Upon their return to Konohagakure, Sakura pinned Sasuke with the most furious glare she could muster and arranged herself to stand on the other side of Naruto who was now stuck in the middle unlike how it usually was.
"Brat is there a reason your suddenly….." Sasori began in an amused tone before trailing off as he realized she must have found out about Sasuke's recklessness in facing his older brother and was now punishing him for it.
In the next second, still glaring at Sasuke she turned her head in his direction "Suddenly what Sasori-sensei, angry, livid, furious, pick your choice of words but they don't express how I feel knowing that Sasuke went off half-cocked and got hurt so bad he was in the hospital" Sakura spat.
Quite clearly at Sasuke who flinched at the vitriol he was receiving "Ouch" Naruto couldn't help but wince himself, Sasori nodded, having known this would happen, Sakura was wrath incarnate sometimes and Sasuke more than deserved it.
Considering Mikoto hadn't punished the boy "In my defense that murderous bastard put Kakashi in the hospital first and I wanted to teach him a lesson not to mess with our sensei" Sasuke sulked, even if it wasn't a very good excuse.
Sakura if possible became even more incensed at him "That's no excuse Sasuke Uchiha to run off recklessly like that" the rosette snarled at him in a furious tone that had him and everyone in the vicinity taking several steps away from her.
As her chakra fluctuated dangerously "Okay can we just report in to Granny Tsunade before you make an even bigger scene" the Uzumaki sweat dropped at the KI coming from his best friend, she was positively murderous.
Thankfully though his statement got through to her and she calmed, for now at least, "Well bratty Uchiha still think it was wise to hide it from her" the scarlet haired former rogue asked as they began their trek once more to the Hokage Tower.
Sasuke gave him a pale faced look in response, shaking his head minutely "I didn't think she'd…." the Uchiha trailed off with a shudder and he knew the worst was yer to come, she had promised after all to mop the floor with him so to speak when they got back home.
Sasori shook his head but ushered them up the steps of the Tower where they had to wait fifteen minutes before getting to see Tsunade to report in "I can't believe the Kazekage actually stripped you of your criminal status" the busty blonde commented incredulously.
While wondering what it was about the Chunin he'd taken on the mission as his escort that had him doing everything in his power just to remain with them "Yes well it wasn't easy Hokage-sama" Sasori snorted lightly.
Having had a devil of a time, Chiyo had been like hell to deal with "That's right Granny, the Kazekage guy didn't just strip him of that status free of charge" Naruto nodded, calling her that damnable nickname again.
"Naruto be more respectful and call Tsunade-sama by her title" Sakura cracked the boy right over his head with her fist obviously not amused and Naruto slid to the ground moaning about his aching cranium only to get an eye roll.
And Sasuke was just glad that it wasn't him that had gotten whacked, yet "Dobe seriously it's not like you can't heal yourself" Sasuke scoffed, equally as unamused, his comment was met with two glares instead of one and he quickly shut his mouth with an audible snap.
Their erstwhile sensei shaking his head at their antics again "Honestly all I'd wanted was a peaceful death instead I got stuck here babysitting you obnoxious brats" the redhead sighed under his breath looking like he wanted to fall on a sword or something.
His mumbling earned a raised eyebrow "Anyway well done on the mission, take the next few days off, but expect more missions like that to come your way ranging in all ranks from D to C to B got it brats" Tsunade snapped.
"Good that's more than enough time to teach Sasuke a lesson in not being reckless" the pinkette glared at her teammate, while cracking her knuckles menacingly before she gripped Sasuke's shirt and was gone in a flurry of purple cherry blossoms.
The last thing they saw of Sasuke was his rapidly paling face before they were simply gone "Ouch" the knucklehead blonde grimaced, following Sakura's lead by body flickering in a swirl of leaves he to was gone.
Leaving Sasori and Tsunade alone "Violent child isn't she" the Hokage questioned as the man sat himself down in the chair sensing she had more to speak with him about and he was right she did have many questions she wanted to ask.
Especially about that girl "Who Sakura, yes, very, from the time I started training her, well she use to be extremely shy actually, then her personality developed into that and got worse as the time went by" Sasori chuckled.
"So Akasuna and I'm sure you've been asked this question many times, but what exactly is so special about those brats particularly Haruno that has you conforming to their will" Tsunade narrowed honey orbs on the former rogue.
