It was the next day that Kiba and Shino got to prove themselves during a mission as they were all called into the Tsuchikage's office once more "There's someone snooping around in my village, which one of you chunin brats are good trackers" Ohnoki demanded.
But they all bit their tongues "Sakura, Kiba, Shino" Minato ordered the members of Team Eight to his side, the trio came forward, bowed and waited for their orders, making sure to remain compliant to any demand.
Ohnoki felt deeply unsettled as that girl was once again called forward, "Like I said there's someone snooping around in the village, I want him found and the threat eliminated, I don't care how you conduct your search, just find him" he snapped.
Kiba, Sakura and Shino nodded in acquiesce and they left the office "Can't believe our skills in tracking are needed huh Sakura" Kiba nudged the pinkette in the side, a grin on his lips, before he became much more serious.
"First we need to come up with a plan, why because this person most likely won't be easy to find" Shino pushed his sunglasses up his nose, staring around subtly, in between him and Kiba, Sakura nodded lavender orbs focused.
She waited until they were in the hotel in their shared room and hidden behind a soundproofing/barrier tag to prevent anyone from trying to eavesdrop on them "Akamaru and your Kikaichu will be essential to the plan" Sakura pointed out sitting on Shino's bed.
They sat down on either side of her "And just why is that" Kiba lifted a brow, Sakura always thought on her feet, so he had no doubt she already had an elaborate plan thought up in that head of hers and she was just being dramatic like usual, they were bad influences on her.
Her lips curved upwards "I see" the Aburame murmured after a few minutes "You intend on having me send out my Kikaichu to scout around the village for any suspicious activity as well as Akamaru, before having them report back to myself and Kiba" Shino explained.
"Correct, being sneaky is an essential part of being a shinobi, no one would expect a tiny little bug or a cute puppy wandering around to be dangerous" she smirked arms crossed over her chest and eyes glinting with amusement.
Kiba chuckled "Quite elaborate for only having just received the mission, but that's our Sakura right Shino" he patted the pinkette on the back, before laying down on the bed for a moment as he waited for the rest of the plan.
"Indeed, however you didn't tell us what your part in this plot to destroy a threat was, why because we are a teammate and we should always work together" Shino shifted his hazel eyes onto his teammate waiting for her to drop the bomb essentially.
Sakura smiled widely "One of your Kikaichu will bring back some of his chakra, and introduce it to my chakra network, then with my Byakugan and highly accomplished sensory skills, I will find him, we will tail him and then we will destroy him" came her reply.
Easy and thoroughly thought out, Kiba and Shino just accepted it as a little quirk of their teammate "Good, Akamaru you have your orders, get out there and search for any suspicious activity, make sure you bring back his scent as well" he ordered of his ninken.
The tag was taken down and the pup scampered into the hall, while Shino opened the window of the hotel room and a swarm of his Kikaichu filled the air outside the hotel, before scattering in all different directions "Now what" he turned his attention on Sakura once more.
"Now Shino, Kiba, we wait and don't draw attention onto ourselves, by acting normal, go about your day like you normally would" Sakura waved her hands gesturing for them to head off "Later tonight we'll meet up or earlier if Akamaru and your Kikaichu find something" she added as an afterthought.
Both boys shrugged and left their hotel room to find something to do until Akamaru or Shino's Kikaichu returned, Sakura did the same, heading to the market of the Stone Village "Aren't you supposed to be searching the village for whoever is snooping around" Kurotsuchi appeared like usual.
Sakura grinned "Who's to say I'm not" as if to prove her point, she scanned the crowd before her, hoping to pick out anyone acting suspiciously, her movements were quick and then she shifted her attention onto one of the stalls.
Kurotsuchi's eyes widened "How about those two boys, where are they at" she narrowed the onyx orbs a moment later as she craned her neck around in hopes to spy the girls teammates, and didn't find them anywhere near by.
"Finding something to keep themselves occupied until our search methods return with news that they've found information" Sakura quipped dryly, pulling out this lovely little vial set from the stall they'd just stopped at.
The vials were dark pink, with a light red stopper and she promptly bought the set "Thank you for your business Miss" the stall owner bowed, happy that someone had finally taken an interest in that particular item of hers.
Earning her a kind smile "Don't mention it, these vials were just so cute, and I know they'll get plenty of use" Sakura chattered, warming the woman up to her just a little more, there was a reason she was a near constant fixture in the market.
If people saw her walking around chatting to the odd person here and there, it would warm them up to her and Leaf Shinobi in general, erasing tension between the two villages and it's shinobi, she wasn't biased towards anyone except for Orochimaru and Kabuto.
So it was easier for her to take on this little side quest and show Stone Shinobi and it's civilians that they really meant no harm and truly wished for peace, considering they warmed up to her "Again I still think you are freaking weird kid" Kurotsuchi snorted tagging along.
"Hmm" Sakura hummed softly under her breath in response, keeping up the search for suspicious activity and peeking into stalls here and there "I'm not gonna deny it and truthfully I'd rather be weird than normal" she said after several minutes.
Kurotsuchi let out a long suffering sigh "You ever gotten so mad that you snapped before, or do you even have a temper kid" she peered at Sakura closely, trying to push some of the girls seemingly nonexistent buttons and piss her off.
She paused in the middle of reaching for something else, then turned on her heel to face the older girl "Many times Kurotsuchi-san, but my temper is on lock down, I don't intend on messing up on this mission" Sakura explained gently, a smile working its way onto her lips.
The ravenette threw her hands into the air "For crying out loud, is there anything you won't do for the sake of a mission, live a little kid" Kurotsuchi shouted, drawing attention onto the two females, the owner of the stall they were standing in front of looked nervous.
"No" came the short answer "And I do live, every single day, I treat it as if it was my last, my apologies Sir, we don't mean to cause you trouble" then she moved onto a different stall the frustrated older girl on her heels.
"Why" Kurotsuchi demanded to know, feeling conflicted, for the longest of time she'd thought Leaf Shinobi had it easy, but the way the Hokage kept throwing Sakura onto missions, proved otherwise, it wasn't right she was being treated, like… 'Like a tool' the thought finished inwardly.
Sakura lifted a slender pink brow "I live for the Leaf Village, it took me in, gave me a home, my brother, even if he wasn't originally part of the village, a family, awesome friends and the ability to wield my skills for it" she ticked off her fingers.
Kurotsuchi felt tears prick at her eyes "Are you fine with letting them treat you like that, like your nothing more than a tool" she snapped, not liking this one little bit as they left the market and wandered towards a rather empty spot.
"Yes, yes I am, because Leaf is all I have and I will defend it to the death, just as I wish I could have done for my master, but he pushed me away, spared me from that fate and I found a new life, a new master essentially, the Leaf Village itself, I'll do anything for it" Sakura stated flatly.
