Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Warning- OOC

Chapter 17- First mission

"Congratulations!" a group of people cheered as a young pink-haired lady entered her apartment.

There in her living room stood her friends, sensei and the other teams' sensei. All of them are smiling (smirking for some) proudly at her.

The room has been decorated with streamers, different colored balloons, and a banner that says "Congratulations!" in glittery pink color.

A cake with pink and white frosting greeted her as she went in. People are also giving her proud remarks as she walked in nearer to them.

"We knew you could do it, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed with enthusiasm.

"Yeah, Forehead-girl!" Ino said with the same tone as Naruto's.

"Congrats, Sakura," Kakashi said while giving her a pat on the head. "for officially becoming a jounin."

"Thanks," she replied feeling really touched that all of them are supporting her.

Sakura joined in the jounin exam that recently took place, and she passed with flying colors. Of course, everyone knew that she's capable of passing it easily, but all the same they still supported her to be a success.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's eat!" Kiba said while Akamaru barked in approval.

"I still can't believe that that Akamaru used to stand on top of your head, Kiba," Naruto said while pointing at Akamaru whose size increased ten times as before.

"Eh? I don't know what you're talking about," Kiba said while scratching the back of his head.

"I mean, one day I saw him in the size of a normal dog, and then I see him that huge," Naruto said with exaggerated hand movements.

"Hm…I really didn't notice. I'm always with him so…I didn't notice the "huge" change," Kiba replied.

Sakura just took a seat on her sofa as Kakashi and Gai talked- more likely Gai talked while Kakashi reads his Icha Icha Paradise totally ignoring Gai. Kurenai and Asuma are also in deep conversation.

She also saw Ino yelling at Shikamaru at how lazy he is, and Shikamaru saying how troublesome women are. Chouji just watched in amusement while eating chips. Lee is supporting Gai, saying something about the fire of youth. Hinata and Shino are just seated, observing them quietly, but Naruto soon came and accompanied Hinata.

"Hey, Sakura," a deep sexy voice said from her side. She looked at the source of the voice to see Sasuke taking the seat next to her. He was carrying a plate with a slice of the cake and a fork. "Here." he said as he handed it to her. "You must be tired," he stated as a fact not a question.

"Yeah, I'm sort of tired. My back is kind of aching. I don't know why," she admitted while taking a piece of cake in her mouth.

"Hn," came his reply. He gently rubbed her back, much to Sakura's surprise. He did it for a few minutes and said, "Feel better?"

"Much." She replied with a smile. She then leaned on his chest for some comfort.

"Hey, love birds," Tenten teased, seeing the two get comfortable on the couch.

Sakura flushed at the comment while Sasuke just remained calm as if it's a normal thing to hear.

"Uchiha." Neji greeted, keeping eye contact with Sasuke.

"Hyuuga." Sasuke greeted, keeping eye contact with Neji.

If you look at them, it's as if they're glaring at each other. Even though they aren't, it looks like they are.

"Some things never change," muttered both females while sweat dropping.

"Anyway, congrats," Tenten said happily. "Hmm…I wonder when your first mission as a jounin will be."

"Um…to tell you the truth, I already have an upcoming mission," Sakura confessed, feeling a bit proud about her new status. "Tsunade-sama called me in her office awhile ago, and she told me that I'll be having my first mission as a jounin about a week from now."

"Really? That's great! Do you know who'll be with you on that mission?" Tenten asked curiously.

"Uh…so far, I only know one. That person is Naruto," Sakura replied.

Sasuke frowned slightly at what he heard. He didn't expect her first mission this early; although he knew perfectly well that she'll be safe, he wanted to be with her. "I'll ask Tsunade-sama if I could join too," he said.

"You can't," Neji said, noticing the Uchiha's slight frown awhile ago. "I understand that you're feeling a bit overprotective of Sakura, but you can't join their mission. Tsunade-sama appointed us with another mission on the same date as theirs," he said calmly.

"I see," Sasuke answered while folding his arms.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Sakura said reassuringly; although she felt annoyed when he thought that she couldn't take care of herself.

"I know," he replied.

The day of their mission….

"I can't believe I'll be with you on your first mission as a jounin, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

Sakura just grinned in reply. She's feeling happy and nervous at the same time. I mean, it is her first mission as a jounin, and who knows what could happen. As if sensing her nervousness, Naruto said, "Don't worry. You'll do fine."

"Thanks."

"Neh… Sakura-chan, did you say good-bye to Sasuke-teme? He might go psycho if he doesn't see you in your apartment," Naruto said while looking up at the sky.

Sakura chuckled at what he said and said, "Yes, I already said good-bye to him and Kakashi. Don't treat me like a kid, okay?"

"Okay, Sakura-chan," he replied in a sing-song way.