Wanting to get it all out of the way and into the open before she gave him a new Leaf Hitai-ate, Sasori sighed "I would have thought Hiruzen would have told you….." the redhead trailed off unsure if the woman knew his secret.
Case and point as Tsunade creased her forehead "Told me what…..ah you mean about that, Sarutobi-sensei did tell me something absurd but are you saying it was all true" the busty blonde inquired incredulously.
"All of it to the exact detail I'm sure Inoichi wouldn't mind letting you see, as for why those brats are important to me now, well I got to know them and I couldn't go through with my original plan any longer" Sasori informed quietly.
Having done a lot of rethinking in the months he hadn't seen his students "You still didn't say exactly why Haruno seems to be more important to you than those other brats" Tsunade raised a brow wanting to hear the man verbally say it.
Sasori curled his lip "Because she reminds me of myself a little bit, granted she didn't start out that way but when I noticed how I was rubbing off on her minutely, and then Orochimaru did what he did and took her parents that's when I realized" the scarlet haired man snapped.
Unafraid to do so "Very well then Akasuna, here's your headband, swear your oath of loyalty then you can go" the honey eyed blonde threw the brand new hitai-ate she had sitting on her desk at him and he caught it without batting an eye.
"I, Sasori Akasuna, solemnly swear my loyalty to Konohagakure, to serve it to my utmost abilities and be an upstanding shinobi and follow a path that others strive to follow me on, my skills and life are yours from this day forth Hokage-sama" Sasori knelt.
Only doing this for those brats otherwise he would never bow or kneel for anyone "Congratulations Akasuna and seeing how well you trained those three, I hope your ready to be a sensei all over again to a new batch of brats" Tsunade snorted.
When the rogue turned Leaf-nin stood straight up, looking completely horrified, a small amusement, but he also knew he couldn't get out of direct orders now that he was a full-time shinobi of Konohagakure given the suddenly resigned sigh.
Before he finally nodded "I'll train and teach them, maybe even become a little attached but make no mistake Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke are the ones most important and should they ever be in danger I won't be left behind when someone goes off to rescue them" the crimson haired man warned.
Promising to commit to his new duties as much as he could "That's fine and all I suppose but it will be up to you to find a replacement during such a time" the Fifth Hokage commented, waving her hand and finally dismissing him from her office, leaving him to head home.
She would assign him a squad of genin at a later time, when a new batch of academy students had graduated, and then she buckled down and got to work on paperwork, so those damn elders didn't have a reason to breathe constantly down her neck anymore.
~Thirty Minutes Earlier~
The minute they were back home or rather on the training grounds in the Uchiha Compound, Sakura released her captive and without chakra because she didn't want to seriously injure him, punched Sasuke and sent him flying across the field.
Sasuke grunted when he hit the ground after a couple of seconds, seeing stars from the sudden agony he was in "Kami just kill me now" the Uchiha pleaded, knowing this was just the beginning as he forced himself into a sitting position.
In the next second he regretted even moving because Sakura was practically right on top of him, lifting him by the front of his shirt collar, with another crack he was on the ground again "Just going to sit there and take it huh" Sakura questioned unamused.
When her teammate made no move to escape from her or the beating he was receiving "Would be kind of pointless if I ran, you'd just make it hurt even more anyway" Sasuke grimaced and she knew he was right.
Didn't change her mind about whooping his ass though "Next time don't run off like an idiot Sasuke" the rosette glared, fifteen minutes later once she thought she'd sufficiently beat anymore recklessness out of him.
And he was just happy that she hadn't made him suffer through another minute "Got it, for the record Sakura, I did feel really bad about it and I wanted to tell you ages ago but I could never find the right moment for it, plus I didn't want you to stress yourself out" the raven nodded slowly.
Blinking away the black spots and rising gingerly to his feet "And that's the only reason I didn't drawn this little lesson of mine out longer Sasuke, now come on I'm sure Naruto's waiting for us at the house" Sakura huffed not offering to heal him.
"You and your mood swings" Sasuke grumbled under his breath, healing himself so the worst of the injuries were dealt with, he didn't want to walk into his shared house looking like he was nearly beat to death after all.
This just proving Sakura didn't have to use chakra to make her punches hurt or bruise you like it looked like you had broken bones, it was slightly terrifying actually knowing how strong his teammate was actually getting nowadays.