Horror welled up in her and Kurotsuchi gaped at the pinkette, all the things she was learning a tear trickled from the corner of her eye "But why, why bind yourself so thoroughly to the village, when you'll never be able to escape its confines now" she frowned.
Those lavender eyes softened "Don't cry Kurotsuchi-san, my fate was always predetermined, but I make the best of things, I live in and by the moment, love my family and friends and that's more than enough for me" Sakura smiled kindly.
She wiped her eyes dry "You give that speech to everyone or am I just one of the special ones" Kurotsuchi laughed, trying to play off her depressive thoughts and the fact that she'd actually cried upon learning just what Sakura's life was like.
"Nope, that was actually the first time someone other than myself have noticed that Hokage-sama uses me, I know it, he knows it, but I'm fine with it and kami I sound like Neji" the pink haired girl groaned suddenly.
At the unfamiliar name, Kurotsuchi was immediately interested as they wandered back into the market resuming their search for unfamiliar and unique items "Ooh Neji, your boyfriend" she asked hopefully wanting to learn something new.
Sakura smiled and nodded "He is, tall, brunette, part of the Hyuga Clan, he made this hairpin for me" she reached up and touched a finger to the screw/cherry blossom hairpin a fond look in her lavender orbs.
Kurotsuchi became confused "Wait those eyes their the Byakugan aren't they" she gestured to the girls eyes and Sakura nodded "Then how come your last name is Kaguya and not Hyuga, or did you steal those from a corpse" she accused.
"I did no such thing, I was born with the Byakugan, but my last name is Kaguya because that is the Clan I was born in, my father tried to kill me for having his eyes, I did go by Hyuga for a short time, but it doesn't suit me and I like the ring to Kaguya" Sakura explained.
Reaching into the stall they'd stopped at and she pulled out an elaborate material in the colors native to Earth Country, Kurotsuchi froze, then forced herself to take the newest information in stride "So how long have you been dating this Neji" she focused away from the previous statement.
"Just a couple of months, ever since the end of the last Chunin Exams, but I've been happy and he treats me well, though we keep our dating life private and are purely professional on missions when we go on one together" Sakura bought the cloth wanting to find a use for it.
Kurotsuchi rubbed her forehead "Has anyone ever told you that you take things way to seriously kid" she sighed, it was exhausting keeping up with the girl as they wandered all over the market, visiting every single stall.
Until it was lunchtime "Yep, but that was just something that rubbed off on me from my previous master" she announced as they entered the tea shop in the Hidden Stone Village, her eyes taking in the different setting of the shop, comparing it to Leaf and Sand, before deciding she liked it.
Of course it was as they sat down that trouble started up "We don't serve Leaf Rats" the waiter spotted her headband and immediately looked down on the young girl, sitting in the booth with the Tsuchikage's granddaughter of all people.
The only sign that Sakura had a problem with the words used was the slight twitch of her finger, before the pinkette stood and bowed "My apologies" she sighed, there was no helping it "But I was so looking forward to having dango" Sakura pouted looking longingly at the menu.
'There she goes again, using her short height and appearance to her advantage' Kurotsuchi thought inwardly as the waitress immediately started sporting a guilty look as she realized Sakura was really just planning on eating and not causing trouble like some Leaf Nin were known to do.
It only took a couple of seconds "Oh it's alright, I'm sorry, welcome to the tea shop I will be your waitress for the day, what would you like" the woman gave a hesitant smile and Sakura sat back down in the booth.
"Sweet potato-vegetable curry with rice, five sticks of dango and green tea please, is there anything you'd like Kurotsuchi-san, my treat for the afternoon" the pinkette flashed a sweet smile at the ravenette.
Who was once again surprised at how well the girl managed to get out of tricky situations "I'll have the same as her I guess" Kurotsuchi shrugged, their order was written down and the waitress moved off "Is that something that rubbed off on you from your master to" she asked.
Sakura blinked "Ah, no, but he did teach me to use my appearance to my advantage whenever the situation called for it, the politeness however was literally shoved down my throat by the former Mizukage and the orphanage I lived in for seven years" she pressed her lips into a thin line.
Kurotsuchi opened her mouth, then closed it "Where all have you lived then" she finally inquired as they waited for their meals to arrive, before Sakura could answer, Kiba and Shino stepped into the shop and immediately joined their teammate.
"Any luck" the Inuzuka mused up his hair as he sat down, her standing to allow him into the booth, before Shino sat on her other side sandwiching Sakura between them as usual, she shook her head "Ah that smells good" Kiba sighed.
Shino nodded "Indeed, why because it is lunch time and we didn't have time for breakfast" he slipped into the normal team dynamics they had going on and Sakura smiled in amusement as their orders were taken as well.
Before Sakura finally answered Kurotsuchi's question "Mist Orphanage for seven years and now Leaf for over a year, I doubt you can count a cave and a tree house places to live in, so only two villages" she grinned.
It was as their meals arrived that Kiba lifted his nose into the air and took hesitant sniffs, an unknown male passed by their booth, but they were none the wiser "Hey whats wrong with you mu…." Kurotsuchi found a hand pressed over her mouth.
Courtesy of Sakura, her eyes were intense "Kiba" Shino inquired quietly, wondering if he smelled something off, after a couple minutes, the Inuzuka covered his nose looking sick to his stomach, before pointing to a table occupied by a lone person.
Sakura shot into a standing position and trailed over to the male "Excuse me Sir" she sat down at the table, looking around warily, enhancing her sense of smell with chakra and finding the source of Kiba's unease.
"Yes what do you want you Leaf Rat, don't you have common sense to leave people alone while they are eating" he snapped clearly aggravated at her appearance and went to take a sip of his tea, but the girl stopped him.
Shaking her head lightly "I wouldn't have bothered you Sir, if this wasn't very important, your tea has been poisoned by a lethal dose of oleander, I can smell it from here and so can my teammate" her eyes bore deeply into his and sensed the seriousness in her words.
He lowered his cup of tea "Check it then, if what you say is true, give me proof that my tea is poisoned" the man demanded, sitting his cup of tea before the pinkette, by now a crowd was gathering around, customers were looking worried and so were the waiters and waitresses.
Kiba appeared and handed her, her medical bag, upon which she drew from within a healing scroll and an antidote to the more common poisons, sucked up a dropper of the tea, dripped it onto her scroll, then repeated with the antidote.
It sizzled and turned green, a little wisp of smoke coming from the scroll "Just as I thought" Sakura said putting away her things "You probably would have been dead by nightfall Sir" she looked deeply disturbed by the thought.
Now the danger was passed, everyone took a collective sigh of relief "You saved my life" the man she and Kiba had saved from an untimely death frowned "Why, I thought you Leaf Rats, were all noble towards your own people" he grumbled.
