Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto so don't sue me if you hate this story.
Author's Note: Squee! Reviews! Thank you so much, I love you all! Anyway, check out my other story: Beyond Rivalry. Chapter is dedicated to WingedTdg!
Chapter Five
The huge Hyuuga mansion loomed regally over the horizon, its towering pewter gates reflecting in the sunlight. Neatly trimmed hedges sat on the outskirts of the estate, some cut to resemble animals. Sakura whistled as she strode through the cobblestone pathway to the front door. Lately Sakura had been given the impression that Hinata was trying to avoid her, and she just wanted to check if there was anything wrong. As she approached the heavy, oak double doors, she lifter the metal knocker and knocked three times. A light scuffling was heard from the inside as a shy eye cracked the door open. Sakura smiled, "Hey, Hinata-chan."
"Oh," Hinata sighed, "Sakura. What is it?"
A single pink eyebrow raised in suspicion. Why didn't she call her 'Sakura-chan'? "Hinata-chan, what's wrong?"
The white eyed girl sighed. She was still a little upset that Naruto had given Sakura a pet name. "It's nothing… except, why does Naruto-kun call you 'Sakura-chan'?"
It didn't take long for Sakura to understand. She almost gagged in disgust at Hinata's assumption. "Ew, gross! Did you really think he was going out with me or something?"
Hinata's face flushed a ripe shade of pink as she lowered her gaze to the marble floor. "Mhmm." she mumbled.
Sakura placed a hand on the shy girl's shoulder. "Don't worry, Naruto always calls people with pet names. You shouldn't worry about that."
The Hyuuga heiress smiled a little. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."
"What's going on here?" A figure leaned on the staircase behind Hinata, his piercing white eyes glaring at Sakura's hooded form.
"N-Neji-sama," Hinata shrunk under his scrutiny. "D-Does something t-trouble you?"
Sakura snarled lightly. Hinata was the heiress of the Main House and Neji's superior, yet she refers to him as if he's the boss of her. She wanted so much to yell at him and say 'Why is it any of your business, Hyuuga-teme?' But no. It was his business what Hinata did; it was in Hiashi's orders for him to watch her. 'Stupid, arrogant, egotistical, wannabee, loser, nerd, preppy, idiot…' Naiteki went down her list of spiteful adjectives for the Hyuuga.
"I-I was just t-talking t-to S-S-Sakura-chan," the timid female stuttered, "and w-we were about t-to go for a walk."
"Is there a problem with that?" Sakura asked, her tone as cold as ice.
"Hn," Neji answered. He left afterwards, but cast one last lingering glance at Sakura.
She let out a breath that she had been holding. "Come on, Hinata-chan. Let's get out of here before your 'bodyguard' over there comes back and makes me go through a strip search or something."
"That doesn't sound so bad." shouted a familiar, coffee-colored head. Sakura and Hinata blushed furiously as the pink-haired genin grabbed her friend and ushered her off the estate.
The pair was conversing casually as they passed through the markets and vendors, occasionally stopping for a bite or trinket here and there. Both of them giggled as they saw an entertainer perform a comedy routine for money. Sakura dropped a few coins while Hinata stuffed a couple bills into his jar. The strawberry haired girl sweat dropped. Rich old Hinata made her look like some cheapskate. Then again Sakura barely made enough money to support herself anyways.
'Ah, it's times like these when you feel like there's not a care in the world!' Naiteki stretched out on her imaginary lawn chair, chewing happily on a dango. 'Mff, it's heaven!'
Most of the genin were off today, but not team seven. Since Sai and Sasuke had not directly passed Kakashi's test, they were asked to join the jounin for a little teamwork practice session. Naruto and Sakura were free to do as they pleased, at least until sundown. This morning, they had received word that they were to take on a C-class mission, and were required to depart the village by sundown. All Kakashi had told them was that they had to guard some old guy named Tazuna. 'Pfft, whatever. This will be a piece of cake.'