A few minutes later they were well and truly back home and Naruto met them in the foyer "I kinda expected you to look worse than that" Naruto commented, seeing the beat up look his teammate was sporting but it wasn't all that bad.
Sakura really was to soft sometimes to the point where she was unable to cause serious harm to either one of them "Me to, plus I did heal myself some on the way here from the training grounds" the Uchiha grimaced.
Naruto winced a little "Be glad she didn't go all out on you I guess and if I could do what she did I would have kicked your ass for that stunt to Sasuke just so you know, you know" the Uzumaki admitted, patting Sasuke unsympathetically on the shoulder.
Before heading after Sakura who'd already headed into the living room to greet the others "Did something happen on your mission Sasuke" Kakashi raised a brow at Sasuke who flushed and looked to his toes in embarrassment.
Shaking his head all the while "No Kakashi-sensei, I was finally told about his reckless idea of facing down his brother" the fuscia haired Chunin informed, tone a little frosty, intending on giving Sasuke the cold shoulder for a little bit.
To really drive her point through his thick head "I suppose you should be glad she didn't simply just punch you out Sasuke and put you in the hospital" the Copy Ninja sighed, just glad they were home until they got another mission.
Off to the side Minato chuckled softly under his breath "Though now the reason for Mikoto-san never doing anything makes sense, Sakura seems to be the only one who can really get through to Sasuke-san" Minato commented to Kakashi, who nodded.
"For now I'm just glad their home" the former Hokage sighed softly in the next moment as the Chunin settled in their usual spots to do their own thing for awhile and ten minutes later Sasori traipsed into the house, sporting a Leaf Hitai-ate around his neck.
Indicating he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do which was get himself stripped of his now former international status as a rogue "Just to warn you, the Hokage plans on saddling me with genin" Sasori warned suddenly.
From where she was sketching who knows what Sakura lifted her head "That's great isn't it Sasori-sensei, that way you aren't intentionally cooping yourself up and will actually have something that will keep you busy when we're on missions you can't accompany us on" Sakura smiled.
Sasori rolled his eyes having expected Sakura would say something like that "Say I just had a thought, since you were a criminal at the time and part of that organization did you help Sasuke's big brother with uh you know the Uchiha Massacre" Naruto asked suddenly.
Being rather insightful as all noise in the living room stopped, Sasuke holding his breath as he awaited the man's answer "No, I had no part of that Naruto" the redhead admitted, glad that it was the truth because he didn't want to lie to the brats anymore.
"Good" Sasuke snorted after a moment then resumed reading from the book he'd grabbed off the shelf, about puppetry coincidentally, he wanted to see if he could learn as well, or rather the chakra threads, they would be helpful he was sure.
Kakashi and Minato shared a grimace "Could've had a disaster on our hands, I swear Naruto-kun is sometimes to insightful" Kakashi murmured to his former sensei who looked as if he didn't now whether to laugh or sigh in frustration.
"Perhaps Naruto-kun is more like me than I thought at first glance" Minato deadpanned, while thinking over all the times his son reminded him of his wife as well, before deciding Naruto was just a complete mix of them both regardless of who the boy looked more like.
"Thanks so much for being sympathetic brats, but I suppose having a new bunch of brats to teach and train won't be so bad" Sasori mused quietly to himself, it wouldn't be the same as training Naruto, Sasuke or Sakura that's for sure but it wouldn't be hard seeing as he was qualified.
Sakura giggled softly under her breath and continued drawing whatever the hell she was drawing, then after about forty minutes she popped up and disappeared upstairs "I'm going to send a letter to Karui-chan and Omoi, then go visit Ino for a bit" the pinkette called.
Putting her sketchpad in her laboratory, scribbled a couple letters, grabbed her wallet and in a flurry of purple cherry blossoms left the house "You'd think she'd be tired after beating my ass but no I swear she has the same amount of energy you have Naruto" the Uchiha groaned.
Unable to understand how Sakura could just run about like she could "Well think about it Sasuke, we have kind of kept a very close watch on Sakura-chan the last month or so, so all that energy of hers is pent up" the blonde snorted.
Meanwhile Sakura had appeared before the messenger bird tower only to be stopped from entering by a hand on her shoulder "Sakura-san, may I have a moment of your time" Neji requested, the last person she wanted to spend any inordinate amount of time with.
