear. He looked at the owner, ten feet to his right, stretching like what people do after a good exercise.

"Mission accomplished," said the operator looking down from them from the deck. "Time elapsed: one hour."

"Not good enough," Danzou said. "It seems like you kids are getting out of shape."

"Old geezer," muttered the white-haired boy in Sai's – no, everyone's ears. According to a book Sai read, it was inevitable to separate yourself from idiots as the world was filled with them. He understood that more clearly when Suigetsu added, "I bet we were the only ones to finish within the time limit."

"Shut up!" hissed the girl beside him.

"Insolent brat," Danzou quietly whispered, and the speakers only made it sound more ominous. "I'll see you in my office." With that, Danzou slowly disappeared behind the glass.

"W-what did I do now?" whined the person addressed.

In another book, it said that the brain was just like a muscle – its viability is proportional to its usage. Sai could only look in wonder at the boy, who realized just now that everyone was able to hear him, thinking how long his brain will last at this rate.

Having dropped off the grocery to Tsunade's office with Sasuke's help, which earned Sakura a raised eyebrow from Tsunade, the two of them walked back to the Quarters. Just as Sakura thought the day would finally be over, they ran into Ino and Shikamaru.

"Oh! What do we have here?" Ino said, eyes glinting. "Did you guys go on a date?"

"Ino, y-you –!" Sakura yelled but was too mad to find the right words... or string of curses. Instead, she ran past them and went inside.

"What did you do now, Ino?" Shikamaru asked, worried. It was rare for Sakura to be worked up like that.

"Oh, I don't know," Ino said, looking at Sasuke with a sly grin on her face. "Why don't we ask this guy?"

Sasuke glared at her, then he, too, went inside. Ino giggled.

"Ino…"

"Don't worry, Shika," Ino said, slinging her bag on her shoulder. "I just did my job as a bestfriend." She beamed. "And I think… my mission is done."

A/N: So? What do you think?

Please don't forget to review, okay? You all know that makes me really happy. Thank you!