Her expression lightened "We are here on a diplomatic mission with Hokage-sama and Mizukage-sama to make a peace treaty, plus I don't relish in the thought of anyone dying even Stone Shinobi" her eyes drifted to his headband "It was within our abilities to help so we did" she smiled pleasantly.
Everyone was in awe of the girl who was wise beyond her years and even the owner came out to thank her for saving the life of one of his best customers, before he left "Miss you and your friends are welcome here anytime" he said then vanished behind the curtain.
Kurotsuchi gaped at Sakura as the pinkette sat down at the booth she was still at again and dug into her cooling food, then when the members of Team Eight were done, they left a larger than normal tip for their waitress and set off in opposite directions.
"You always that selfless kid" Kurotsuchi asked once they left the Tea Shop behind and they once again went to the market, seriously what was the girls obsession with the freaking market, it wasn't that interesting.
Sakura glanced in her direction before shrugging "I'm selfish sometimes, but usually I do things that benefit other people more than it does me" came the response, Kurotsuchi slapped her forehead, the girl had an answer for everything.
A couple hours passed in this manner, Sakura searching around the market and Kurotsuchi trailing after her asking the odd question here and there, until the ravenette's father appeared "Tou-san" she lifted her gaze onto her old man.
Kitsuchi lifted a brow "This is where you've been" he looked surprised, until he spotted the reason for his daughters uncharacteristic interest in the market "Tsuchikage-sama order you to tail her" he whispered to his daughter.
"No that's my own curiosity shining through, but that girl is crazy, we've been here all day, seriously what's so damn interesting about the freaking market all day, visiting the same stalls, like really, really" Kurotsuchi launched into a tirade of complaints.
Unaware that Sakura could hear her due to her chakra enhanced hearing "I have my reason's Kurotsuchi-san" she called after a minute and the older girl tensed in realization "And yes I can hear you" she smiled teasing the ravenette.
"What are your reasons then" Kitsuchi lowered his gaze onto the short girl, who looked no older than ten, but he had this uncanny feeling that he shouldn't judge her, at least no yet, it seemed his daughter had made a reluctant friend in the girl.
Sakura wandered over to him and bowed "Sakura Kaguya at your service Sir, and simple this is the place the most activity happens, I am on a mission to find someone in the act of snooping around after all" it was a partial truth.
The other reason she was keeping to herself for now, at the answer Kurotsuchi threw her hands into the air and stomped her foot on the ground "Seriously, you choose now to freaking tell me kid, why I ought to…." then promptly launched herself at the girl.
Her lavender eyes widened as she was tackled and her back hit the ground "Take that and that and that" Kurotsuchi poked her sides and stomach and laughter bubbled up from her throat and between her lips filling the air with the sweet tune, garnering smiles from passerby's.
Even Kitsuchi was surprised at his daughters actions, Kurotsuchi hardly took to anyone or made friends "W..wait Kurotsuchi-san, I can't ahahahahahahahahahaha" Sakura struggled and squirmed, not using her strength to remove the older girl.
"I think she's learned her lesson Kurotsuchi" Kitsuchi shook his head, this was probably the oddest thing he'd ever witness if he was being honest, a couple minutes later his daughter relented on her attack and stood.
Before pointing her finger in Sakura's face "Next time tell me" she huffed pulling the pinkette onto her feet "Sorry" Kurotsuchi said after a moment seeing Sakura's ruffled clothes and appearance.
She held up her hand "It's okay Kurotsuchi-san….." her gaze drifted as she spied a familiar insect buzzing in the air, before holding out her hand, the Kikaichu landed on her palm and an unfamiliar chakra was pushed into her chakra network.
When she'd adjusted to it, Sakura closed her eyes 'Byakugan' she activated her dojutsu and spread out her senses in case her kekkeigenkai didn't reach, searching 'Gotcha' she got a lock on the snoops chakra and a smirk formed on her lips.
Kurotsuchi and Kitsuchi shared a look "What's up Sakura" the older teen asked as Sakura started leisurely walking in a random direction, which wasn't as random as the two Stone Shinobi thought as they came upon Shino, who was waiting, and then Kiba and Akamaru a few minutes later.
"You seem to be rather determined" Kitsuchi pointed out, curious as to what was going on as the trio headed down the streets of their village, looking for all the world as if they were taking leisurely strolls.
The Inuzuka with his ninken on his head "We got our snoop, now we're going to tail him, I have his scent now and he won't escape, and Sakura has his chakra in her sights, while Shino's bugs are tailing him" he listed.
"Quite, it's a pity he couldn't have been more of a challenge, or perhaps our tracking skills have grown since becoming Chunin" Shino seemed to almost sulk, but he didn't slouch, just kept walking as they had been for several minutes.
Sakura smiled in satisfaction "Told you it was a good plan" she snickered, clutching Kubikiribocho's scroll in her hand, they were quickly gaining on their target, it had only taken nearly the entire day, but they'd found him.
What none of them counted on though when they were finally facing down the culprit was that he was much stronger than an average shinobi, "YOU LITTLE BRATS" he snarled, using earth style jutsu's against them.
They all jumped out of the way in time, Kurotsuchi and Kitsuchi stood back, hesitant on whether they should interfere, after the last time the older kunoichi didn't want to get mixed up and Kitsuchi wanted to see their skills.
The pinkette of the group, punched the earth wall and it exploded, now emerald orbs glittering dangerously as Shino stood back away from his teammates, sunglasses gleaming and sending out swarms of his kikaichu to drain their opponent of chakra, sneakily of course.
And Kiba geared up for his own clan jutsu "Dual Fang Over Fang" he shouted once everything was ready, Sakura flattened herself to the ground as the Inuzuka/Akamaru combo rotated like a drill, smashing into another wall of earth.
Her eyes followed his movements "Shino cover me" she called, idea formulating, the Aburame directed a small swarm of his insects over to her and she was covered in them, hastily Sakura weaved hand signs 'Water Style: Water Clone' she thought.
Creating a clone, then burrowed underground and suppressed her chakra to nonexistent levels, above, the chaos of Kiba's jutsu died down and Shino called his insects back to his side "I'm going to destroy all of you" the man snarled at them.
"Starting with that little pink haired bitch who ruined my plot to poison that bastard" he shoved his finger madly at Sakura, who lifted a slender pink brow, unfazed by his proclamation or insult that he'd called her.
Kurotsuchi and Kitsuchi winced "As if we'd let you touch our teammate" Kiba snarled himself, losing his temper "And in case you haven't forgotten, it was me who outed you in the first place" he pointed his thumb at himself.