As they continued down the road, Sakura was busily listening to Hinata tell her about something that happened during training. She was drifting in and out of the conversation, occasionally catching a few phrases such as "Kabuto put…" and "bugs in Kiba's pants…" While Hinata was busily retelling her memories, Sakura had her eyes glued to the concrete as she kicked a tiny pebble along. Since she wasn't exactly paying attention, she did not notice the blonde that was heading straight for her. With a loud "WHAM!" both girls collided with each other, Sakura grunted and fell back; Ino squeaked as she plopped down on her tush.
"Watch where you're going, freak!" Ino yelled as she dusted her clothes off.
'WHAT! You should watch where you're going next time! We were perfectly in line with the street.' Naiteki stuck her tongue out.
"Sorry." Sakura muttered. Naiteki fumed.
"You'd better be sorry," Ino scoffed. "I just spent three hours this morning, trying to make myself presentable to Sasuke."
Sakura narrowed her eyes at the way Ino spoke of him like a god. He really wasn't all that, and she was just wasting her time hoping that the heartless boy would ever notice her. "You're wasting your time, Yamanaka."
"Erm," Hinata helped Sakura up, "W-We're sorry, Ino-s-san. Next time, we'll, um, w-watch where we're g-going…"
"Humph." Ino puffed up her chest and walked off with a mock-dignity. Viridian eyes trailed after the blonde.
"You know, Ino-pig," Sakura said to her retreating back, "You shouldn't spend all your time on Sasuke. He's not worth it. You've got the potential to be one of the best kunoichi, and maybe you'd unlock that if you spent more time on training than your looks."
The blue eyed girl stopped walking and tensed her shoulders. Sakura could tell by her body position and shadow contour that the Yamanaka girl was in deep thought. "That's none of your business…" Ino began to move again, this time with a slower, more contemplative pace. Sakura sighed and led Hinata in the opposite direction.
"What was that all about?" Hinata questioned.
"Nothing. Just keep moving."
Kakashi licked his thumb and flipped through another page of his precious hentai novel. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched with a pleasant contentment at his two struggling students. He laughed silently to himself. For the teamwork training, Kakashi had placed both of their right arms in a Chinese finger trap, except this one was made of a ninja cloth that didn't break as easily and encompassed their entire arm. Right now, Sai and Sasuke were grunting, furiously trying to free themselves from the "arm cuffs." Neither was willing to touch the other from inside the trap.
"You know," Kakashi slurred, "The more you pull the tighter it will get." The boys growled at their sensei.
Sai and Sasuke both knew how to get out, except they weren't exactly thrilled at the process. See, they had to move their arms closer together so that they could focus their chakra flows and make them in sync (A/N: hahaha in sync…) with each other. Only then would the trap weaken and allow them to break free. Kakashi thought this was a wonderful way to demonstrate teamwork. If they could get this basic fundamental of synchronizing team chakra down, then the doors would fly open for them. Err, well, hypothetically of course.
"Move your fingers to the right." Sasuke commanded.
"No, you move yours to the left." Sai retorted.
"Just shut up and listen to me."
" Since when are you the boss?"
"You two must be very fond of each other," Kakashi remarked as he glanced over at them. "This is a very simple task, and both of you are making this last longer than it should. Perhaps this is just an excuse for you to spend more time with each other, ne?"
Sai and Sasuke nearly doubled over at Kakashi's comment, both beginning to turn green in the face. "That is the worst assumption anyone could make."
The jounin smirked and buried his nose back into his beloved, orange novel. His two pupils were making good progress in his opinion. Yes, this arguing was "progress." Originally, the two had opted for other methods of freedom, from trying to incinerate the trap to clawing their ways out. None of them worked. Well, at least now they were beginning to agree with each other.
"I don't see why anyone would want to spend time with you." Sai said.
"Because your damned eyes are always closed. How the hell do you see through them? They're so small- it's like little paper cuts."
"At least my hair doesn't look like a chicken's ass."
