Oh look, I do still exist! Sorry for the impossibly long delay. One would think being in the midst of a plague, I'd have more time on my hands... Nay nay, being a mom doesn't stop hahahaha
It actually just gets busier and busier! Thank the gods I'm a stay-at-home mom~
ANYWAYS, please enjoy chapter five. Hope everyone is well and managing with this crazy new world we all live in. Stay safe and stay nerdy, y'all.
Sakura was a bundle of nerves when she bid farewell to Naruto, splitting ways at the front entrance to their apartment building. It was a halfway point between the front gates and the hokage tower, and she had turned down his offer to stand and wait with her.
She didn't deserve that golden-haired knucklehead.
She held a hand up to her eyes, the early morning sun bright in her eyes as she watched the orange-and-black clad jōnin bound away down the street in an excited rush to get started on some training with Tsunade.
Hefting a pack onto her shoulder, Sakura set off for the front gates at a slow pace. Inner-Sakura was quietly listing off the packed items, triple-checking that they had not forgotten a single thing for their first mission in nearly a year.
It felt good to be heading out on a mission, once again clad in her green jōnin flak vest, tight black pants tucked into her heeled boots and a black long-sleeve shirt with a high-neck. Her medic pouch fastened at her hip was the only real indication she was a med-nin.
The mornings were beginning to grow cooler as the days progressed through the fall, so she packed with exactly that in mind. While she enjoyed the cooler air, she did not like being cold.
A couple stray leaves crunched beneath her boot as she strolled along the stone road, a sigh of relief pushing past her lips at being the first to arrive. Sakura nodded politely at one of the chūnin standing guard at the gate, vaguely remembering the slightly older man from the chūnin exams.
Kotetsu, Inner Sakura supplied helpfully. The pink-haired medic did not spot Izumo anywhere, which was strange considering they were never seen apart. The village of Konoha was in peaceful times, so maybe there was only need for one guard during the day…
Sakura tossed her pack to the stone and sat beside it, leaning back against the wall so that she could meditate in her last few moments of peace.
The appearance of Sasuke's chaotic chakra signature broke the pinkette from her meditation, but she didn't bother opening her eyes to acknowledge him.
"You sleeping with this hokage too? I cannot fathom there being any other reason for him to want you on this mission, or any mission for that matter. Leave it to you to sleep with your own ex-sensei just to get ahead…" Sasuke's voice was smooth and quiet; a voice that made any other woman melt into a puddle of hormones.
Sakura was NOT that woman… not anymore. Just the mere sound of Sasuke's voice made her skin crawl with a sick unease.
Her green eyes finally opened and looked up at the Uchiha. "Funny, I could ask you the same thing about the elders. You've obviously let enough of them up your ass to let you leave this village."
Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed, her comment obviously striking a nerve in the otherwise emotionless young man. He tossed his pack to the ground beside hers and crossed his arms tightly across his white shirt-clad chest.
There she goes again, toeing that fucking line. His little scare tactic against the pink-haired medic the other day obviously hadn't worked.
"You need to watch that mouth, Sakura. You have no idea what I'm capable of if you keep it up." He took a step towards the pinkette as she hauled herself up to her feet, ready to stand her ground. Yamato could be seen not too far off in the distance, casually strolling down the main road towards them.
"Don't flatter yourself, Uchiha. You waited until I was running on zero sleep and drained chakra to attack me. I will snap that neck like a fucking twig if you threaten me again. I am NOT afraid of you." She stood at her full height, her green eyes darkened by anger as she stared him down with all the confidence of a strong kunoichi.
Sasuke growled, his fists clenched tightly against his chest but said nothing more as Yamato finally appeared beside the pair. His deep brown eyes glanced quickly between the two, noting the defensive stances and palpable tension hanging thick in the air.
"Alright you two?" Sakura gave Sasuke one last hard look before nodding to Yamato. She spun on a heel and bent down to retrieve her pack.
Sasuke merely 'hnned' and snatched up his own discarded pack, a dark frown still marring his pale face. He needed to make her afraid. No one stood up to him like that, especially not a weak little bitch like her.
Kakashi appeared minutes later, his orange Icha-Icha already clutched delicately in one hand. A grey eye looked over each teammate quickly, lingering just a moment longer on Sakura when she made no bother to acknowledge him.
She seemed flustered, and he wondered if Sasuke had said something to her to get the young woman worked up. He would not put it past the Uchiha to get her riled up for his own amusement.
