It wasn't until two weeks later that a new Hokage was in office when Tsunade finally broke down and accepted the position at the insistence of Jiraiya and two of the village elders and in that same time frame the Kazekage had left with his shinobi.
After reminding Sakura of what they'd talked about that was so on the first day of Tsunade's new job she made an appointment with the woman to discuss several important subjects "I can't believe we're really doing this" Karin bounced.
Readying herself for the meeting "Yeah just don't expect it to go according to plan not to mention we have to let sensei know about our decision as well" Sakura reminded, somewhat amused at Karin's giddiness.
Haku chuckled softly as they reached their destination the Hokage Tower and went in only to be waved on down the hall by the receptionist "Figures you wouldn't procrastinate" Tsunade snorted once the brats were in her office.
The lone male tilted his head to the side "Does that mean Kazekage-sama has already reached out to you" Haku guessed, Tsunade rolled her eyes but nodded and pushed a piece of paper towards Sakura across her desk.
Sakura lifted it and read the letter "That makes things easier if I don't have to explain but the question now is whether or not you'll allow us to go, I know Leaf is still undergoing repairs and needs all of its shinobi" Sakura frowned.
"Perceptive little brat…..consider these next three months like a vacation or something, you three, more Sakura and Karin deserve a break after what Sarutobi-sensei tried to do to you two" Tsunade relented.
Knowing that if she didn't let the girl go it would cause even more friction, not to mention Sakura would come up with an extremely good argument as to why letting them go was in Leaf's best interests "You know then that he was trying to manipulate them" Haku asked.
Caramel orbs narrowed "Read the letters between him and the Raikage….Ay let him do it, attempt to manipulate you two" Tsunade admitted, wondering if Sakura's unshakable trust in the Raikage would break now.
"Raikage-sama must have known we'd never agree to stay here permanently, it doesn't mean that he's untrustworthy right Sakura-nee" Karin shrugged, glancing at the pinkette who nodded determinedly in response.
Inwardly Tsunade was impressed at their faith "Guess that's it then, consider this an official mission, your first as Chunin, open trade routes between Leaf and Sand, but also rest and enjoy your time there as well" Tsunade clapped.
Handing over Chunin Vests "Oh right suppose I forgot to mention that, the judges and I convened and you three are some of the few who managed to achieve promotion to Chunin and your mission is classified as a B rank so get to it" Tsunade ordered in a dismissive tone.
With that the trio left, all of them stunned into silence because they could have never predicted that things would turn out like that during the meeting "All that's left is to tell Fugaku-sensei of our new mission" Karin grinned.
Feeling more excited by the minute "Leave that to me, you two know what to pack anyway so I can trust you to just pack my bag for me anyway" Haku chimed in, vanishing in a burst of violent wind all the way to the Uchiha Compound.
As they carried on to home and got started on packing "Bring lighter clothes" Sakura warned, because she'd trekked through Kaze no Kuni and knew that it was ridiculously hot during the day and lucky her Karin didn't question the suggestion.
Merely did as told and Sakura she entered Haku's room to pack for the fifteen year old "I'm glad we have such an understanding sensei, he agreed that our plan was a good idea and also while we're gone would you teach me medical ninjutsu Sakura" Haku reappeared eight minutes later.
Green eyes flashed his way "Sure Haku anything you want" Sakura announced, agreeing just like that before he took over packing allowing her to take care of her own bags for their two month stay in Sunagakure.
"Should we leave a note for Mangetsu-san" Karin inquired, realizing that they were ready about an hour later, at the suggestion Sakura scribbled a message to their house guest and left it on the table for him to find.
Before the three of them headed out of the door "On second thought I'm also leaving a clone to" Sakura paused halfway down the street, creating a clone to keep an eye on the house and reapply the blood seals if necessary.
Half an hour later they were heading down the path in the direction of Sunagakure "You didn't let Choza-san know or anyone else" Haku commented a few miles away from Leaf, they'd simply left after packing.
"The clone will do that for me or if they get curious people can ask Fugaku-sensei and even Tsunade-sama" Sakura gave a little shrug, not wanting to worry about anyone but herself, Karin and Haku for awhile.
Not that her teammates could really blame her "Eh true, so I've been thinking Sakura, about adding a new item to our merchandise what would you suggest, I'm good with liquids as I've come to understand" Karin nodded.
Directing the conversation onto something else "Good question…..what about Sake, it's easy to make all you need is yeast and cooked sticky rice, put it in a jar in a place where it's both hot and cool and let it sit for a couple of days, you can also infuse flavors into the sake" Sakura grinned.