Sasuke growled at the artist nin and hurled a snap kick at his back. As a result, the obsidian haired nin grunted and fell forward, dragging the Uchiha with him. Both landed unceremoniously on the rugged grass, snarling and glaring at the other. Kakashi perked up from his seat and smiled. "Ah, Sasuke has just given me two wonderful examples." The jounin walked up to them. "Theoretically, if one member of the team falls then he drags the others with him." His one visible eye crinkled at the two scowling boys. "Another example: if one member of the team betrays the others, then they all fall." Kakashi's face darkened by several degrees as he stared intently at his two male students. Both pairs of eyes were now focused on the jounin, half filled with wonder and half filled with frustration. Why did the silver-haired jounin put so much emphasis on that last phrase?
"What, do you think we're going to betray Konoha or something?" Sai joked.
"It could happen, Sai," Kakashi said with a hint of coldness in his voice. "It's been done before. But, Konoha doesn't take too kindly to its traitors."
"Aa," Sasuke said as he brought himself up. Sai followed suit.
"Now, you boys get back to your training. Don't want to be here all day, do we?"
The boys nodded and went back to work… the arguing came only seconds later. Kakashi sighed and took some cotton out from a pouch and stuffed it in his ears. There, all better. He smiled and proceeded to read his book again. 'Heehee, Jiraiya you write the best novels. Oh, oh my…'
Sakura raised a nimble, wan hand to lift her signature tresses out of her eyes. Just because people couldn't see her hair didn't mean it couldn't get all tangled in front of her face from time to time. Her nostrils were instantly invaded by the calming aroma of a forest waiting to be traveled. She saw several tourists walk past her and gaze at Konoha in wonder, eagerly taking in the sights. Few opted to just slouch away and head for the nearest bar. Overall, it was a humble and hospitable city. Sakura pulled up the knapsack on her back and sat on a concrete bench with Hinata. The Hyuuga girl was saying her final goodbyes before her friend had to leave for the mission. As they talked, a figure quietly crept up behind them.
"Sakura-chan!" it shouted as it wrapped its arms around her shoulders.
"Gah, what the hell!" sputtered the pink-haired nin. Whoever that person was, she was going to kill them. Inside her mind, Naiteki was busy scrambling around as she attempted to calm her frenzied heart. 'That freak just gave me a flipping stroke!'
White eyes widened at the figure. "N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispered, shrinking back in her jacket.
The said boy grinned. "Hey Hinata-san!"
Hinata only squeaked and hid her face in the collar of her jacket, desperately trying to control the magenta color that appeared at her cheeks.
"Get off me!" Sakura yelled as she slapped the blonde away. "You're cutting off my blood supply."
"Aw," Naruto pouted, "Sakura-chan, I was only trying to be nice." He looked up at her with puppy dog eyes, his lip quivering ever so lightly. She sighed. Honestly, Naruto could be a real child sometimes. 'Err, well, all the time actually.'
"I'm sorry for being mean." Sakura grumbled as she pet him on the head. He grinned. Hinata watched with a tinge of jealousy forming in her heart.
"Yay! Thank you, Sakura-chan!" With that last note, he took a seat next to Hinata. "So, what's up Hinata-san?"
The Hyuuga girl could only squeak and burrow into her jacket. Hinata was too embarrassed to even breathe around the childish genin. With every passing second, her face turned a deeper shade of red. Sakura swore that the Hyuuga heiress even invented two new colors. The Haruno girl nudged her friend in the arm. "Talk to him," she whispered, "Tell him why we're here."
The Hyuuga heiress shook her head vigorously, her white eyes pleading Sakura not to force her. Sakura frowned and stepped on Hinata's foot. "Eep!"
"Hinata-san?" Naruto's ears perked up in wonder.
Hinata shot a furious glare at her best friend and turned back towards the blonde. Her breath was literally caught in her throat and it looked as if she was about to faint. "U-um, w-we were…"
Just then, three all too familiar figure burst into the room, two of them causing quite a ruckus while the other tried to calm them. 'Oh no.' Hinata threw her hands up and silently thanked the lord for this much needed interruption.
"Are you blind? I'm not the homo; you're the one who's always trying to grab the dickless wonder's ass every time we train."
"Well why are you looking there anyways?" A male with spiky, raven hair snorted.
"Aha," Sai pointed, "You didn't deny the fact that you try to grab his crotch, therefore you are the gay."
"What the fuck is your problem with homosexuality?"
