Running through Fire country is the only time I feel at peace, she thought, smirking at the beautiful greenery surrounding her. The best part of a mission is the first night home.

Home.

Naruto, Kakashi, Tsunade-shishou.

It has been months since I've had any contact with them, even longer since I've have seen the boys. Wasting messenger effort on a simple guard mission wasn't worth it to her, though she missed them dearly. Naruto and Kakashi had been out of the village for some time before she left, and the news of her takedown of those after the princess was the last time she sent word to her master. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she pulsed her chakra out wider, keeping alert even this close to home. Too many times has she given into that slight relaxation of being so close to Konoha, only to encounter missing or foreign nin, ready to give a hard time.

She snorted, thinking, I almost wish someone would have tried to take me on this time. After almost a year of being in Snow, I'd most likely kill the person standing in my way of those gates. If anyone were around to see her face, they'd see the dark smile playing on the edges of her lips, It's been such a long time since I've had any real action. Palaces are no place for ANBU, even if the threat was credible enough for me. Flashes of taking down a group of assassins danced behind her eyelids, as the trees whipped past her vision. Assisting Snow's princess with their small hospital and even smaller clinic afterwards was a nice reprieve, a different kind of bloodshed, but she hadn't spent the past few years training, hardening her body and sharpening her skills, for nothing.

Maybe I can talk Neji-san into a spar once I've reported in. Two days of solid running was nothing for her anymore, not after training with the Green Duo. Speaking of their team, she reminded herself not for the first time to visit Tenten again, having lost her tanto and quite a few kunai along the way to Snow, dealing with nukenin. Smiling wryly as she finally, finally reached the high gates of Leaf, she mused that maybe putting herself in the Bingo Books for taking down S-class criminals and becoming Black Ops in her own right, wasn't such a good idea at all.

Izumo and Kotetsu waved at her, and she saw no need to rush past.

"Ohayo!" she called, sauntering up to them.

"Hello Sakura-chan," Kotetsu smiled, "How was your mission?"

"Nothing too unusual Kotetsu-san. I was actually pretty bored by the end of things. But I won't complain too much, you always wish for the boredom when things are intense, after all." Winking, she looked between the two of them. "How has Konoha been while I've been gone? It wasn't a short trip, you know."

Nodding, Izumo chimed in, "It's been pretty quiet around here Sakura-chan, the only action we've seen is guarding Hokage-sama when those Suna delegates were visiting. I know Temari-san was sad to have missed you." Sakura nodded slightly, silently adding yet another reminder to her growing to-do list.

"I'll have to write to her and catch up a little. Although I'm sure with the way things are going between her and Shika-kun, I might see her pretty soon!" she laughed. "I'm glad it was quiet, everything I heard on the other side was that way too. I'm pegged for a short report this time." Suddenly subdued, she added to herself, Almost makes me a little suspicious. Like when you know you're due for rain, but the sky is blue and clear. Giving a small smile at the two men she was about to leave when she noticed Kotetsu. He tensed up slightly, and looked down. "Kotetsu?" she asked, confused.

"Naruto and Kakashi are back, Sakura." He started. "They came back a few months ago. Kakashi…he's in the hospital."

He couldn't meet her eye. For Konoha's elite, any hospital stay was nothing to scoff at. But months? That could mean the end of a life. Or worse for a shinobi, the end of a career. It takes something special to carry on in retirement, but Kakashi….Kakashi was built for the battle. Ever the bachelor, determined to be the last of his line…that battle must have been more than just serious to put him out of commission for more than a week. Looking Kotetsu in the eye, she stilled for a brief moment, before disappearing from sight; the only sign she had been happily chatting just a moment before, a single cherry blossom floating towards the ground.

Sharing a meaningful look, the two friends sat themselves back in the guard stand, each lost in their own thoughts of their comrades. Hoping that now that Sakura was back in the village, their beloved taichou could start to recover, and Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja could smile again. Everything is better when Sakura is home. No matter how dire. She wasn't loved without merit. She worked hard to protect those precious to her, and lucky for those in Konoha, that was everyone that belonged to the village. Belonged to her. Hers to protect, hers to heal, hers to care for in any way they needed her.

Shaking his head, Kotetsu sighed. "If anyone can wake him up, she can."

Itsumo stared through the open gates, thinking about when Naruto came screeching through, carrying a limp and bloody Kakashi. Shuddering slightly at the foreboding feeling that crept up his spine, he turned to his partner, "I believe in her."