But since he asked politely she turned and face him properly "Okay Neji you have my attention" Sakura informed, hoping he wasn't going to ask her out again, she knew he'd changed of course but this was the first time they'd spoken since the Chunin Exams.
Neji knew he had limited time "I realized I was going about trying to get you to see me in a different light the entirely wrong way, that's why Sakura-san I would like to get to know you as a friend first before we decided if we're compatible in relationship later" the Hyuga declared.
Spewing that relationship crap again "Being friends is fine and all Neji, but I simply just don't want to be in a relationship with anyone period, please understand" the fuscia haired Chunin pleaded, tired all of a sudden.
"You're not even willing to see if I could be a good match for you, what is it about me that you find so undesirable" Neji asked equally frustrated and curious to hear her answer as to the reason she refused to see him.
She let out a little sigh "There's nothing wrong with you Neji, it's not that I find you or anyone who asks me out undesirable, I just can't commit to any form of relationship like that right now" Sakura stressed.
With that little bit and sudden insight Neji nodded and finally wandered away leaving her to send off her letters before popping in a swirl of purple cherry blossoms to Yamanaka Flower Shop where Ino spotted her through the door and charged.
Already squealing as she hugged her best friend tight "When did you get back from your mission, was it hard or easy come on you have to give me details seeing as I'm stuck as a lowly genin and your the one getting cool missions all the time" Ino chattered.
Dragging her into the shop "Just a few hours ago Ino and no it wasn't to hard, Sasori-sensei did the most on the mission while Naruto, Sasuke and I, kinda got to loaf around spending time with Temari, Kankuro and Gaara" the pinkette admitted.
"Ah your no fun but I'm glad nothing bad happened, so did you bring back a souvenir for anyone" the blonde stuck her tongue out, then switched on to a new subject all together and Sakura grinned in response before pulling out a package and held it out.
Ino latched on with a gleeful smile "And should Naruto get up off his lazy bum I know he has one for you as well Ino" Sakura snickered watching Ino tear into the package carefully and open it to reveal decorative hair sticks.
"Oh my gosh, I love them and I can't wait to see what that knucklehead got me, even though it's surprising he would even think to get something someone" Ino squealed louder than before then calmed down as her Father poked his head into the shop to find out what was going on.
And aimed the two girls a fond smile "Just Sakura-chan, Aiko, it appears she brought a souvenir back for Ino-chan" Inoichi called back to his wife who had asked him to find out who was making all that racket.
"That would do it I suppose" Aiko shrugged and for the next hour Sakura and Ino chattered about this and that before Sakura had to go home, where she gladly booted the boys out of the kitchen, claiming it was her turn for once since they'd cooked for a solid month.
Naruto and Sasuke conceded defeat at that point and planted their behinds on the couch while she pitter-pattered about the kitchen humming while she cooked the smells that wafted from the kitchen made their stomach growl loudly until finally Sakura declared dinner ready to eat.
Everyone was very surprised at the meal spread out before them but they ate and massively enjoyed it before the whole meal had been thoroughly devoured and she didn't have to life a single finger for cleanup and a couple hours later it was lights out for her and the rest of the house.
~Four Days Later~
As they were in the middle of having lunch with Mikoto, an anbu arrived to deliver a summons to the three Chunin "For heavens sake another B Rank Mission is Hokage-sama trying to get you killed" Mikoto was less than happy about it.
"Mother I doubt the mission is that bad" Sasuke soothed warily, having been taking extra precautions lately so as not to piss off temperamental females, i.e his mother, the Hokage and Sakura, all of them were scary when angry to his chagrin.
In response Mikoto pursed her lips "But we'll be careful nonetheless Mrs. Uchiha" Naruto assured once they'd hurriedly finished eating and cleaned up after themselves before taking Sakura's hands so she could take them across the village quickly.
And soon they were stood before the Hokage Team Eight coincidentally was there as well "Rather swift response" Tsunade raised a brow having thought it would take Team Seven a little longer to get there considering the time.
Unless they'd inhaled their food that was the only reason they were there so quickly "Yes Hokage-sama we try not to follow Kakashi-sensei previous example by being so late that it pisses people off after all" Sakura smiled lightly.
Sasuke and Naruto rolled their eyes but the three of them straightened, each wearing their Chunin vests quite proudly "Either way just like the summons said it's a new B Rank mission, Aburame there requested the mission" the busty blonde said.