"Oh I don't hate them. It's just that-"
Sasuke cut in. "You don't hate them because you are one."
Sai narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat. "Haha, very funny."
"Kids, kids," a much older jounin stepped into the conversation and placed his gloved hands between the snarling boys, "Calm down. We're just about to head out for our first mission. You can beat the crap out of each other when we get back."
"Kakashi-kun!" a voice called out to the jounin. His single, ebony eye flickered as he saw a familiar hooded figure wave frantically at him. Sai and Sasuke ceased their struggling and stopped to see their female teammate approach them. "Ready to go?"
"Reeaaaddyy!" Naruto yelled as he pulled up his backpack for all his teammates to see. Unfortunately, it was upside down and all the contents fell out. About 5/6 of it was ramen. "Oh… heehee." He scratched his head sheepishly. Sakura's features softened, Hinata giggled, and the other three males sweat dropped. 'Oh Naruto. What are we going to do with you?'
"Alright, let's meet our client. He should be here in about… now."
"U-um," Hinata fidgeted with her fingers. "I-I guess I'll b-be going now… G-Good luck Sakura-chan." Sakura smiled and waved at her friend's retreating back.
Up ahead, an elderly man with an astonishingly firm build approached them. He was dressed as a simple, impoverished village man; a straw hat and some ragged clothes his bearings. In his cracked hands he held a worn bottle of sake from which he drank generously. He scanned them with semi-bloodshot eyes. "Eh, so this is it then?"
"Yup, we're your new body guards!" Naruto shouted boisterously. He saluted the old man.
"Dobe."
"Dickless idiot."
Sakura sighed and slapped her wide forehead. Tazuna sweat dropped. "Eh, are you sure these kids are capable of such a mission?"
Kakashi smiled and pat Naruto's head, earning a "Hey!" from his blonde pupil. "Don't worry, Tazuna-san. These genin are exceptionally strong and talented. I think they will fair well in this mission."
"Hn, alright," he said as he began to walk outside the village gates. Team seven followed thereafter. As soon as they left the village gates, Sakura's sense were assaulted by the wondrous beauty of the outside wilderness. Truly, she had never once stepped foot outside of the quaint little village, because Konoha already had training forests she could use. But those forests were groomed, gardened, and designed specifically for ninja. These woods, the ones residing outside of the city, were wild and uncharted, growing to their heart's desire and charming passer bys with their own natural beauty. Sakura giggled as she poked around the area, taking in the sights for the very first time.
The boys stared at her in wonder as she ran back and forth, pointing at trivial things such as underbrush. "Hey, hoody-kid," Tazuna frowned, "What's up with your sightseeing? We're just outside your village."
Sakura frowned. She didn't take too lightly on the nickname he had dubbed her with. "I know that," Sakura said, "But I've never been outside the village before. This is my first time, and my first C-level mission!" She then proceeded on in her sightseeing.
At that last statement, Tazuna stopped abruptly and froze. His gray head was cast towards the dirt-ridden road as his shoulders tensed. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his behavior. 'What's up with him?'
'This is going to be so awesome! Cha!' Naiteki stuck an imaginary fist in the air. Honestly, this was Sakura's first official C-level mission. The girl was able to complete missions way beyond her expectations, such as A-level or solo B-leveled ones. Naiteki was an incredibly powerful force and helped a lot in training. She was strong enough to complete missions, but never really got assigned one until now.
Sakura skipped lightly on the worn path as Naruto trailed behind her, asking curious questions as to why she was so excited. Sai and Sasuke smiled at the girl, but of course Sai's was a fake one…. Or was it? Tazuna and Kakashi were busy discussing terms and mission schedule, with Tazuna occasionally tensing up and acting a bit uncomfortable. This queer behavior did not pass unnoticed by the jounin.
'I hope,' Tazuna thought, 'That they'll be able to live through this mission… Let's pray that they're strong enough to face them.'
Hehe... sorry I tok so long! I was kind of busy... anyway, for the fans of Condemned, I'm having a little writer's block with that too. Sorry! Hehe... well anyways, reviews! no flames! no!