"Indeed this is where your scheming ends, why because we will stop you here and now" Shino declared, throwing a few kunai, but they were easily deflected, it was just a distraction to move his kikaichu in close anyway in order to steal more chakra.
Meanwhile Sakura was situated underground waiting, eight minutes later she had her chance "Earth Style: Head Hunter Jutsu" her hands came out of the ground, snagged ankles and drug their opponent underground.
Wiped around smoothly "Water Style: Water Senbon, Earth Style: Earth Coils" and used two jutsu's consecutively in five seconds flat, pinched a couple of nerves and that was that, the man was practically defenseless.
"Steal our thunder why don't you" Kiba sulked as they stopped their attack now that their opponent had been taken care of, after a near forty five minute battle, in which the small building they were in had been destroyed.
This earned him a flat glare "Don't purposely antagonize her Kiba, why because she can still beat you in a spar hands down, no matter how you or I might have improved" Shino stated, staring down at the culprit.
Kitsuchi chose that moment to clear his throat "Well done, you three worked flawlessly together" he praised even if he did look a little uneasy, "However I'll take care of him, so you don't have to take your first kills" he said.
His daughter shot him an incredulous look, while Kiba and Shino frowned, and Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes "Seriously Tou-san, did you not listen to me yesterday, that's the girl who took down fourteen bandits without batting an eye" Kurotsuchi thrust her hand at Sakura.
"And this wouldn't be our first kills, considering we've gone on a few B Rank Missions where the situation have called for it" Kiba crossed his arms over his chest and reminding himself not to get to angry, Minato's words engraved in his mind.
Shino nodded silently "Exactly, why because it was necessary" it was something Sakura would say, and she gave him a quick smile in response, keeping an eye on their snoop so that he didn't escape or regain feeling in his limbs while they were distracted.
"If we're decided, we should just end this, Tsuchikage-sama did say eliminate after all" she rolled her shoulders and cracked her knuckles, Shino was right, killing was a necessary part of surviving in the shinobi world, didn't mean she had to like it though.
Kitsuchi coughed and turned his head away as she rammed a kunai through the enemy nin's heart, it was as she was sealing the dead body in a scroll, that he realized "Didn't you have green eyes" he frowned clearly remembering.
"Our Sakura is special, she has two Kekkeigenkai, call her the Kekkei Tota of the Hidden Leaf Village, she can use each at will, her Byakugan and Hyuga Clan jutsu and her Shikotsumyaku and Kaguya Clan Jutsu" he smirked.
Both Stone Shinobi froze at the mention of the words Kekkei Tota, it was no wonder the girl had been brought along, she was very valuable it seemed "We should tell Tsuchikage-san that our mission is complete, why because I would like to relax and get dinner" Shino drew attention onto himself.
As Sakura fidgeted beneath Kurotsuchi's and Kitsuchi's stares, clearly uncomfortable as her status as being able to use two Kekkeigenkai was revealed, "Right" she nodded turning on her heel and vanishing from the destroyed building, it was small and she apologized inwardly for the damage.
The two Stone Shinobi followed along behind the chunin as they returned to the Tsuchikage Tower, Ohnoki stared at the trio in confusion, then shot a look to Minato, who once again looked as if he'd expected this someone "You aren't done already" he glared.
Kiba smiled sheepishly "Our apologies Tsuchikage-san, but we are" he nodded "The proof is within" Sakura set the scroll of with the dead body of the snoop in it on the Tsuchikage's desk before standing back next to Shino.
He gave the three of them incredulous looks before shooting another look at the blonde in his office to Mei's hidden amusement "If your wondering Ohnoki-san, these Leaf Shinobi are very dedicated and work harder than any others" Minato threw out there.
"Whatever just get out of my office you brats" Ohnoki snapped clearly very confused on what was going on, no complaints, more bowing and the trio was gone, from his office as requested going off to do whatever.
In the following five days that passed making it a week that they'd been in stone, Tayuya, Jugo, Chojuro and even Ao were given their chances to prove that they were willing to work towards a better and new future with the hidden stone as their allies.
Giving Sakura a much needed break to go visit her animals that were staying outside the Stone Village, suffice to say Nagetsuke was not happy with her as usual and headbutted her with enough force to leave a bruise on her stomach and knock her down.
While Morosa barked racing around her owner in circles and Reitoko hopped into her lap, when she was done assuring herself that the three woodland animals were alright, Sakura dusted her yukata off, healed the bruise and traipsed back to the village.
Kurotsuchi and Kitsuchi caught her entering "Just where have you been kid" the older girl frowned as Sakura blinked her once again lavender eyes on them, it was kind of creepy sometimes if she was being honest.
"Outside" she gestured out the village entrance "Visiting my animals, they came with me on this mission and I hadn't been able to see them until now" Sakura explained upon getting confused looks from the do before her.
They both sighed, waved and then headed off, leaving her on her own for once, she was relieved that she didn't need the constant tailing anymore as she headed for the hotel "Say Kaguya, how is it that your able to be so calm on missions like this" Tayuya found her an hour later.
Working on more ointments for the Tsuchikage "You have to remember Tayuya-san, that I've been put on more diplomatic missions than I can count, they are extremely draining yes, but the results from all our hard work with be very satisfying in the end" she quipped.
Adding the final herb to the pot of melting beeswax, then sitting back on the bed to read, Tayuya glanced around the hotel room "How sure are you that we'll be successful in the next village" she narrowed her brown eyes on the pinkette.
Lavender orbs met her own orbs before Sakura shrugged lightly "Can't say for sure, we might only be successful here, or in both Stone and Cloud, however what we can do is believe in Hokage-sama and Mizukage-sama, as they are working just as hard to ensure peace between the villages" Sakura stated flipping a page in her book.
"Do you got an answer for everything" Tayuya snorted "Wait a second don't answer that actually" she held her hand and earned an amused smile, proving her point without the girl ever answering "We only got one day left" she sighed.
Sakura nodded in understanding "Yep, then it's off to the Cloud Village, more traveling Yay" the last three words were said in very fake enthusiasm, Tayuya rolled her eyes, both Kaguya Siblings were odd individuals.
"Take it your not very fond of traveling" she lifted a brow, leaning against the bed Sakura was reclining on, waiting for the beeswax to mix with the herbs to make more ointments, the pot was huge though and Tayuya wondered.
At her question, Sakura lowered her book "I spent five years traveling around Water Country, it's not my favorite thing in the world, but so long as it takes me new places I'll do it" she announced, raising her book once more to continue reading.
Tayuya shook her head, then finally left the hotel room, leaving Sakura alone, and two hours later the ointment was ready, poured into petri dishes, set in the mini fridge in the hotel room, to cool and put away all her belongings after cleaning them.