Jumping straight in to explaining their mission "Precisely, why because we suspect that someone will be trying to steal a protected species in the bug habitat that it owned by my clan" Shino stepped forward clearing his throat as he did so.
Hoping that the mission wasn't rejected "And since all three of you are Chunin and in fact medics I feel as if it would be best to have you go along with Team Eight, Shibi and Kurenai" Tsunade announced.
Right as they were opening their mouths Kiba cut in "Hold the phone are you saying Uzumaki and Uchiha are medics I don't believe it, I mean yeah sure Uzumaki got lucky when he beat me and Hyuga during the exam but there's no way in hell he's a medical shinobi" Kiba scoffed.
"Well believe it or not Inuzuka I am in fact a medic and I was the one who healed you when Yakushi knocked you and Hinata-chan out and beating you and Neji had nothing to do with luck thank you very much" the blonde spat, much like Sakura, he hated to have his skills questioned and doubted.
Kiba immediately shut up "Anyone else want to interrupt me, no…good, anyway you have your mission, keep the Bikochu beetle from being stolen, you have your orders now move out" the honey eyed Hokage barked.
Sending the Chunin and Genin before her scrambling to pack for their mission "W..We'll meet you a..at the gates" Hinata called after Team Seven only one of whom waved indicating they'd heard before they were out of sight and hearing.
"Don't let Inuzuka get to you Naruto, I was angry to at basically being called a liar, but we were before Hokage-sama, we're Chunin which means we have to act a little more mature and tactful than that" the raven of Team Seven scolded lightly.
Even though he understood how the blonde felt "Think about it though, after this mission there's no way that Kiba will be able to doubt if you're a medic or not, both of you, now hurry up we don't have all day" the rosette smirked before urging them to speed up.
Minato, Kakashi and Sasori were surprised when the three of them got home and quickly disappeared to their rooms, being told they had a mission with Team Eight and the Aburame Patriarch was slightly alarming but none of them could do anything about it.
Except wish the three teenagers good luck before they were gone from the house and to the gates where Shibi and Kurenai were already waiting "Naruto-san, Sakura-san, Sasuke-san what are you doing here" Kurenai questioned when they arrived and promptly signed out.
"Hokage-sama didn't tell you…well she assigned us to your mission Kurenai-sensei, since we're all capable of using medical ninjutsu, I assume the habitat we're going to is full of poisonous plants and insects right…well Sakura can craft antidotes in fifteen minutes" Naruto informed.
Looking one part excited and another part anxious to get this mission over and done with "Can she now, that's intriguing to know, have you perhaps been taking lessons from Hokage-sama, Sakura-san" Shibi set his gaze on Sakura who shook her head lightly surprising him.
"I've been practicing for a long time Aburame-sama the private instructor during the academy had me learn as a precaution, every herb and their uses including both medicinal and poisonous" Sakura admitted, glad her skills might come in handy yet again.
Kurenai grimaced guiltily at that, feeling as if the girl had forgiven her way to easily despite what Asuma said about Sakura, she had to be holding a grudge even if she would never show it "Lets not forget we've been studying lately as well" Sasuke chimed in not wanting to be forgotten.
With that the three of them fell silent until Shino, Kiba and Hinata appeared "Wha….how the hell did you get here first" the Inuzuka spluttered having thought that they would be the first ones to the gate not Team Seven but here he was and completely wrong about his prediction.
"Because we didn't need to spend an inordinate amount of time packing Kiba that's how" the pinkette informed, already on the alert for danger, considering Team Seven as a whole were danger magnets apparently.
Kiba spluttered a little more before scowling as he signed out "Th..There, the..there Kiba-kun, the..they are Ch..Chunin after all, y..you should have expected it" the bluenette pat her teammate on the shoulder sympathetically.
Having suspected her former classmates to already be waiting for them despite what she'd said "Yeah, plus we really don't want people to think that just cause Kakashi's our sensei that he's rubbed his late tendencies off on us" the Uchiha snorted suddenly.
Making Hinata and Sakura giggle softly "As much as I hate to admit it, it's true, people are always surprised when we show up early or on time, cause of Kakashi-sensei" the blonde knucklehead sniffed lightly with a roll of his eyes.
Shino, Kiba and Hinata eyed them as if they'd never really seen the members of Team Seven before "In anyway case we should get going, why because there's a limited time frame in which we have to protect the Bikochu which is rapidly approaching" the Aburame heir pointed out.