Coming up with the idea almost instantly "Very interesting as for me I think I'll start making tea, I found this great silk that would make excellent tea bags at the market in the Uchiha Compound and bought a lot of it, at a good price even" Haku admitted.
"See we can do it if we have the drive and ambition to make Fragrant Blossom successful" Sakura exclaimed, punching the air in excitement to Haku and Karin's amusement, all of them quite glad to leave behind their stress for a couple of months.
Eventually though Team Thirteen had to stop four hours later when their stomachs rumbled in hunger "You know I could get us to Sand quicker but it requires you to trust me Sakura" Haku spoke up once they were preparing to walk again.
In absolutely no hurry at all, the pinkette tilted her head to the side "What are you talking about Haku, I trust you one hundred percent" Sakura frowned, a little confused until Haku went through familiar hand signs.
And then in a large plume of smoke stood two large arctic wolves, her heart stopped and she almost leaped backwards when Haku grabbed her hand "When did you get summons" Karin asked, watching as Haku lifted Sakura onto the back of one of the wolves.
Then helped her onto the other one "Last week we had for training, I was wandering the compound market, the scroll caught my eye and I knew they were the summons for me, now if you would hold on tight we'll get going" Haku requested.
Feeling Sakura wrap her arms tightly around his waist and he took a moment to enjoy that feeling "Don't worry Karin-chan I swear we'll find you summons one of these days" Sakura promised, before clinging to Haku as the wolves took off.
"I'm holding you to that Sakura" Karin yelled over the sound of the wind rushing through her ears, the wolf she on just a tiny bit slower than the wolf Haku and Sakura were on "Hmmph thinks he's sneaky does he, well you can't fool me for a minute Haku" Karin harrumphed under her breath.
Knowing exactly why Sakura was riding with Haku and it had nothing to do with her fear of large canines, he just wanted the pinkette gripping onto him, up ahead Sakura pressed her face into Haku's back not wanting to watch her surroundings go by in a blur.
As they changed from forest to desert terrain "Are you alright Sakura, do you want to stop for a bit" Haku inquired gently, taking note of the position of the sun, it was half past four, immediately Sakura shook her head.
But indicated they should slow down for a few minutes so he signaled to Midori whom Karin was riding on and tapped Zoge prompting him to slow to a walk, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief before detaching her arms from around Haku's waist.
After a couple minutes of maneuvering her pack was open and she withdrew the elk jerky "Is that the kind from Iron" Karin questioned once in range of the other two members of her team when Sakura tossed her a bag with a few pieces of jerky in it.
"Only a small percentage of the supply of it that I stocked up on" Sakura explained, nibbling on her own piece, inwardly vowing one of these days that she'd hunt down her own elk and turn the creature into jerky to compare the two to see which was better.
Fifteen minutes later the jerky was eaten and the wolves were running again as they crossed the seemingly endless desert for once it seemed like everything was going well for Team Thirteen but of course when they were eight miles from their destination.
Karin who always had her senses spread hollered out "Fast incoming from a party of twenty Haku, Sakura, their probably Kusa-nin" Karin warned, cussing her first village out like a dirty dog in her thoughts.
Unwilling to bring danger to Hidden Sand, Haku directed his summons to stop so they could take up arms against the enemy as they appeared and like Karin thought they were Hidden Grass Ninja, meanwhile deep within Sunagakure, Karin hadn't been the only one with their senses spread.
So upon feeling the large group of foreign chakra and three familiar chakra, Gaara went straight to his Father the Kazekage "Father, it appears Sakura is in trouble, she and her teammates were tailed, their about eight miles out" Gaara rumbled.
Rasa stood "Retrieve your siblings and sensei, we'll be going to help them out" Rasa commanded in a deep voice, extremely displeased that people thought they could harm someone who was family to himself.
And without waiting for his children or Baki took off in the direction he could sense a battle going on, it took him twenty minutes and by then his three children and Baki were with him just as they heard a familiar voice.
"I don't know how many times it takes me killing you fucking bastards for it to get through your thick skulls that you will not have my sister" Sakura snapped, throwing a boomerang with blades that popped out when she hit the button.
Prompting the Kusa-nin to scatter there was one unlucky fool that didn't get away in time and blood splattered on the ground as he lost an arm and started screaming bloody murder "Gods she's more bloodthirsty than Gaara ever was" Temari winced.
When Sakura didn't respond to the screaming or cursing as she was called every name in the book before Haku slammed a needle into the back of his neck which killed him instantly "Forgive me, Karin is my friend and I will protect what I care about even if it means killing" Haku apologized.
