"What's our first mission?" Naruto asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement. If Kakashi had been over an hour late it had better be something good. "Oh, I know, it will obviously be an A rank mission. No, maybe it's a B rank," he conceded, "just to test our skills. Well, which is it?" He demanded.
"Neither," Kakashi answered.
Naruto frowned. "You're not sending us on a C rank mission are you?"
Sakura frowned as well. She knew it had been a long time since the three of them had worked together, but she would feel degraded if they were given anything less than a B rank mission. Chuunin never got C or lower ranked missions.
"Nope, it's not a C rank," Kakashi told them.
Naruto scowled openly. There was only one option left. "A D rank mission? Come on, Kakashi-Sensei! What the hell is everyone going to say when they find out we're doing Genin level work!"
"You still are a Genin, Naruto," Kakashi was quick to remind him. "But no, it's not a D rank mission either."
Sakura and Naruto exchanged confused looks.
"What else is there?" Sakura asked.
Kakashi regarded the three of them and said, "training."
"Training?" Naruto scoffed. "I spent three years doing nothing but training and now you're telling me I have to do more?"
"This isn't just any training, its teamwork training," Kakashi clarified.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, still not understanding what he was getting at. "Huh? What for?"
"I thought Tsunade wanted another team in the field as soon as possible," said Sakura.
"While that's true, there's no point in sending out a team that isn't ready. By that I mean, having a team that functions almost as a single mind. There's no distrust or worry that a team member won't pull their share of the weight. It's been three years since you two have completed a mission together. Individually, you each have your own strengths. As you did when you first became Team 7, you need to find a way to fit together and function as a shinobi unit."
"How long will this training last?" Naruto dared to ask.
"As long as it needs to," Kakashi responded, his tone serious. "Today's lesson will be about communication," he told them. "I think the best way to do accomplish that is to return to the basics."
Naruto and Sakura watched as he pulled a shiny silver object on a string out of his pocket.
"You remember the bell test, right? Let's see if you can actually pass it this time," he said, dangling the bell in front of them.
Then he took off, and after a moment's hesitation Sakura and Naruto followed in pursuit.
With sore and aching muscles Sakura returned home after a day of training with Kakashi and Naruto.
"Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes, Sakura," her mother called to her from the kitchen.
Sakura managed a nod and trudged up the stairs.
Despite all the grueling training both Kakashi and Gai had put her through and the extra training she had done on the side with Lee, her body still managed to ache in new areas.
But she was proud of one thing. Before when she had been part of Team 7, she did not have the strength to compete, let alone keep up with Naruto and Sasuke. In their absence she had trained excessively to improve her stamina, an area she had always been severely weak in. While she was still nowhere near as strong as Naruto, she no longer tired easily and did not slow him down.
She was crossing the hall towards the bathroom so she could take a hot shower when she caught a flicker of movement in her room. All thoughts of relaxing in a hot shower vanished. Removing her kunai from its holster, she moved towards where the intruder was hiding. Poised to attack, she entered her room – only to stop dead in her tracks.
Sasuke was bent over her dresser staring at the photos she had in the frames there. He raised an eyebrow at the kunai in her hand.
"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing here?" What she really wanted to ask was what was he doing there, in her room of all places. More to the point, had he escaped ANBU custody again?
"What do you want?" She asked again when he said nothing.
"You've changed. You never had stamina like that when we trained with Kakashi.
"Yeah, well people change," she said sharply, trying not to be unnerved by the fact that he had been watching her train.
"I don't regret leaving," he said, looking at her. "You must understand by now that I had no other choice. If I had stayed, I would have been a danger to you and Naruto. You would no longer have been able to depend on me during missions."
"I think you're giving yourself too much credit," she said icily. "Why are you even still here?" He was silent, his eyes flickering towards something on her desk.
"The way I choose to live my life has nothing to do with you, Sakura. I have my path and you have yours. Sometimes I wish that mine could follow yours or Naruto's, but that's not possible. If you come after me again, you'll get hurt," he warned.
"I guess this means you're leaving," she said knowingly.
"I shouldn't have even stayed this long."
"Yes, you don't want to keep Orochimaru waiting."
"If something's on your mind just say it," Sasuke said to her.
There was one question that had been burning in her mind since that day he had left Leaf Village. "Did you betray Konoha to Orochimaru?"