"Since we are all here, we can get going." With that said, the team of four passed through the gates to begin the two-day trip to lightning country.
The entire day of travel was spent mostly in silence, the group focused on making it as far as they could before night fell. This meant running at top speed for several hours – a tough feat for someone who had not been on a mission in a long while... The exhaustion was real!
Kakashi finally stopped the team at a small clearing not too long before sun set, satisfied with the amount of ground the team of four had covered.
"Mokuton: Shichūka no jutsu!" Yamato said, kneeling to the earth as his hands flipped through the necessary motions to create a basic wooden shelter that would keep the four comfortable and safe for the night.
He then moved around the exterior of the shelter, placing seals on each wall to keep them hidden from view. It wasn't completely necessary, but a good night's sleep without the need of a look out was well worth the extra effort.
The inside was nothing more than an open space with sufficient room for the four to sleep at a distance. Sakura entered almost immediately, tossing her pack down at the back corner and slumping down against the wall. Her body was no longer used to moving at such a fast pace for an extended period of time.
The pink-haired medic couldn't even remember the last time she left the village for a mission…
A quiet groan escaped her lips as she slid her hands from the tops of her thighs to the tips of her toes, pulsing soft green chakra into her sore muscles before they tightened up and caused a problem.
"Can't handle a little running, princess?" Sasuke's sarcastic jab from the opposite end of the shelter broke the young jonin from her concentration. She sneered in his direction, completely ignoring Yamato's entrance.
"So says the lowly chūnin. I saw the struggle on your face in the last hour of our trip. You can't fool these eyes…" The onyx-eyed Uchiha scoffed angrily, an irritated frown marring his pale face.
"You need to have your eyes checked then." Yamato looked from Sakura to Sasuke, watching the young man crouch down and pull out a canteen. He had never really worked with the Uchiha, having only seen him a handful of times- and, of course, heard all the stories from his time with team 7.
"Is there going to be a problem?" Brown eyes turned back to Sakura, but she wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were focused on her hands.
There was a big problem; a HUGE problem that was not going to go away. The only thing she could so was to keep Sasuke at a distance and focus solely on herself and her anbu goal.
Sakura needed this mission to go right; to prove herself to Kakashi.
Said copy-nin entered the shelter then, glancing briefly at the pinkette in the corner as he approached Yamato.
"We will be able to rest comfortably tonight. The area is secure." At Yamato's nod of confirmation, Kakashi turned to Sasuke. His lone eye crinkled ever so slightly with amusement.
"Sasuke, go collect some wood and start a fire." The affronted look the Uchiha shot the copy-nin was everything to Sakura, deciding in that instant that this mission was one-hundred percent worth it.
She had to hide the blossoming smirk with the back of her hand as Sasuke stormed out, unable to say no. Yamato shook his head, following the young man out to keep an eye on him. The council may have trusted the Uchiha, but they would be the only ones. That boy was dangerous…
The space felt far less cramped after the two left, and Sakura found her self taking a deep breath she hadn't known she needed. Sasuke's presence was suffocating to her.
She didn't dare look up at Kakashi; she knew exactly what he was going to say and she didn't want to hear it. Inner-Sakura sighed exasperatingly as the silver-haired Hokage crouched before the pinkette, forcing the jōnin medic to acknowledge him.
Her green eyes locked with his grey eye, stubbornly refusing to back down from whatever negative comments he was about to throw her way. Sakura was not going to let him tear her down, not when she was on her way to becoming anbu.
He nodded his head, gesturing at her legs stretched out on the wooden floor. "You alright?"
Sakura looked down, absentmindedly brushing a bit of dirt from her black pants. They were still sore, but at least she wouldn't cramp up in the middle of the night.
"I'm fine; just a touch sore. Nothing I can't handle, sensei." There was no way some aches and pains were going to affect her on this mission. She was getting into anbu no matter what it took. She needed to prove herself to all those who wanted nothing more than to see her fail.
Kakashi stood from his crouch, pulling a well-loved copy of Icha-Icha from his back pouch as he moved. "Good, lesson one: taking orders like you're a genin again. Go catch some fish for supper and get dinner made up." He cocked his head to the side with what she figured was an 'innocent' smile and vanished to go read his book.
"Jackass…"
Morning dawned early for the four-man team, leaving to continue their travel for lightning country just after dawn. Sakura stifled a yawn into the crook of her elbow, her green eyes staring ahead at Sasuke's back.