They are four in their team, just like any other jounin team. Of course their teammates change from mission to mission. Their team consisted of Naruto, Sakura, and two other jounins.

Their mission is simple, get a scroll from the Hidden Village of Rain and bring it back to Konoha. It's simple, right? Wrong. The scroll that they will have to get and protect contains a very powerful jutsu. A lot of assassins and missing-nins want to get their hands on it. The Hidden Village of Rain couldn't afford to keep it anymore, so they chose Konoha to keep it. Konoha has a lot of strong konouchis and shinobis that are more than capable of protecting it.

They reached the village on the fourth day of their travel with no one attacking them. They don't seem to be bothered by it at all. In fact, they've been walking quietly as if the forest is just a huge park.

The leader of their team informed them that he already has the scroll. "Let's go," he said.

"Hai!"

They're back in the forest again, only this time they're going back to Konoha. All four of them knew they're being followed since day 2. Naruto wanted to attack them when he felt their presence, but he was stopped by Sakura.

She told Naruto and the other jounins who were with them that the ones following them won't attack until they get the scroll.

Flashback

"We don't want the villagers to panic, so we'll have to let them follow us until we get the scroll," she said in a hushed tone, so only the four of them could hear. "When we get the scroll, they'll probably ambush us in the forest, we'll be ready for them," she continued.

Then they heard a faint rustling of leaves. 'They noticed our little stop,' the leader of their team thought. "Naruto and Sakura, you shouldn't complain about being hungry especially on a mission," he said, hoping that they'll understand and play along.

Sakura understood what he meant and said, "Gomen, I won't complain anymore, right Naruto?"

"Yeah, yeah whatever," he said with a childish pout. He too understood what they meant.

End of Flashback

All four of them jumped from a tree to another. Then, all of a sudden, they stopped into a clearing in the forest. They formed a formation of a square. Each of them are already assigned to assassinate those who are in their assigned places.

"You can come out now," their leader said calmly. He isn't so bothered by the fact that they'll have to fight 12 people. 'So each of us will have to fight 3 of these guys,' he thought as the men of the opposing side came out from their hiding places. All of them are carrying deadly weapons and bombs.

"Eh…they're so ugly," Naruto muttered which caused his three teammates to sweat drop.

"Don't think about their physical appearance now, Naruto," Sakura said while looking at the people she's about to fight in disgust.

"Let's do this quickly," one of the ugly men said.

"We'll be able to do this quickly, seeing that there are only four of them," another said.

"Hah! Not to mention, they all look weak!" another ugly man exclaimed in full confidence.

"Now," their leader ordered as all of them attacked their own targeted people.

Naruto proceeded to his targets. He used his Kage Bunshin no jutsu to start it off. His opponents sent him lousy punches in which he dodged easily. He dodged a katana that was swung to cut his head off.

Naruto got distracted for a second so he didn't notice a pair of shurikens coming his way. It hit him on his back which sent his body to fall face front.

"Hah! I told you, they're weak. Look at this one. He's already down!" the overconfident ugly man said. He then noticed that the body on the ground turned into a puff of smoke. His eyes went wide as realization hit him

"Don't you dare call me or my comrades weak," a voice coming from his back said as he felt a cold metal being slashed on his throat. He then fell limply on the hard ground.

Naruto then proceeded to the other two who were busy with his other Kage Bunshins. He appeared behind one of them in an inhuman speed. He kicked the man upward, and then one of his Kage Bunshins jumped upward to give their opponent more kicks and punches. The real Naruto then appeared beside the beaten up man who's now falling and gave him one last kick. It sent the man falling on his back on the ground which now had a small crater due to Naruto's last kick.

The man coughed and spluttered blood on the ground. He couldn't breathe normally. It's as if Naruto's leg is still on his chest even after that powerful kick. Then after some time, more blood came out which caused his death.

Naruto looked at his last target. He saw that the man has fear in his eyes. The man probably saw his comrades lying on the ground lifelessly. The man didn't notice Naruto's presence, so he just continued fighting the Kage Bunshin. Naruto didn't hesitate to push a kunai on the back of the man's lower head when he noticed that the man was oblivious to his presence.

With Sakura…

Sakura dodged the men's punches at ease. She grabbed one of the men's wrists and held it tightly for a few seconds until a loud snap was herd. The man's right wrist snapped! She heard the agonizing yell of the man, and it triggered something inside of her to continue fighting these bastards. She took the opportunity to throw the man head first on a tree when he kneeled in pain.

The man hit the tree and fell down sliding on it. A trail of blood could be seen, due to the fact that Sakura threw him with a lot of force. His head fell on the side lifelessly, confirming that he's dead.

Sakura looked at the other two. With no hesitation, she ran towards them with four senbons at each hand. She dodged the rain of shurikens that went her way, and then threw the senbons at one of the men.