And a moment later they were on their way to the Bug Habitat owned by his clan "I do hope all of you are appropriately prepared after all the enemy we'll be coming up against will be no pushovers" the Aburame Patriarch warned.
When they were halfway to the habitat since it wasn't but half a days walk from the village, he supposed he should have given them a little more time to prepare if that was the case, but it didn't look like anyone was scrambling to see if they'd forgotten anything.
Especially the Chunin on the mission "Shibi's right, making sure your properly prepared for a mission could mean….." the crimson eyed Jonin began only to be interrupted midway through her lecture by Sakura.
"A matter over life or death we know Kurenai-sensei, and while Sasori-sensei didn't technically teach us how to prepare for missions, he said that line enough to the point where I could probably recite it in my sleep" Sakura chimed in.
The older kunoichi blinked in surprise "You mean Kurenai-sensei was telling the truth about how you three were instructed by a criminal during the academy, how could you even…" Kiba began in a belligerent tone as if he'd only just realized this.
But was swiftly cut off by a glare from Sakura "Stuff it Inuzuka, old man Hokage gave him permission and he was a double agent, besides none of that matters anymore anyway since he's now a full time Konohagakure shinobi, considering he was stripped of his criminal status" Naruto snapped.
Prompting Kiba to shut up thoroughly chastised by the kid he'd thought would be to goofy to ever take seriously but here Naruto was proving him wrong it left a sour taste in his mouth "Really, his former village stripped him of his international criminal status" Shibi questioned.
Getting nods "How exactly did you get the Kazekage, a man known for his ruthlessness, to accept your request" Kurenai asked incredulously, hardly able to believe it, unless they'd done something special but it turned out that wasn't the case at all.
As she found out in the next moment courtesy of Sasuke "The Kazekage imposed conditions on Akasuna that he had to complete, other than escorting him there we didn't really do anything" Sasuke shrugged as if confused over the whole thing himself.
"In any case we should focus on the mission at hand, why because we're here" Shino reminded suddenly as they stopped at the steep cliff edge of the bug habitat so they all focused chakra into their feet and began walking down the cliff.
Until they were safely on the ground once more "O..Okay now that w..we're here w..what's the plan" Hinata stuttered feeling just a tiny bit nervous about this mission now that they had arrived at their mission destination.
Sasuke who was standing nearest to her gave her a small reassuring smile before spreading out his senses and even went so far as to activate his sharingan "First we'll split in to three groups" the Aburame Patriarch said suddenly.
Before he could see if there was anyone else in the habitat "I'll take the girls so Hinata-chan, Sakura-san with me please" the raven haired kunoichi gestured for both younger kunoichi to stand at her side taking probably the best medic with her.
"That leaves us then so I'll go with Shino and Kiba, Naruto you should probably go with Aburame-sama" the Uchiha grimaced already not liking this splitting up thing they were doing, especially in a place they knew nothing about besides the two Aburame's with them.
Naruto sighed quietly "Just send your hawk or bat summons in the case of trouble, I'll do the same with my own summons which I finally have" the blonde Uzumaki sulked following after Shibi who had already started heading off.
Sakura felt bad but they had a mission to complete "Naruto's right Sasuke, the first sign of trouble we expect to be told got it" the pinkette eyed Sasuke who nodded eagerly like a good Uchiha should before heading after Kurenai and Hinata.
Leaving the boys alone "Is it just me Uchiha or does Sakura seem a little off" Inuzuka asked once they chose a direction and started walking all on high alert as Sasuke activated his sharingan again to scope out their surroundings, probably why he'd been left with their group actually.
"We're not saying she or you are traitors of course but Kiba is right, why because Sakura has gotten increasingly aggressive towards people I've noticed" the Aburame heir nodded having been wanting to ask but this was the first chance he'd had.
Sasuke sighed much like Naruto had earlier "If Sakura seems aggressive it's because she is, she's been hurt Inuzuka, Aburame, deeply first by the abduction of her parents and the second by Akasuna when he left after we graduated" Sasuke explained.
Using a flat tone of voice, trying his best to repress that particular memory "Her parents were abducted" Kiba gaped in horror, not a one of them had ever known except for probably Yamanaka, Uchiha and Uzumaki of course and the academy sensei.
