Am I the only one who thinks Sakura could have been SO MUCH BETTER?

They did her dirty LOL

BUT WHY DID SHISUI DIE SO EARLY?!

Ugh.

ANYWAY, enjoy the next chapter ;)

I'll probably post once a week after this, unless I get too many comments to ignore LOL

Chapter 6

A while later, Hinata was outside with Neji while everyone was hiding inside. Sakura was somehow sandwiched between Kiba and Shisui behind the couch and the canine lover kept trying to bury his face in her hair.

Attempting to get away from him without giving away the party, Sakura edged closer and closer to Shisui until her entire right side was pressed against him.

Why does this always happen to me?! I either invade Shisui's space or deal with Kiba drooling on me!

When Kiba once again tried to cozy up to her, Shisui put his arm around her and smashed his face into the couch forcefully.

Simultaneously, Neji and Hinata walked into the living room and Sakura jumped away from the two men. When she did, her shoulder hit Shisui's arm, freeing Kiba's blood-red face.

Only Sakura noticed the two glaring at one another while everyone popped out of hiding to celebrate.

This is going to end in disaster. Why does Kiba have to be so touchy feely and why is Shisui reacting like this?!

After everyone congratulated Neji, Ino turned up the music and the party got started.

Sakura grabbed Ino and dragged her onto the open space that was the dance floor. She did not want to have to deal with any of the problems that were currently on her mind.

I'm literally going to pretend like nothing happened, that should solve…nothing!

Tenten quickly dragged Neji onto the floor and made him dance with her right as Shikamaru opened the door.

To everyone's delight, Kankurō and Temari entered and joined the celebration followed closely by Sai. Temari latched onto Shikamaru and forced him to dance with her.

This consisted of him taking his hands out of his pockets and putting them on her hips as she moved. As they danced his facial expression never changed from its normally bored look.

Sakura snickered and looked around, inadvertently finding Shisui standing against a wall socializing. As if feeling her gaze, he quickly shot her smirk and she whirled around, face ablaze. Ino ran off and grabbed Sai, leaving Sakura on her own.

Not an hour later, Naruto was screaming and waving his hands in the air to get everyone's attention and announced that it was time for the drinking games to begin.

Everyone gathered in the living room and sat in a circle. Itachi, Kakashi, Shisui, and Lee pulled up chairs behind the group to watch, instead of play.

Sasuke and Naruto handed out the sake and Kiba asked, "So, what game are we going to be playing? I vote for Never Have I Ever!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as everyone yelled their agreement and locked eyes with Kakashi. He laughed at her facial expression, remembering the last drunk story she told him involving this particular game.

Ino volunteered to start, "Never have I ever…had a crush on my teammate!" Sakura, Tenten, Kiba, and Naruto drank.

Sakura glared at her best friend and grinned wickedly, "MY TURN! Never have I ever literally mind-fucked someone!"

Naruto started cackling loudly and said, "DRINK UP, TEME!" Sasuke took a swig and pushed Naruto's face into the floor.

Ino glared at Sakura and took a healthy swig, "Damnit billboard brow! You'll pay for this!"

Everyone laughed but stopped quickly as Kakashi stood up, "Well it's a little past my bedtime kids. Have fun and don't find me if anyone gets too drunk."

Everyone said their goodbyes to Kakashi as Naruto tried to heckle him into drinking a little. Sakura peeked over at Shisui and blushed furiously when he caught her.

Just as she was about to turn back to the game, Itachi looked at her curiously.

She spun around as her face heated up even more and was saved by Sai, "Well, I guess it is my turn. Never have I ever kissed a guy."

Naruto and Sasuke both managed to throw something at the strange ninja as they took a drink. Sasuke was pointedly looking everywhere but at his brother who was staring at him intently.

Ino and Sakura both took a swig while Temari downed another bottle.

"Well, well it looks like Shikamaru got kissed," snickered Ino and Sakura elbowed her in the ribs.

"WHAT BILLBOARD BROW!? WE ALL KNOW THAT KIBA TOOK YOUR FIRST KISS!"

"Shut UP, Pig! I was drunk off my ass when that happened!" she retorted angrily.

She groaned as she noticed both her teammates glaring daggers at Kiba.

"Hey, Forehead! You never told the boys about the relationship you two had?"

Ino's drunk question somehow managed to make the tension in the room rise. Sakura smacked her forehead and groaned. Instead of answering the drunk blonde's question, she flopped down on her back and stared at the ceiling.

"I will not be answering questions about my relationship—"

Kiba cut her off, "She has a really nice ass."

Ino and Temari burst into a fit of giggles as Kiba stumbled out the door with Sasuke and Naruto hot on his heels.

"So, he saw your ass?" Ino leaned over her friend and Sakura pushed her away to sit up.

"We'll talk later, you vulture," Sakura said and then disappeared into the bathroom.

This is NOT how I imagine my little fling with Kiba getting out. Plus, he's drunk so he'll probably blab and make it sound more serious than it was!