Going on to kill three more Kusa-nin as they targeted the seemingly defenseless Karin "Thought we were going to help them Kazekage-sama" Baki reminded, tearing his gaze away from the fight to look at his leader.
Who nodded and sent his gold dust to take out someone that had been trying to sneak up on Sakura, verdant orbs snapped his way just as he crushed the man into dust, Gaara did the same to a couple others while Kankuro trapped one in his puppet.
Temari and Baki's primary weapons were wind as a few got torn to shreds until there was only one left that Sakura was fighting "End it Sakura, I'd quite like to bathe you know" Karin huffed wanting to be safe inside Hidden Sand now.
Sakura pursed her lips "Well you heard it…..Raiton: Black Panther" Sakura performed the hand signs necessary to one of her recently learned jutsu's, black lightning crackled from her palm and took on the shape of a panther.
It leapt upon the last remaining enemy who only saw this lightning panther opening its mouth wide and clamping its jaws onto his shoulder, screams were torn from his throat as he was electrocuted until he was nothing but a charred black mass.
"Was that necessary" Haku frowned, while resisting the urge to poke the dead Kusa-nin with his foot "Then again how else will they learn" Haku sighed, sensing a couple had run away when they'd seen how easily they were being defeated.
"Have to make an example or else they'll keep coming, you know I have half a mind to stage my own at…." Sakura growled before trailing off as something came to mind but she wasn't allowed to dwell on it as the Kazekage dropped down in front of them.
And Team Thirteen gave him a partial bow in greeting "Quite impressive, your handling your first kill better than I expected actually" Rasa clapped, mistakenly thinking that Sakura had never killed before.
Until she smiled up at him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes "If only that were true but no Kazekage-sama I made my first kill when I was eight" Sakura informed, voice flat as she remembered back to that day.
Karin shuddered as well, before forcing the memory from her mind "Eight….surely the Raikage didn't make you kill so young" Baki recoiled in horror as they began their trek in the direction of Hidden Sand.
So that they weren't all standing around like sitting ducks to be targeted by anyone else foolish enough to attempt to attack "No, we weren't in Kumo at the time, it was just Karin and I, going around trying to avoid the Kusa-nin because I helped her escape from the village" Sakura denied.
Kankuro frowned "Why is Kusagakure so determined to get you back, besides those chains I don't see anything else about you that would cause them to be so relentless about retrieving you" Kankuro asked.
Wanting to get to the bottom of things "Because if you bite me and suck out my chakra you'll get healed, my mother had the same ability and they drained her of every last drop of chakra which killed her, then along came Sakura-chan who saved me from a life of abuse" Karin explained.
It was then that Temari took note of what Team Thirteen were wearing "Are those Chunin Vests, you became Chunin that's great" Temari rushed her little cousin and gave the girl a hug who froze, eyes growing wide.
Before hesitantly returning Temari's hug rather awkwardly to be honest not that the blonde cared "What was with that pause" Rasa asked of Haku who lagged behind a little when Temari urged his teammates along a little faster.
Gaara and Kankuro hurrying after the kunoichi "Sakura's not use to hugs, from what I heard she use to reject them like the plague from everyone except Karin, their very self reliant and rarely do they reach out to others" Haku informed.
"Let's not forget Haruno-san is very strategic I wouldn't be surprised if she was plotting to take over Hidden Grass if they don't leave Uzumaki-san alone" Baki chimed in, having heard what the girl was saying before she'd trailed off.
Haku nodded "Indeed, they both outwitted not only my former master Zabuza Momochi but his best subordinates the demon brothers, tricked him into thinking they were merely civilians and tricked him into drinking poison hand concocted by Sakura herself" Haku declared.
Baki's visible eye widened in horror "Was he one of her kills that she's had to make" Baki questioned yet again, Haku shook his head "Then who killed Zabuza Momochi" he frowned curious not that he'd admit it.
"Team Seven's sensei Kakashi Hatake and the reason Sakura and Karin were on that mission to provide medical aide should the need arise" Haku said simply, thinking back and he was glad the two had been on that mission otherwise he probably could have died protecting Zabuza.
With that the three of them reached their destination the gates of the Hidden Sand Village "As much as I'd like to speak with you right this minute, it is late, I'm sure your hungry so go find a hotel or something, eat dinner and go to bed we'll talk in the morning" Rasa commanded.