Before setting to packing away the rest of her belongings littering the room from their week and four days stay leaving out the bare necessities to be ready for when they left the next day, hours later after dinner, Mei and Minato wandered into the hotel sporting triumphant smiles.
"You lot have helped quite a bit" Minato told them once they were all gathered in his room for an impromptu meeting before bed "So much that the process to create a treaty was sped up exponentially, which means that tomorrow we will be moving onto the Cloud Village" he said.
"Exactly pack your belongings and ready yourselves, we'll be going through the Land of Iron, to get to the Land of Lightning, make sure you bundle up tightly and warmly" Mei warned before the blonde Hokage dismissed his Chunin and she did the same for her own shinobi, before they all went to bed.
The next morning, Sakura showered, dressed in her regular clothes for the time being, ready to put on warmer articles later on, grabbed her mission pack, situated her pouches to her body and had breakfast with the rest of her mission companions "I'm glad we're almost done" Kiba yawned.
"Halfway done, why because it hasn't even been two weeks yet" Shino glowered, clearly not a morning person like some of the people at the table they were sitting at, having chosen to get breakfast at the Tea Shop.
Sakura smiled softly, quietly scooping up little bites of her curry and rice "But at least we completed part of our mission right Hokage-sama" Jugo looked to the blonde, who nodded with a small chuckle.
Tayuya grinned "Hell yeah" she cheered lightly "We aren't half bad at this diplomatic stuff huh Kimimaro" she nudged the white haired teen in the side, almost making him spill his tea, if not for quick reflexes on his part.
"Clearly you still have a bit to learn Tayuya-san" he chuckled lightly, taking away from the somewhat harshness of his statement, the red haired girl laughed sheepishly focusing the rest of her attention on finishing up breakfast.
"Don't think for once second that just because we prevailed here that things will be just as easy in the Cloud Village" Ao warned, most of them slumped their shoulder, but Sakura met his gaze evenly, she knew and that was good enough.
Chojuro frowned "Y..You shouldn't say that Ao, especially a..after how hard we all wo..worked, who's to say that Raikage-san won't appreciate our efforts just as much as Tsuchikage-san has" he shot the look at the hunter nin.
Who looked surprised that Chojuro had been the one to say it, he was interrupted from speaking when a man approached the table and slammed his hand down on it in front of Sakura "Little Leaf Rat" he narrowed his eyes just as she raised her head.
"Ah Sir" she nodded her head politely and he finally cracked a smile Minato looked wary, but it quickly morphed into shock as this man ruffled Sakura's mid back length hair, messing up the locks to a ruined state.
"I never thanked you or your friend there" he nodded his head at Kiba "For saving my life a few days ago, so for both of you I have hand crafted these headband, that will act as passes around the Stone Village should you ever come back" he placed down two Stone Village headbands.
But there was an extra mark intertwined with symbol, Minato straightened in his spot, while the rest of the occupants at the table literally dropped their jaws in surprise, except for Kiba, Shino and Sakura.
The pinkette let a truly kind smile spread across her lips "We will treasure your gift Sir" she grabbed one of the headbands and passed it to Kiba "You should know though that I didn't do it to receive thanks, I just wished to save a life when it was within my abilities" Sakura explained.
Got her hair ruffled once more as the man snorted "Whatever kid and you better come back or I'll drag you back myself" then he was turning from the table and wandering away to the entrance and disappearing outside.
Minato pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration "It was during the Search Mission, to find the snoop" Kiba explained before the blonde could ask "Our snoop had some vendetta against that guy, and if I hadn't entered the shop, he would have drank poisoned tea" he finished.
Laughter bubbled up within her "Kami Sakura-chan above and beyond huh" Mei giggled wondering what else the girl had done during their week stay in Stone, as she finished off her breakfast alongside everyone else.
She got her answer only moments afterwards as they paid for their meal and left the Tea Shop "You come back now Sakura-san, Kiba-san, you should be proud of your shinobi Hokage-san, they are fine examples" the owner came out and gave both teens a box of dango for free.
Frustrated that's all he felt at the moment "I am very much so" Minato said after a moment as they left the shop and walked through the market, they were passing by one of the stalls, when a little girl flew passed him.
"Awwwwwwww don't go Sakura-chan, who else am I gonna play with when Tou-san is busy with his stall" she pouted up at the girl, that she'd befriended within the first couple of days, Sakura smiled and swung her around.
"I'm sure you'll find something else Kegareta-chan" she placed the little girl on her feet a few seconds later, ruffled her brown hair and hastened her pace after waving to the girls father, every few feet, one of the stall owners waved and told her to come visit again.
Until they were halfway through the market and they were passing by the Rock Rice Cake Shop, the owner stomped out "Kaguya-san" she called stopping the group once more, Minato sighed, shooting Sakura incredulous looks as the girl turned.
"Here you go sweetie, ten boxes full up of my specialty for you and your fellow Shinobi, come back soon and we can trade more recipes next time" the woman smiled, then turned and headed back into her shop.
Minato was dumbfound "Just what exactly did you do this entire time" he narrowed his blue eyes in suspicion as the boxes were passed around and he received one himself, before the treats were sealed away for later.
Sakura smiled innocently "Walked around, chatted, showed that Leaf Shinobi aren't as bad as they seem, the usual" she shrugged sheepishly her side mission was now paying off and all her hard work had been appreciated.
"The usual uh-huh" he eyed her dubiously as they continued their trek to the entrance of the Hidden Stone Village, where Ohnoki was waiting for them, Minato didn't comment on it further as they came to a stop before the Tsuchikage.
Ohnoki glared at the people gathered in front of him "Good luck on getting Unruly Ay to sign, he doesn't take kindly to being coerced as you put it Hokage-san, Mizukage-san" he snapped, still in a foul mood, back aching as usual.
Both Minato and Mei nodded traded a few more words with the Tsuchikage and turned to leave, it was coming to Sakura's turn, when a dust cloud blocked her vision for a second "You thought I'd let you leave Kid, please" Kurotsuchi grumbled once the dirt had settled.
Her grandfather literally stared at her in shock and the others paused hearing the words, the blonde Hokage turned worriedly "Not without saying goodbye at least" the ravenette huffed digging into her pouch "Token of my friendship, now your the friend of the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage" Kurotsuchi tossed her a pendant.
Sakura's eyes lit up "I'm just going to ignore that second part, but I'm glad you consider me a friend Kurotsuchi-san, here" she hastily pulled something from her own storage pouch "A token for a token, your friendship means a lot" and handed over something she'd found a long time ago.
It was a small opaque rock, but when held up to the sunlight it let of sparkles "And give this to Tsuchikage-sama, it's the order he'd be making in a couple of days" she smiled gently, pushed a scroll into Kurotsuchi's hand, turned and scampered after the others.