In response Sasuke nodded grimly "Has she been looking for them, why because I would want to find my parents should that ever happen to me" Shino frowned behind his high coat collar, keeping up with the conversation while at the same time sporadically sending out his kikaichu.
So that they could broaden their search "Of course she's been looking as have everybody else, but every lead has become a dead end" the Uchiha admitted, hoping that someday the missing Haruno's were found and Sakura was reunited with her parents.
"Okay enough of this depressive talk we can think more on it later but we do have a mission to concentrate on" the Inuzuka declared suddenly, taking a whiff of the air to see if he could sniff out foreign shinobi who weren't supposed to be in the bug habitat.
Shino silently agreed "Agreed, for whoever decides to try and steal the Bikochu like my Father said won't be a pushover" the Aburame heir reminded, not realizing just yet that would be for another time as they continued their trek.
Meanwhile with the kunoichi "S..So Sakura-chan I ne..never did thank you fo..for healing me a..after what Neji-nii-san did d..during our match" the pale eyed heiress commented suddenly as if remembering that she owed the girl a thank you of sorts.
Her injuries would have been worse she was sure if Sakura hadn't healed her at that time "No thank you necessary Hinata, I was doing my job, plus Neji was unnecessarily cruel about the whole thing" Sakura waved her hand dismissively.
Keeping her senses spread so they wouldn't be snuck up on "Doing your job, how could it have been your job especially since you were a contestant" Kurenai asked not understanding anything about Sakura Haruno in the least.
"I'm a medic remember, Naruto, Sasuke and I work at the hospital so even if I was a contestant, seeing as there was a seriously injured person before me I had to do my duty to help out regardless" the fuscia haired teen explained.
And the older woman blinked at her in astonishment "You really d..don't care for Neji-nii-san" Hinata inquired hesitantly, having been asked to see if she could figure out why Sakura was so afraid of commitment to a relationship.
"Not in the way he wants me to Hinata" Sakura announced, shaking her head because now Neji had Hinata asking her to be in a relationship with him, which was more annoying because the slighter taller girl was to nice for her to be as aggressive as she usually was about the whole thing.
Hinata pushed her fingers together shyly "N..Neji-nii-san to..told me that y..you couldn't commit t..to a relationship just y..yet w..why is that Sakura-chan" the Hyuga heiress prodded gently being a little more tactful than her cousin.
Sakura sighed "Because Hinata and that's all I'm saying" the rosette intoned in a slightly edgy voice not outright snapping at the poor girl but obviously done being questioned about why she refused to give Neji a chance.
It was because she was scared that anyone she entered a relationship with would be targeted by Orochimaru or worse Kabuto who was obsessed with her to the point of actually trying to abduct her from the village.
Though could she say that and have others besides Naruto, Sasuke, Sasori, Kakashi-sensei and perhaps Minato understand, no because they were just try to assure her that they would be fine and that she didn't have to worry which was worse.
"Looks like it's about dinner time girls, so how about we stop for the day, that way we're not trekking around in the forest in the dead of night" the crimson eyed Jonin suggested, so they quickly made camp and set up protections.
During this time the other two groups had decided to do the same including the lone duo of Naruto and Shibi "Tell me something Naruto-san, you could recognize the different types of poisonous herbs correct, is this one of them" Shibi inquired.
Holding out what looked like an ordinary leaf to Naruto who actually knew better for once "Safe to consume" Naruto grinned, pleased as punch that he was able to recognize what it was and that the man was talking after an hour of utter silence.
Shibi nodded in acceptance and ground it up to put on their dinner that he'd cooked up "Being a Chunin have you sensed anything out of the ordinary, like unknown chakra" the Aburame Patriarch asked once they'd eaten and set up traps to protect them during the night.
Considering it would be to dangerous to continue on "Nothing yet but you'll be the first to know, anyway I'm going to report to Sakura and Sasuke if that's okay to let them know how we're doing" the blonde informed.
Already forming hand signs where he summoned two toads in a plume of smoke, scribbled messages and sent the summons off into the forest to find his teammates, he wasn't the only one who had that idea as Sasuke was currently doing the same thing with his summons, as was Sakura.
That way all three of them knew how each group was doing despite the separation in differing directions as they searched for both foreign nin where they weren't supposed to be and the ever elusive Bikochu beetle to protect it from poachers as they settled down for the night and went to bed.