The nerves of being in such a closed space with the Uchiha got the better of her, so sleep was rough.
The pink-haired medic could see Yamato just beyond Sasuke, his soft brown eyes scanning the trees ahead of the group while Kakashi took up the rear. The jōnin was, as was typical of the tall man, reading his Icha-Icha novel as they moved.
Outwardly occupied, Sakura knew better than to assume he was distracted. He was the famous copy-nin after all. He knew exactly what was going on around them at all times.
The forest they were currently traveling through was almost eerily dark, though it was just past mid-day with a cloudless sky: no reason for it to be so dark. A chill ran down the pinkette's spine, goosebumps erupting along her exposed flesh at the uneasy feeling the forest gave her.
It was an overly typical place for a bunch of thugs to hide out in, which was why they were moving slowly through the area. If they didn't find the thugs, the thugs were going to find them.
As the doctor who had taken care of the three chūnin teams, Sakura had a vague understanding of what the ninja were capable of- nothing special. A few of them had sustained some serious injuries, but nothing that had been even remotely life-threatening.
These thugs were likely chūnin level at best; the four of them could handle ninja like that with a hand tied behind their back.
Yamato motioned suddenly for them to jump down from the trees they were traveling in, a relieving sign to the medic. Though she was feeling better than yesterday, that lack of sleep was really starting to seep into her bones.
She landed beside Sasuke silently, her green eyes side-eyeing the Uchiha briefly before turning her full attention to Yamato. She had worked with the man a few times prior to Pein's assault and had been fortunate to fight beside the man during the attack.
The jōnin was up there on the strange scale, right beside Sai, but she fully respected him as both a member of team seven and as a friend.
Kakashi strode past her, siding up to Yamato to talk quietly with him. Sakura shuffled her boot-clad feet in irritation, unhappy about the whispering.
She wasn't a little chūnin anymore like Sasuke was.
That thought made the pink-haired medic pause, her irritation melting into realization: they were more than likely discussing what to do with the Uchiha now that they were at their destination. Like Sakura, Kakashi and Yamato trusted Sasuke just about as much as they trusted a carton of milk left out in the sun for two weeks.
You could ignore all reason; trust the carton of milk and drink it, but boy oh boy are you going to regret it.
Green eyes looked away and studied the dark forest, idly searching for anything useful as she pulled out her water canteen for a long drink. A slight breeze rustled through her pink locks, pushing along through the woods in an almost relaxing way as it rustled through every leaf in its path.
Sasuke's impossibly dark eyes were also on the forest, shifting to study different bushes and trees that rustled in the slight breeze. She could see that his face was blank, not that it ever held any other resting emotion…
Sakura just hoped that the Uchiha was done going after her while they were out here. They were here for this mission and nothing else.
A throat being cleared startled the pinkette from her quiet thoughts and turned her attention to where Kakashi and Yamato stood. Sakura never noticed that the two stood at the same height…
Her gloved hand pulled a red apple from the pouch secured at her waist as the pair stepped forward to join the younger two members of the team. She could not think when she was hungry. Now was as good a time as any to enjoy a snack.
"According to Gai, the teams of chūnin were in this approximate area when they encountered the rogue ninja. With at least 8 confirmed rogues, you can imagine we will have our hands full once we locate them." Kakashi decidedly ignored the look of irritation that passed across the Uchiha's face at the mention of having their hands full.
"I'd prefer that we take them all into custody alive," he continued, this time directing a knowing look at Sasuke, who merely crossed his arms. "but I will leave each of you to make your best judgement." Sakura chanced a look at Sasuke, unsurprised to see that he was angry.
"So, are we just going to sit here and wait for them?" Sasuke asked, his deep voice giving the medic goosebumps. She looked up from her apple then, curious to see what they had decided on as the plan of action.
Inner Sakura grumbled at Kakashi and Yamato having left them out of the huddle. While Sakura agreed with her inner, she knew getting bent out of shape was going to do no good. More important things were at hand.
The quicker they ended this mission, the quicker she could put distance between herself and Sasuke.
"Actually, yes. We are going to set up camp right here." The smile on Yamato's face unnerved her, looking more like a masochist than a friendly teammate. It was clear Yamato was as done with Sasuke's shit attitude as she was.
Sasuke 'tsked' loudly. "We should be out there hunting them down like the worthless animals they are." He gestured a hand at the dark woods, his equally dark eyes staring the jōnin down. Yamato only stared back, unaffected by the young mans challenge at authority.