Them having left knowing she'd be able to catch up when she was finished "You are the craziest person I've ever met" Tayuya dubbed when the pinkette appeared among their group once more, three woodland animals trailing after them sensing their owner leaving the Stone Village.
"Can't believe you befriended the Tsuchikage's granddaughter" Minato was shooting her more incredulous looks, as if he couldn't believe that Sakura had managed to fit doing that in and walking around the market while doing missions for the Tsuchikage.
She coughed into her hand "Well if it helps Hokage-sama, I didn't know Kurotsuchi-san was even related to Tsuchikage-sama, plus she followed me around a lot while I was in the market" Sakura smiled widely.
He let out a long suffering sigh as they walked, the whole lot of them were quiet sensing the need for silence "Why go that far Sakura-san, just to ensure the completion of a mission, diplomatic or not, you didn't have to do that" Minato asked after sometime.
Her expression lightened considerably "I'm weird and odd and have plenty of quirks that aren't normal, all of which are a part of me, Zabuza taught me that no matter what, a mission must be completed, even if it's as simple as chatting with someone and softening people up to change" came the answer.
No surprise there the others thought in varying degree's of shock/amusement "Haven't you ever wanted to be selfish, you throw your whole self into work and one of these days it's not going to be end pretty" the blonde prodded further.
"I'm selfish, very selfish, I don't like it when people touch my things, Kubikiribocho, this necklace Shishou gave me, my hairpins to name a few, I'm selfish when I ask to go visit Zabuza and Haku and I'm selfish when I protect my friends" Sakura's lavender eyes bore deep into his blue.
Everything she said was the truth "But you hide it well that it really seems like you are selfless" Minato pointed out and she nodded, he frowned deeply, true this was the most he'd really interacted with her other than her coming in for missions, but outside it, he knew nothing.
It was quiet again, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop until "Say Hokage-sama" everyone jumped lightly at the sound of her voice "Is it very hard learning a new chakra nature" Sakura skipped along beside the blue eyed blonde.
His brows raised into his hairline "Why do you ask Sakura-san" he narrowed his blue eyes again, no matter what he did, he just couldn't get a reading on the girl, it was unbelievable sometimes, but so long as she continued to fight for Leaf, he'd manage.
"I want to learn some wind nature jutsu's, but my primary natures are Earth and Water, I figured it would come in handy for my Exploding Tag/Poison Powder combo, so that I can move in after a coordinated wind jutsu and finish off the enemy" she ticked off her fingers.
'Unbelievable' Minato thought fighting the urge to rub his temples as a headache formed behind his eyes "You'd go through the complicated process of learning a new nature just for that" he asked incredulously.
She nodded not paying his expressions any attention, but Mei and everyone else were getting a great deal of amusement out of them "Yep, I don't want to get poisoned by my own poison after that, that's nasty business, but I don't want to wait for it to disperse either" Sakura grinned.
Minato shook his head not sure what to really think about the pinkette who'd befriended his wife and son, so thoroughly that Sakura was mostly all they talked about "How about, when we stop, I show you a few things and get you started on the process" he offered.
Those lavender eyes lit up and flickered green, always the weirdest thing to witness "Really Hokage-sama that would just be awesome" she bounced forward looking giddy with excitement and he wondered if he should have said anything.
"Yes" but he wasn't willing to retract his offer, silence settled around them once more and after four hours, until it was lunch, they walked, when they stopped and camp was set up and the warm soup was boiling away over the fire pit "Sakura-san" Minato called Sakura to his side.
She came at the command like always, held perfectly still and focused all of her attention on him, hands behind her back and most of all patient "So how do you learn a new chakra nature" Sakura re-asked her question from hours earlier.
The blonde held up his hand for a moment, looked around and spotted several on a tree, plucked one and handed it to her "The beginning process is never easy, first you must learn how to cut the Leaf in half only with nature chakra" he showed her what he meant.
Intrigued, Sakura cupped her hands together closing the leaf within, shut her eyes, focusing to practice with a new nature, sweat beaded on her brow, Minato watching closely, then after fifteen minutes, she felt something tear, opened her hands.
And saw the small rip in the Leaf, she held it closer for inspection, then let a satisfied smile form on her lips "I see what you mean Hokage-sama, that was not easy, but I will continue to practice" Sakura nodded.
He smiled lightly "Of course you will" he took a chance and patted her on the head, before sitting down with the others, while she went around plucking leafs from the tree and sealing them in the scroll she was going to throw herself into training now.
Once lunch had been eaten, camp was packed up and they were moving onward again, two hours later everyone bundled up warmly and tightly as they entered the Land of Iron, Sakura keeping up practice on her new chakra nature the entire time.
"Imouto-san your going to fall" Kimimaro deadpanned for the eight time as they walked through bloody cold snow, he had no doubt that while she could multitask, Sakura would eventually trip over something.
Sakura snorted quietly "Please Kimi-nii, I'm not going to…gah" she flailed her arms and hit the ground doing exactly what her brother had said she was going to do, straight into a large pile of snow, it was so deep that one had to peer down into it to see her.
Inhuman screeching emitted from the pile until Jugo took pity on the pinkette and helped her from the deep pile to reveal what was screeching at Sakura "An owl" he blinked his red-orange eyes at it as it flopped around keeping up the squawking until it bit the person who'd fallen on it.
"Bloody little heathen" Sakura hissed annoyed before her expression morphed into concern, her eyes took in the broken wing and even Minato came to stare at the owl that was not a very happy camper.
Even if it had been mildly amusing to hear the little pink haired curse "What will you do Sakura-san" Jugo prodded also noticing the broken wing, poor thing wouldn't last long if he couldn't fly.
"Heal him of course" and then promptly scooped the great horned owl into her arms, then they continued walking as Sakura's hand glowed green, she set the bone in the owls wings and healed him just as she said she would.
Of course what no one expected was for the owl to talk "Human child with the soothing chakra" he spoke and all eyes turned onto him Tayuya took four steps away from Sakura, with a very disturbed expression on her face.
Sakura was wary "Yes" she spoke hesitantly, wondering if he was going to bite her again, Nagetsuke, Morosa and Reitoko had never done such a thing and neither had Kon, but to be bitten by an animal was not fun.
He preened his feathers for a moment, then settled on her shoulder "I am the great Tsuno-sama of Iron Land a summons if you will, by healing me, even after biting you, proves that you will be a great summoner and I would like it if you forged a summoning contract with me and my kin" Tsuno introduced himself before asking.
Her and everyone else's jaw dropped in surprise "You want me..to be..your…summoner" Sakura knit her brow together as she repeated his request slowly from shock, inwardly going over the pro's and con's of having her own summons.