She smacked her forehead. Hard.

When she emerged, Naruto and Sasuke were there without Kiba. They quickly approached her and the angry looks on their faces had her backing up until she was once again in the bathroom.

She put her hands up in surrender but they were having none of it. They cornered her against the wall and Ino's snickering could be heard.

"Sakura-chan, what the hell was Kiba talking about? He went into the Inuzuka compound and Sasuke stopped us from charging in because of clan protocol… and other stuff I don't remember."

She looked between the two fuming men and laughed nervously, "He wasn't talking about anything. I mean it isn't like you two haven't seen me in my underwear before…"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "That's different, Sakura. We are your teammates. That MUTT should not see you like that… or in any state of undress."

The barely concealed anger in his voice made her flinch.

Ino interrupted the argument loudly, "IF FOREHEAD WANTS TO HAVE WILD ANIMAL SEX WITH KIBA THEN YOU TWO CAN'T—"

Sakura quickly interrupted Ino, "I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH KIBA!"

Her boys looked at her skeptically and Naruto asked, "Well then what happened?"

Sakura sighed and looked over their shoulders at the audience she had. Both Shisui and Itachi were clearly amused and she face palmed as she felt her face heat up.

"He walked in on me changing after we went swimming and he tried to get frisky. I ended up punching him because he scared the crap out of me… after I healed him, I ran off and I've been avoiding him ever since. It was a VERY small fling."

The boys walked off to discuss ways to kill Kiba while Ino wobbled up to Sakura.

"Forehead, you're such a freak! Let's drink some more!" Shisui quickly cleared his throat and gained everyone's attention.

"It's 3am, I think it is time for everyone to call it a night." People started to shuffle out in pairs until only Team 7, Shisui, and Itachi were left.

They cleaned up the mess and then Sakura announced she was headed home.

Naruto and Sasuke offered to walk with her but Itachi cut in, "Sasuke, Naruto I need both of your help with something. It should be quick, follow me upstairs."

Stretching languidly, Sakura walked out as they talked and glanced at Shisui who was giving her a thoughtful look. However, he did not offer to walk her home like the other had.

About halfway there, two unidentifiable ANBU members appeared in front of her. Using her medical Ninjutsu to burn the alcohol out of her system, she opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by an attack. Sakura acted on instinct and flickered to an open area further away from the buildings.

The ANBU members were hot on her tail and she had to dodge several explosives thrown her way. Her dodging skills were put to the test as they threw weapon after weapon. She made sure not a single one touched her but was frustrated that she couldn't retaliate.

Suddenly, one stood back as the other engaged her in a bout of Taijutsu. They flipped, kicked, punched, and dodged each other's blows until Sakura managed to clip the operative's shoulder with a chakra laden punch.

The crunching of bones reverberated throughout the clearing and the other ninja quickly stepped in. The battle swiftly turned to Ninjutsu and Sakura cursed lowly. Fighting with the other operative had left her with about half of her chakra reserves.

Her opponent created a water dragon that she blocked with a weak dirt barrier. Before the wall could disintegrate, she flash-stepped behind the water user and slashed at him with a chakra scalpel.

When he jumped out of range, she used the Cherry Blossom Impact to pummel the ground and put distance between them. Both men bowed to her and then disappeared before Sakura could react.

She huffed in frustration and plopped roughly on her bottom. Burying her hands in her hair, she groaned and stiffened when she felt the wind shift in front of her.

Looking up, she met Shisui's Sharingan and slowly blinked as he assessed her. Crouching down to her level, he gently touched a bruise on her cheek and continued to do the same to the others on her arms and legs.

She flushed at the attention he was giving her, "Uchiha-san, what are you doing here?"

He did not answer right away and surveyed the area, "You did well Haruno-san. You held your own and even managed to slightly injure one of them. You will definitely pass the test. I can tell you do not have a lot of chakra left so I will escort you home."

He smoothly picked her up bridal style and started walking.

Her blush deepened, "Ah, thank you Uchiha-san. That means a lot coming from a shinobi like you. You don't have to carry me…I can walk."

The look he gave her as she spoke unnerved her. She was unaccustomed to someone looking at her so intently.

His smile grew as she fidgeted under his gaze, "I know but, what kind of gentleman would I be if I let you walk home at this hour? Plus, you're tired and I can easily carry you back. You didn't really think I would be comfortable with you walking home alone, did you?"

"So…you saw the whole fight then?"

He nodded and she buried her head in his chest as she whispered, "Then you could also tell they were holding back."

He stopped walking at her statement and waited for her to look up.

"Haruno-san, you are not ANBU trained nor is your objective as a medic to be the best fighter. You held your own and fought without fear. You may not be as strong as they are but you definitely surprised them with your wit and speed. Do not put yourself down just because you have different talents than the opponents you just encountered."

As he finished talking, he began to walk again and they made it to her apartment in less than 10 minutes. To her utter confusion he had her keys in his hand and opened her door with ease.

He really is a show-off…I can't believe he is being so forward. He carried her to the bathroom and sat her down.