The man that she hit abruptly stopped from moving. He looked dazed for a few seconds, and he just fell forward as lifeless body. The other man looked at his comrade with fear and confusion.

Sakura took it as an opportunity to kill the man, seeing that he's distracted at the moment. She appeared behind him and pressed her kunai on his neck. Blood came flowing out of his neck. Then she released her hold on him causing him to fall limply on the ground.

Sakura looked around to see how her teammates are doing. It seems like all of them are done.

It's not a wonderful sight at all. Twelve dead bodies could be seen all around the place, blood splattered here and there, and if the bodies aren't burned by hunter nins, there will be foul odor coming from the decaying bodies.

"Let's go. We wasted some time fighting these guys," the leader of their team said.

"Hai!"

With that said all four of them proceeded on jumping from tree to another. They didn't stop for any breaks until night came. They set up camp in a well hidden place. They want to get some rest since they're tired.

Everyone was asleep now except for Sakura. She's just sitting on the ground in deep thought. She was snapped out of her reverie when a voice called her name.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said as he sat beside her. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, Naruto," she replied.

Naruto just looked at her, as if fighting if he should press on the matter or just let it go. "It's really nothing," she said once again.

"I believe you, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. Then he noticed something that was reflecting the light of the moon. He looked around to see what it was, only to be lead to his friend's wrist. "Eh?" he said while lifting her wrist up his face in close inspection.

"Nani?" she asked while giving him a confused look.

Naruto broke into a triumphant grin when he finished his little inspection. He saw that Sakura was wearing the bracelet that Sasuke gave.

"Let me guess. Sasuke-teme gave you that," he said while pointing at her bracelet.

"Yeah, he did. How'd you know?" she asked curiously.

"So Sasuke-teme finally gave you that, huh? It took some years, though," Naruto said with a chuckle.

"Huh? What do you mean?" she asked.

"What? He didn't tell you?" Naruto said teasingly.

"Tell me!" she demanded childishly.

"Hmm…I don't know. I think you should ask Sasuke-teme instead," Naruto said.

"Tell me," she said, "or else," she added darkly.

"Okay. Okay. I was just teasing you. Anyway, it isn't a big story," Naruto said.

"I don't care. I want to here it," Sakura said stubbornly.

"Mou…I think it started the day before you left the village. As far as I remember Sasuke-teme said something about saying bad things to you. He wanted to apologize. Gee, I was so fucking shocked that he wanted to apologize. I mean, it isn't like him. Anyway, back to the story, he thought of different ways of apologizing to you. Until, he thought of the best way -well, at that time it was. That is to give you that bracelet. I thought that he would throw that away when, you know, you were announced dead. But he didn't. He kept it. I think that he wants to hold on to it, like he wants to hold on to you. And from that day onwards, I knew that he likes you more than just a friend," Naruto stated.

Sakura just looked at him thoughtfully and then smiled, "Sasuke-kun is so sweet."

"Anou…I think that Sasuke-teme has his own twisted way of being sweet," Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head.

"And you have your own twisted way of being sweet too, you know," Sakura said, mouthing Hinata's name.

"Eh…Let's just get some sleep. We both know we want to go back to Konoha as soon as possible," Naruto said with a yawn.

"Yeah, but I don't think Sasuke-kun will be there. He has a mission too, you know," she said.

"I know, but it wouldn't hurt if this mission ends and then we could all relax," Naruto said with a grin.

"You're right! We should get some sleep! The thought of relaxation wants me to go back to Konoha as soon as possible," Sakura said as she went in her sleeping bag.

"Good night, Sakura-chan."

"Good night, Naruto."

Sakura proceeded to sleep peacefully. She's just so eager to come home to Konoha at the thought of relaxation and Sasuke. But there is just one thing, she didn't know that when Sasuke comes back from his mission, some things are going to change…for the worst.

Tbc……

Hi! I haven't updated in a while. I'm sorry. I would like to say thank you to those who reviewed!

I thought that some of you will ask me about these:

Q: Why didn't those assassins just take the scroll from the Hidden Village of Rain?

A: They know that they aren't a match to fight a lot of ninjas, seeing the fact that that village is a ninja village. They thought that the team that Konoha would send will be just a bunch of chuunins. They even increased their number to be assured that they would win.

Q: Why didn't Sasuke tell Sakura about the whole bracelet thing?

A: Because it isn't in his character to say such things. If I did make him say that, it would be very out of character.

Q: Why did you make Sakura a jounin so easily?

A: Because she is already fit to become one. If you read my story then you would understand.

Q: How come you didn't show the jounin exams?

A: Because it would be a waste of time. I mean, isn't it obvious that I would make her a jounin? What's the point if I right that, and you already know what I'm about to do.

Well, that's that. I hope you'll still enjoy reading the later chapters I'm going to write on this fic.

Don't forget to write your reviews!