"Well yes, as I said, you will be a great summoner, you bear the great Tsuno-sama no ill will for biting you after all, and you healed me, when you could have just left me to die" he huffed ruffling his feathers in irritation.
Sakura blinked her lavender eyes before letting her gaze wander "Why not Sakura-san, the owls would be great summons to have" Minato said after a few minutes, doing the same thing as she'd already done no doubt.
It took a couple more minutes of contemplating "Okay, then during dinner I'll sign the summons contract" Sakura announced happily reaching up and running a finger along his soft downy feathers and relishing in the feel as Tsuno got more comfortable on her shoulder.
"Can't believe you Sakura, to have such an awesome summons, not to mention, the owls could act as your eyes and ears everywhere" Kiba burst out as he and Shino stood on either side of her, drawing her eyes.
"Missions will be easier for you, why because the owls are great summons for spying and what not" Shino nodded, eyeing the gray great horned owl sitting on the pinkette's shoulder looking for all the world as if he'd belonged their the entire time.
She smiled widely feeding him an extra piece of bacon that she had on hand, already spoiling Tsuno as if they'd been together for ages "True, true" she said spreading out her senses and searching around them for any activity, nothing, not that she expected anyone to be out wandering around in the cold.
Unless it was necessary "Lucky Sakura-san" Chojuro sighed all he had was Hiramekarei to rely on, but Sakura had a lot of abilities in her arsenal, Ao rolled his gray eye "I'm not jealous Ao" he shot the man a look.
Who snorted in response "Don't antagonize him Ao" Mei warned wishing they were out of the cold already and feeling five times more irritable than usual, they wanted this mission over and done with, but things were never easy.
"Very well Mizukage-sama" Ao grumbled agitated himself as they continued their trek through the Land of Iron, through the night he might add, only stopping to eat briefly and allow Sakura to sign the summons contract with owls before hurrying on.
Two days later, marking the end of their first two weeks away from the village, the ten shinobi, three Mist and seven Leaf arrived at the gates of the Hidden Cloud Village, but Minato and Mei didn't approach the guards "Aren't we going in Hokage-sama" Tayuya prodded.
Minato gave her a warning glance and the red head stepped back, just as he flared his chakra "No it's better we have the first initial meeting outside the village" he answered her question and retreated a ways back.
The minute he flared his chakra, four very strong and agitated chakra came speeding in their direction, they all tensed in response, but Sakura forced herself to relax until the Raikage, his brother and two other cloud shinobi blew into sight.
Nearly blasting the gates off its hinges "What the bloody hell do you think your doing near my Village Namikaze" the big burly dark skinned man snarled, sporting a piss of expression and beetle black eyes narrowed on the blonde "And the Mizukage" he sneered at Mei.
Obviously the Raikage was an impatient man because not even two seconds later Ay charged at Minato and from how close the man was to the blonde, Minato didn't have any time to spare in throwing a kunai and marking it with his jutsu to get out of the way.
"SAKURA" came the collective yell, Minato's blue eyes widened, she was the closest one to him after all as a small body threw itself in front of him, a sword blocking the Raikage's path, before she oh so suddenly remembered the poison, twisting around the massive blade.
The Raikage couldn't stop himself in time as his two held out fingers slammed knuckle deep into her shoulder and Sakura collapsed against Kubikiribocho, shock filtered into his eyes as blood soaked her thick dark green yukata, before it started pooling on the ground.
He pulled his fingers free of the girls flesh and she slid down her sword lavender eyes dark fighting with herself not to break down crying from the pain she felt or that her right side was slowly going numb.
Minato looked sick to his stomach as did the rest of them "Yo big bro, that's what happens when you don't wait fool, ya fool" Bee rapped eyeing the injured girl, he knew what it was like to get hit with his brothers attacks.
Minato knelt at her side "Can you heal yourself" he grit through his teeth, he only had himself to blame, he knew this would be a possible outcome of the initial meeting, but he hadn't thought she would throw herself in front of him like a crazy person.
Sakura blinked her eyes as another wave of pain wreaked havoc on her body, then raised her left hand, it glowing green and she pressed it to her injured shoulder "You alright Sakura-sama" Tsuno was worried, she hadn't even cried out upon receiving the injury.
"Fine just fine" she waved their worry off forcing an obviously fake smile onto her lips that didn't fool anyone even the Raikage as he stared down at her in shock, obviously he'd never seen anyone throw themselves in front of another person like that before.
Kimimaro clenched his hands into fists "Don't blame yourself Kimimaro-san, we were to far away" Jugo pressed his hand down onto the white haired Kaguya's shoulder, knowing how his friend felt about this situation.
A couple minutes later "Cee, assist her in healing" the Raikage barked, taking responsibility for his actions, he could admit that he'd jumped the gun a bit, the onyx eyed blonde that had come with him came forward, hands already glowing green.
Then knelt at the pinkette's side "Thank you Cee-san" she was polite as she redoubled her efforts on healing herself, the numbness and pain was slowly going away and Sakura was grateful for the training sessions with Tsunade even more as her healing jutsu was much stronger than before.
"Don't thank me Leaf Dog, I'm only helping on Raikage-sama's orders you got that" he snapped, not even looking at her, Minato radiated anger, kami he hadn't thought he'd be so furious until this moment had happened.
Sakura smiled "I'm just gonna take that as a compliment, I'd rather be a Leaf Dog" she laughed softly generating confusion, apparently the injury had messed with her brain and made her a little delirious or the loss of blood before she started healing herself had.
Cee finally shot her a disturbed look, usually whenever they encountered Leaf Shinobi and he'd said that same insult, they got all defensive and pissed off "Sakura-san is strange, pay her no mind" Minato sighed in exhaustion.
Mei bit her lip "Are you willing to listen to what we have to say now Raikage-san" she turned her attention on Ay, who glared, before his gaze wandered to Sakura, as she was slowly helped up by Kiba and Shino, both teens making sure she was stable and staying close by.
Tsuno ruffled his feathers, not liking that his summoner had been injured, of course what could he have done "Fine" Ay finally snapped six minutes later "Lets go to the Tower" he grumbled leading the way into his village the others on his heel.
"You could have been killed, Again Sakura" Kiba frowned deeply, and this time it had nothing to do with Orochimaru "Why are you so bloody reckless" he huffed, trying his hardest not to get to mad or she'd recoil even further.
Shino nodded "Yes, why" he shot his teammate a look, unaware of the attention they were drawing from the other white haired male with a sword attached to his back, Kubi sealed away in a scroll courtesy of Chojuro this time.
"Zabuza I suppose" came the sigh, their eyes widened and Minato cursed inwardly, of course, he knew his thoughts from a couple weeks prior would crop up again, she had done that because it had been expected of her by Zabuza, so that he could carry on protecting the Leaf Village.