Sakura threw her apple core off into the woods carelessly.
"Wrong, Sasuke. Doing that puts us in their territory; it gives them the advantage. We never let an enemy nin get the upper hand, not when we have the opportunity and the time to keep the advantage on our side." She couldn't help the prideful smile that split her face when Yamato nodded and Kakashi waved a pointed hand in her direction, wordlessly motioning for Sasuke to heed his pink-haired teammates' words.
Very good, Sakura. Never let the enemy gain the upper hand. Only foolish, brash with a death wish ninja go looking for a fight." The Uchiha sneered at the medic, clearly agitated by her words.
She returned the sneer with a sarcastic wink, uncaring of the fallout that would undoubtedly occur. Now all of his anger was going to be her fault, but she didn't care in that moment.
Sasuke wasn't going to touch her again; especially with both Kakashi and Yamato close by.
With a nod to Kakashi, Sakura set off a few yards into the woods to take care of some business while Yamato erected another simple shelter for the four of them to sleep in that night.
Perched atop a large limb near the top of one of the tall trees that circled the camp, Sakura sat quietly meditating as the cool breeze from the north slipped comfortably along her exposed flesh.
She was never one for hot weather, preferring to enjoy the cooler days and dewy summer mornings as much as possible. There weren't a whole lot of those days back in Konoha, living in fire country and all; but Sakura made it work.
The forest seemed far less oppressive from above, hence her choice to sit so high to meditate in peace.
Pink hair swayed gently against her back as she and her inner ran through every injury the chūnin sustained, trying to determine if there was anything new that stood out to them since treating all the injuries last week.
She could recall two having severe burns, hinting to a possible fire jutsu; and there were three that sustained deep, straight cuts made by a weapon far sharper and longer than a kunai.
"One of the rogues wields a katana." She said aloud, feeling the familiar presence appear on the branch beside her. She didn't need her eyes to know when Kakashi was near.
The large limb groaned quietly as the second occupant sat down, 'hmming' lightly at the kunoichi's words. He had read her files before the mission, pouring through her meticulous notes on all the injuries she had found and healed.
He too had come to that conclusion and found it impressive to see her working to the same conclusion with her quiet meditation.
"A sloppy one at that. I read through your notes… It seems to me like the rogue nin was just swinging carelessly, hoping to make a hit. He may be a novice, but the strength behind those swings is what will make him dangerous." He looked over to the pink-haired medic just as her eyes opened, his heart disobeying him by skipping a beat.
The way the forest reflected in her green eyes was a sight he never knew he wanted to see. When did his student grow up?
Sakura smiled lightly, feeling a little self-conscious at the intensity in which Kakashi's grey eye watched her. Did she have something on her face?
"I'm sure he will be someone Sasuke will have no problems handling. I've seen him in action with his sword and I will admit he is good… dangerously good." As if to prove her point, said Uchiha threw a handful of kunai at a tree, all four expertly hitting their intended mark.
The twisted smirk on his lips led her to believe he knew that she had been watching him and she turned away just as his dark eyes looked up to where she sat. Her long fingers dug into the bark of the limb, uncomfortable at the Uchiha's attention.
"Excellent, I'll be leaving you to take the first watch." Her head swiveled around to give the jōnin a sour look, her upper lip curled with a playful irritation. Kakashi chuckled lightly.
He held a hand up in greeting when Yamato appeared at the entrance to the shelter and looked up at the pair sitting high up in the tree.
"Sneer all you want, Sakura; you're our bait!" Sakura ran a hand through her pink hair, expecting him to say that. Out of the four, she was the logical choice to draw a bunch of dirty rogues out of the forest.
"Yes, because there is nothing more terrifying than a pink-haired medic." Kakashi plucked some pink hair from the young woman's shoulder and let it slip through his fingers like a silken ribbon.
"The beautiful ones are always the most dangerous…" He regretted the words as soon as they left his masked lips. Standing quickly, Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sakura was left wide-eyed and scrambling to keep from falling off the tree limb.
Inner Sakura cackled with delight at the situation they had found themselves in. The great and powerful copy-nin of Konoha, running away from a woman.
Kakashi re-appeared at the fire that burned brightly just a few yards from the shelter and collapsed onto a stump beside Yamato with a heavy sigh.
"Fan-fucking-tastic."
Until next time, my nerds! Take care!