"No, I didn't."
Even from Sasuke, she had been expecting more of an answer than that. Two years ago she would have trusted him without question, but he wasn't that same person anymore.
"Good-bye, Sakura," he said, and then leapt down to the ground from her balcony, leaving her alone.
The wind was blowing through her room, rustling the pages of the single book laying open on her desk. Sakura realized then what Sasuke had been looking at – the book Hinata had given her.
Tsunade strolled through the empty halls of the ninja academy. This late in the afternoon, most classes had already ended for the day. But the Hokage knew of one class in particular that was still in session.
She peered in through the partially open door of one of the classrooms, seeing about fifteen or so students listening with rapt attention to the instructor at the front of that room. Actually, she noticed all but one individual listening closely as Sakura explained the diagram on the board. Sakura glanced at the clock on the wall, and noting the time as well as Tsunade standing there, dismissed the class.
"Next week we'll begin work on amphibians. Please go through the chapter in your book so you'll understand what's going on," she heard Sakura say to the class.
Tsunade filed in past the students rushing to get out, most stopping long enough to bow their heads respectively at the Hokage, which Tsunade returned with a smile. She wasn't big on formalities.
"Checking up on me?"
She was smiling, but it was a fake cheerfulness Tsunade had learned to see through.
"Just thought I'd stop by and see how it's going. You let them out on time. No wonder they look so forlorn when I fill in while you're away on missions. I always keep them late."
"Healing is an intense subject. Sometimes I forget that and I lose some of them," she told Tsunade. "For the most part, the class is great."
"Any problem students?"
The way Tsunade said it told Sakura she already knew the answer. "Only one – Konohamaru."
Tsunade nodded her head, waiting for her to continue.
"But he's a natural with healing. His written tests are well below average but his practical skills are among the best in the class. I think he has a problem with being the only guy in the class. He thinks being a medic-nin is a woman's job."
"Ah, yes, I've had many conversations with him about that. While it's true that healing seems to be a trait that shows up much more often in females, there is nothing degrading about being a male medic-nin."
"So what are you going to do about him?"
"Actually, it's what are you going to do," Tsunade corrected. "It's your class now. There is one person Konohamaru tends to listen to. I suggest you talk to him."
Sakura nodded in agreement and began to wipe off the chalkboard with the day's lesson on it.
"How's Team 7 these days?"
Sakura shrugged and continue to wipe off the board.
"I suppose you've already told your other teammates."
Sakura turned around to the sight of Tsunade sitting atop one of the desks with her legs swinging over the side. She remembered gaping at the Hokage the first time she had seen her acting so informal. Now, she was just accustomed to seeing her like this. "I think they already suspect. But I'm meeting them later, so I'll tell them then."
"It's important for Konoha to have another strong team," Tsunade said to her. "Kakashi is going to ask Naruto to take the Chuunin exam – not that he'll need any persuading," she said with a smile. "But as long as he remains a Genin, his choice of missions will be much smaller. No matter what his skill level, other countries and villages will not respond well to us sending low rank shinobi on top priority missions," Tsunade finished, standing up. "What's on your mind, Sakura?" She asked, seeing the troubled expression on the young woman's face.
"Since returning from the Snow Country, I've been thinking a lot about studying to be a medic-nin full time. Tsunade, please don't take this the wrong way. I know how much I've learned from you, how far I've come, but I still think there's still so much for me to know."
"I see," Tsunade said, her brows knitted together. "Was this brought on by my decision to reform Team 7?"
It was a fair question. "I just saw how in depth the study of healing was there, and here it's hard to get anyone to take it seriously. We have two classes a week and even that sometimes feels like a waste," she said frustrated. "They have missions and all their other training that healing becomes a low priority because their team will get on their case for not practicing useful jutsu's instead."
"Now you understand what I had to fight through to even get this much," Tsunade said, feeling Sakura's frustration. "Snow Country has the resources to devote an entire academy to healing because that is one of their most common inherited traits. Konoha may seem like a joke in comparison, but every idea needs time flourish and grow. You don't see it, but what we've accomplished in three years was more than I ever did as a shinobi in service to this village. All Genin and Chuunin level teams have at least one team member with a working knowledge of healing and medicine. Even ANBU is beginning to consider the option of having a medic-nin with each platoon. Sakura, forgoing your shinobi duties to pursue being a full time medic-nin is your decision – and one that I support. Just make sure it's the reason and not the excuse."