And being the Hokage, carrying out his dream, pity welled up in him "I was his tool after all, my body reacted without thinking this time" she was grim faced, but as always there was a softness to her voice whenever she spoke of that man.
"He was bloody reckless sometimes to apprentice like master" Sakura laughed quietly in the next moment, reaching up to sooth Tsuno, he'd become a permanent resident on her shoulder for the last few days and was a worrywart in an extreme way.
Both males fell silent until Chojuro turned his upper body around "Here Sakura-san, Kubikiribocho, I put him in this scroll for you so he wasn't left behind" he held out the scroll with the gargantuan sword in it to her.
She took it with careful hands "I have a question" Ao spoke up suddenly drawing her lavender orbs "If you were originally standing behind the sword, why did you twist around him at the last second, you could have avoided being injured that way" he frowned.
Her eyes darkened "Let's just say there's a nasty little surprise in Kubi, and I didn't want to cause harm to Raikage-san" Sakura explained, Kiba and Shino blinked in remembrance, how could they have forgotten when they'd been the ones to help her heal Kubikiribocho back in Stone.
"You didn't" Tayuya accused without much tact, but kept up the pace as they walked through the Hidden Cloud Village "You really put your poison inside of that…that crazy freaking sword" she felt horrified.
Especially when Sakura nodded "Just a small vial" was the answer, Minato felt exhausted all over again, revelation after revelation had been revealed on this diplomatic mission and he saw just how hard Sakura actually worked on her missions.
Finally after twenty minutes of weaving through crowds and around buildings, they reached the Raikage Tower crowded into the office and waited "Now care to tell me why the hell the Hokage and Mizukage are here visiting my village" Ay sneered a couple seconds after sitting down.
Minato cleared his throat "Yes, it's high time we put everything that's happened between our villages in the past and looked towards a new future as allies" he said simply blue eyes boring deep in those beetle black orbs.
"We request that you give the idea of a treaty between Mist and Leaf some careful consideration Raikage-san" the auburn haired woman spoke next sitting down in the chair before the oak desk relaxing as she hadn't been able to for a few days.
Ay glared at his fellow Kage "Is there a reason you brought so many brats with you then" he narrowed his eyes on the chunin, Tayuya went to say she was no brat, when Sakura pressed her hand to the red haired teenagers shoulder and shook her head.
The blonde answered "For most of them, this is their first diplomatic mission, I figured it would be a great experience for them" Minato stated looking to his shinobi, pleased that they were behaving for the moment at least.
It was quiet for a short while in the office, tension was thick in the air, and there was clearly a past between Ay and Minato "Are any of them any good" the Raikage demanded in the next moment wanting to know.
"They are, Sakura Kaguya has a variety of skills that are useful and she's also the Legendary Sannin Tsunade Senju's apprentice, her brother Kimimaro, wields his Kekkeigenkai, Shino and Kiba, when paired with Sakura make the best trackers of their generation" Minato ticked off his fingers.
"Jugo-san is a natural peace maker and Tayuya has highly advanced Genjutsu Skills" he finished looking to Mei and nodding so that she could list her own shinobi's skills, in which she did in the next minute.
"Ao is a hunter nin of the best degree and Chojuro is one of the Legendary Swordsman" the woman reeled off, filling the office with even more tension as Ay glowered thunderously at the two Kage before him.
More silence ensued and the chunin were becoming extremely uncomfortable "Give me three days to make a decision, in that time, I want each of your chunin brats, working their butts off is that understood, these are the lists of jobs available" the burly dark skinned man snarled finally.
"Very understood Ay-san" Minato grabbed the list up, scanning it "Sakura, will help out around the hospital, Kimimaro, will guard the village gates, Shino, Kiba, keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious activities, Tayuya, Jugo, will trade off intermittently with Kimimaro" he handed the list over to Mei.
"Chojuro will also be on guard duty, and Ao, will do what he does best, hunt any bandits in the area and get rid of them" the Mizukage ordered, set the list down and waited for the dismissal, however it didn't come as Ay smirked suddenly.
They were all more than a little wary, "I regret to inform you that our hotel is currently shut down, so each of you will be placed with one shinobi of my choosing, that pink haired brat is first, she's staying with Darui is that understood girl" he snapped.
Sakura bowed her head "Of course Raikage-sama" she gave him an easy smile, ever polite, turned on her heel and left the office after the only person that hadn't spoke in the time the confrontation had happened.
Following her were Kiba and Shino with Cee, Kimimaro and Chojuro with Bee, Minato and Mei at Ay's own residence as they were Kage, finally Ao, Tayuya and Jugo went with Mabui, "You know kid that was pretty freaking gutsy" Darui spoke suddenly.
Making her jump as she hadn't really expected him to talk "Or plain reckless, I know it was stupid of me to leap between them like that, but I didn't think just acted" Sakura rambled feeling tired, diplomatic missions were always draining.
Darui lifted a brow "By the way couldn't help but notice your sword, you any good with it" he'd only gotten a brief look at it in the chaos but it had been huge and much more than any little girl should be able to wield.
"I inherited him from my master, so yes I know how to wield Kubikiribocho" she flashed a pointy tooth smile at the dark skinned male as he led her down the streets to his two bedroom apartment, so that they could all get some rest after an exhausting day.
He blinked his onyx eyes at her "Wait a minute Kubikiribocho, you mean the Executioners Blade from the Hidden Mist Village" Darui frowned deeply and the pinkette nodded "That means your master had to have been Zabuza Momochi" he announced.
Sakura nodded again "Correct and I'm recognized as his mistress by the entire Mist Village and Leaf Village, my name was even put in the book" she quipped happily, it was one thing she was utterly proud of.
"Be careful kid or someone will try to steal him from you" Darui had to warn, being named as part of that Legendary group and not being from the Mist Village, was bound to have someone coming after the sword.
"I know, to bad for them that anyone who tries to wield Kubi, will be rejected, oh by the way which way is the hospital, I get the feeling that Cee-san will purposefully forget that I'm supposed to work with" her lips pressed into a thin line and talking free.
Because it didn't seem like Darui really held a grudge or dislike for Leaf Shinobi "Ah you'll see it when we get to my apartment, Cee used to room with me for awhile and he had to choose the closest building we could get to the hospital" the white haired male shook his head.
And he was telling the truth, because the minute they arrived at his apartment, just down the street was Clouds Hospital, glad that she wouldn't have to go searching "I see" Sakura smiled following Darui into his apartment.
It took thirty minutes for her to get settled, twenty to eat dinner and ten take a shower "I'll scout Sakura-sama" Tsuno fluffed up his feathers, the pinkette ran a finger along his soft feathers, opened the window and let him out before climbing into the guest room bed to get some shut eye, no doubt like everyone else already had.