Seeing Sakura and Karin's exhaustion plain to see on their faces, even Haku looked worn down "Come on we'll show you three the way to the best inn in Sunagakure" Kankuro grabbed hold of Sakura's shoulders and directed the pinkette forward.
Karin wasn't the only one to see the jealous glint that sparked within Haku's doe orbs "Psst cool it Haku, there's no need to get jealous, their related" Karin hissed under her breath at the teenager who was falling for the rosette more and more each day that passed.
"Fifth cousin, that's just far enough down the line that nobody would really care if she married one of my brothers so I take it you like Sakura huh" Temari commented, raising a pale brow on her cousin's much older teammate.
Who sighed and rubbed his forehead "Yes..I have for awhile two months and one week to be precise and she hasn't even noticed" Haku groaned, not having realized it would be this difficult to get Sakura to see him as more than a friend or teammate.
Temari bit back a smirk "What are we talking about" Gaara joined the conversation in his usual gravely tone of voice, curious as they followed Kankuro and Sakura down the streets of his home village to an inn.
"Just Haku's crush on Sakura….or have you fallen for her and it's turned to love already" Karin teased and the fifteen year old in question resigned himself to being nitpicked by the redhead until they reached the inn.
Heading in, they ate dinner, rented some rooms for the night and went to bed "Mm that was the best sleep I've had in a long while" Sakura stretched her arms high when she emerged from her rented room the following morning.
All bright eyed and eager for the day "Yeah, same here, with not having to worry about Danzo sending someone to possibly kidnap Haku and I from our house that has been broken into, I slept like a log" Karin admitted.
Feeling a teeny bit guilty when Sakura smiled sadly at her "I bet if we asked Fugaku-sensei, he'd help us out, considering we'll be working for him soon, he'll probably want us closer, like in the compound closer, but it would be a good idea to keep the house as a precaution" Haku suggested.
Because they couldn't ask the rosette to give up her parents house "For now breakfast and then to see Kazekage-sama" Sakura reminded, trying to think of ways that would let her keep the house without endangering her friends.
"Good Morning" Baki greeted the moment the trio exited the inn "Lord Kazekage has cleared his morning schedule in order to speak with you so please if you'd follow me I will escort you to the tower" Baki explained, once they'd returned his greeting.
Turning on his heel to lead Team Thirteen to the next destination and ten minutes later the three of them were stood in the Kazekage's office, chairs to accommodate each of them sat before his desk "Sit, we have much to get through" Rasa ordered.
Sakura took a step forward, emerald orbs igniting with determination "Ooh someones all fired up and serious I see" Kankuro grinned from his spot on the couch, he and his siblings were there for the meeting as well.
His comment earned a light smile "Kazekage-sama speaks the truth though Kankuro there is a lot we have to cover, my only request is that your honest about what you want from us, no lies or manipulation" Sakura requested.
Not demanded to Rasa's surprise "Very well, I want you to help bring profit back to my village, so the Daimyo will have no choice but to give us missions to undertake once more, can you do this if I give you the space to do so" Rasa answered truthfully.
While throwing in his own question "We can, without a doubt Kazekage-sama" Karin assured, figuring that maybe he wasn't so bad after all neither were Temari, Kankuro or Gaara all of who seemed to have calmed down.
"Perfect then you won't mind if I put you in charge of a failing greenhouse, it will be yours entirely if you can get plants to grow there and show others how to tend those plants once you leave until your able to come back" Rasa raised a maroon brow.
In response Haku chuckled under his breath and Sakura huffed at him "Okay doesn't sound to hard, I'll just have to study a little bit" Sakura relented, not sure of how well her gardening skill would get her by in the Land of Wind.
Temari scrunched her brows together "What do you mean study, what are you going to be studying" Temari asked in confusion, having already been aware that her cousin was a complicated person but not by how much.
Sakura glanced over her shoulder "To be honest as good as I am at gardening, this is new territory for me I have no idea what I'm going to be working with since I'm mostly use to growing things in large pots with lots of potting soil" Sakura admitted honestly.
"Eh I wouldn't worry to much Sakura, I mean oh your right, even back in Kumo, Leaf is the only place you've had space in a greenhouse or backyard to grow plants" Karin began only to realize for herself what Sakura had meant.
Rasa clasped his hands before his face which hid an amused smirk "Back to the conversation if you will, in addition to the greenhouse, you three will be living in a house, meant for family and is paid for by the village" Rasa cleared his throat.
Drawing their attention upon him once more, Sakura immediately pursed her lips clearly displeased with that idea "Would you allow us to pay our own bills Kazekage-sama" Haku chimed in knowing how Sakura felt.