Even as Tsunade said those words, she knew they would have little effect on Sakura if she had already made up her mind.
When Neji entered the pub, he thought of at least a dozen other places he would rather be than the popular Leaf hangout. One of them was even the Hyuuga party he had just come from, which Hiashi had thrown to impress the merchants of the latest contract he signed for trading rights.
Tenten waved him over and masking his reluctance, Neji made for the table his teammates were seated at.
"I know you said you would be late," Tenten began, "but I thought it would be before closing."
"I had duties at a Hyuuga function. I could not leave before now," he explained. "Why are we meeting here?" He looked at Lee, who appeared to be sulking and even Tenten wasn't as energetic as usual.
"Kakashi is reforming Team 7," said Sakura, looking directly at him.
He had the distinct feeling she was waiting for some sort of reaction from him, but all he said was, "ah."
"How soon is this effective?" Lee asked her.
"Immediately. We've already started training. As soon as Kakashi decides we're ready he'll begin asking for missions."
"You must be excited to work side by side with the Uchiha again," Neji said, even though he was sure Sasuke was still in ANBU custody. He felt Tenten's foot kick him under the table. Her look was deadly.
"Actually, Sasuke is gone and he's not coming back." That was all the answer Sakura gave her former teammates and none of them seem inclined to press the subject – except for Neji. Sakura was sure the only thing stopping him was that he didn't care to get tangled in her personal life.
"It's not like we'll never get the chance to train together again," she said after a moment. "Besides, Tsunade's always mixing teams for various missions."
"Tenten is a knowledgeable medic. We'll be fine without you."
Sakura clenched her jaw, refusing to take the bait. However, Lee never passed up the opportunity to defend her honour.
"Sakura-san is a great medic-nin. Any team would be lucky to have her. You would be dead if it wasn't for her."
"You might want to consider joining Team 7, Lee. Then your dream of seeing Sakura every day can be fulfilled," Neji said coldly
"Neji!" Tenten admonished.
"I need to get back," Neji announced standing up. Ignoring the resentful glare Lee was sending his way he walked out of the pub without another word to any of them.
He didn't breathe easier until he was out in the open. At least he had been feeling calmer until she showed up.
"I really am going to miss you acting like you're better than everyone else," said Sakura from the doorway of the pub. The statement wasn't true; Neji hadn't acted that way in a very long time. But he had effectively ruined what was supposed to be their last night together as a team and that made her angry.
"And I will miss your constant whining," he returned, keeping his back to her.
Sakura buried deep inside her the choice response she had in mind for him. Instead, she wanted to turn the focus to the scene that kept replaying over and over in her head since the other day. "I can't seem to figure you out," she said to him. "You can be kind but distant, and now you're acting the way Tenten told me you were when you first became a Genin."
He didn't know what kind of answer she was looking for. He had never been good at expressing words or feelings, just burying them.
"Neji."
He would never understand how something as innocent as her saying his name could affect him so.
"You kissed me," she said, her voice dropping in volume.
No longer could he avoid looking at her. He faced her, saying, "it was a mistake."
She should have been relieved and let it go at that. But for some strange reason it felt like a slap in the face to hear him say that. "It's a good thing Hinata gave me that book since I don't understand you at all."
Neji's eyes became dangerous slits. "What book?"
"It explains the Byakugan, and other uses it can have besides defensive –"
"You had no right to pry into the Hyuuga family history," Neji snapped. It was only his anger that kept his embarrassment from showing at what Sakura could have possibly found in her readings. "If you spent less time snooping around in matters that didn't concern you perhaps you would be a better shinobi."
"You know, if you weren't so emotionally repressed you would be able to express your feelings in other ways besides through the Byakugan," Sakura countered.
Neji took a dangerous step towards her, effectively closing the distance between them. "You do not know anything about me," he hissed, his voice shaking with barely restrained rage. "Do you think I enjoy having these feelings? He shouted at her. "I hate them and would give anything to stop feeling like this!"
Angry with himself for so easily giving in and letting his emotions run wild, he stormed off. As expected, Sakura didn't follow him. He would be a fool to think otherwise. Haruno Sakura would never fall for a cold bastard like him.