"Uchiha-san…thank you." She looked up and smiled at him, trying to convey how happy he made her with his assessment of her skills.

He gently unclasped her sandals, fingers caressing the arch of her foot slightly. Blushing, she tried very hard not to show just how much his touch tickled her.

"I only spoke the truth. So…do you need help showering? I wouldn't mind giving you a hand," he winked and smirked before Sakura smacked him on the arm and pushed him out of her bathroom.

"PERVERT!"

She tried to slam the door in his face. He stopped her by leaning against it with his shoulder and became serious once more.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? I know you're tired and that can be as dangerous as being wounded."

She paused at his sudden change, "You know, I think you're worse than Sasuke when it comes to confusing me. But yes, I'll be fine. I am a medic after all. I would know if I needed any type of assistance."

He laughed at her, "Get used to it. Get some rest, you have some harsh training coming up."

She nodded and gave him a gentle smile, noticing his eyes lingering on her lips before he teleported away.

I really don't get him. He can be intimidating with how confident he is. I wonder if that's an Uchiha thing.

Early the next morning Sakura woke up and headed to Tsunade's office knowing that she would be summoned at some point during the day.

While she was walking down the hallway to the Hokage's door, the sand siblings rounded the corner and the older two greeted her with laughter.

"Good morning Kazekage-sama, how have you been?" Sakura asked, ignoring the other two.

He gave her a small smile before answering, "I am well. These two drunkenly told me how the party went last night, how are you feeling?"

Sakura growled and her eyebrow twitched as she eyed Gaara's siblings.

"I am well," she growled out.

"Have you seen Kiba lately?" asked Kankurō and when she shook her head no, Temari spoke.

"He is not looking very well this morning." Sakura groaned and thanked them for the warning as they parted ways.

Great, that means Kiba will probably try to guilt trip me into taking him to lunch or something…UGH! Just my freaking luck.

She knocked on the big doors before entering. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the foul mood rolling off of Sakura and questioned her about it.

"Sakura, why do you look like someone pissed in your cereal?" Right before she could reply, three ANBU teleported into the room and Tsunade's eyebrow twitched in agitation.

"You three, sit. I will get to you in a moment," she glared at the three dark haired shinobi before turning back to her student with an expectant expression.

Sakura fidgeted and then all out glared at the ANBU she knew to be Sasuke.

"Well, SOMEONE had to go and try to fix a problem of mine which is only going to make it WORSE!"

Sasuke's head tilted to the side and he said one word, "Explain."

Tsunade's eyes filled with glee and she took out her sake, waiting for the show to begin.

"Now that you 'took care' of Kiba he will INSIST that I make it up to him in some way! This is ALL you and Naruto's fault! If I have to deal with him sniffing me or getting handsy because the two of you interfered, I will break every bone in both of your bodies, TWICE!"

Sasuke visibly cringed while the other three spectators took in the situation.

"That's my girl. Now, I have your test results from last night, Sakura and I must say, I am proud," Tsunade beamed and waved the other three forward.

"You will go to ANBU headquarters and receive your outfit and tattoo. Then, your captain here will tell you your training schedule. Shisui is team captain and you will answer to him, however, he has been informed of the liberties you are allowed since you are the team medic. Whenever he reports on a mission you will report to me as well, understood?"

She nodded her assent and they were all dismissed.

The team silently walked to the ANBU headquarters. Sasuke split from the group to get Sakura's outfit while Shisui and Itachi took her to get her tattoo.

When it was complete, Sakura ran a hand over the new ink and instantly healed it. Sasuke muttered about it not being fair while Shisui led them to a room to discuss Sakura's training.

He sifted through some files before speaking, "Your main weaknesses are Ninjutsu, your chakra levels, and speed. I will test your Genjutsu myself and Ibiki will work with you on interrogation."

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably at the last statement and Shisui looked at him disapprovingly.

"She has to be prepared for it, Sasuke. I don't like it either."

Sakura shifted slightly at his admission and Itachi once again gave her an odd look before locking eyes with Shisui. It was clear that something was communicated silently.

Shisui cleared his throat before speaking, "I will set everything else up and tell you the schedule tonight. For now, let's all go eat Mikoto-oba's cooking!"

The quartet walked peacefully for a short amount of time before Sakura caught a glimpse of Kiba scurrying away from them. Grabbing Sasuke by the front of his shirt, Sakura squished her nose against his.

"If I have to deal with him pawing at me because of you, I swear—"

A large hand on her shoulder had her yanking her head sharply to the side. Itachi's calm face was mere inches from hers.

"Don't worry, Sakura-san. You have Shisui and myself as teammates now and we take care of our own. My little brother here is… far less effective than us."

Sakura sweat dropped and turned her eyes to Shisui. He gave her a smirk and gently pried her hands off of Sasuke's shirt.

"Let's not keep Mikoto-oba waiting. You can beat Sasuke later."

When he didn't immediately release her hands, Sakura turned crimson.