"Why would you want to pay your own bills when I'm offering, surely that is how you were able to live in that house in Konoha correct, along with having a stipend" Rasa frowned, confused much like his daughter.
Who was shooting Sakura looks again "Uh no not really, as soon as we got the company going, we stopped receiving a stipend and we've always paid for our own bills even back in Cloud" Sakura explained calmly.
Leaving his children horrified "Are you telling me the Raikage neglected you two and let you struggle with figuring out how to come up with enough money to pay utilities he should have been paying for you until you were old enough to do so yourselves" Rasa asked.
"I guess people would see it that way but truthfully Raikage-sama was very soft on us, if we had told him we were struggling I doubt he'd have let us continue but the truth is I'm a micro-manager, so we didn't have near as much trouble getting by or paying for things" Sakura informed.
"Micro-manager" Gaara rumbled at the word, not sure to be amused like his siblings or confused like his Father, Sakura flashed him a smile and with that the conversation resumed once more until another hour had passed.
Before he dismissed the trio seeing that he did have a bit of time left "Just three more things to discuss then you can go, one Baki and my children will escort you around until your comfortable, two, I grant you these, and three I might ask you to undertake a mission once or twice" Rasa finished.
Opening a drawer and pulling out three Sunagakure hitai-ate's "That's fine Kazekage-sama" Haku agreed, accepting his new headband with grace and tying it around his right arm, since the left was already occupied by his Kumo-hitai-ate.
As for Sakura, she untied her Cloud headband from around her waist "Hold up, what the fuck is that" Temari shouted, seeing the curse mark on Sakura's bare stomach because the pinkette had forgotten to wrap bandages around it that morning.
Green eyes glared down at the stain upon her flesh "I got in the way of Orochimaru trying to curse mark Sasuke so he injected the enzyme into me instead and when I find him I'm going to kill him because that's the only way it will go away" Sakura informed.
Tying the Suna headband in place around her waist while the Kumo one went around her right arm "You survived the process, that bastard explained it to us that Uchiha might not survive but a no clan girl like you managed to do so" Kankuro gaped.
Sakura smiled but it didn't reach her eyes "Oh trust me Kankuro, receiving this thing was no walk in the park, it was agonizing and I really thought I was going to die but I did something while I was unconscious that rendered it completely useless to him" Sakura announced.
"Have you used it since you received it almost two months ago" Kankuro questioned and Sakura raised a single finger, which really shocked him because Sakura seemed like the type to use any power she had on hand to one up her opponent.
When he said that out loud Sakura grinned at him "If I can't beat someone without using my own power that I have honed tirelessly over the past four almost five years then I'm not worthy of being a shinobi, I refuse to use something that could potentially be a crutch" Sakura tsked.
Eyes literally twinkling at him in amusement "And there you have it the complicatedness that is Sakura" Haku chuckled as the six of them left the Kazekage's office only to be joined immediately by Baki, who started leading them in the direction of the house they'd be living in.
Karin snickered "Don't deny that you don't like it Haku, you enjoy trying to figure out the puzzle known as Sakura" Karin whispered teasingly, letting Sakura walk amid the Sand Siblings for the time being.
Until they reached a decently sized house "Like it do you, good cause Father made us clean up every inch of it for when you three arrived" Temari asked, when Sakura stared up at the house with awe in her eyes.
"Go on in, have a look around if you will" Gaara suggested, like he was beginning to expect neither Haku or Karin made a move until Sakura took a step forward and entered the large house, comfortable to fit several more people if they wanted.
And the best part it would always be Sakura's to do with as she pleased because it was a family house "Oh wow this is gorgeous" Karin intoned appreciatively of their new living room before wandering up the stairs.
To find the rooms and one happened to be perfectly sized just to her liking so she sent a clone to retrieve her belongings from the hotel "Your really lucky you know that Sakura" Haku commented after they met back up in the living room.
Once they'd chosen their favorite bedrooms "Or unlucky depending on which way you see it" Sakura shrugged lightly, still not sure if this was going to be an entirely good thing yet because they were just starting to get to know one another.
"Pretty fancy huh..well Father said to take this day to get settled and what not but if you need us or want to go anywhere, like the library or store for groceries and such just holler out for Baki, he's gonna be hanging around a lot" Kankuro waved.
As the trio exited the house "Should probably do that now" Karin said knowing that Sakura wasn't a procrastinator, she wasn't the type to sit around doing nothing for long periods of time so off to the store they went and library to get books for what Sakura wanted to study up on, and for the rest of the day stayed in their new house before going to bed early.