The Biggest Change

Ah, finally updating this story! The past chapters have been irking the crap out of me, so I'll probably be tweeking them a bit. Anyways, here's the story, delayed and all!

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It had been about two days since Kakashi returned from his mission…

"I'm going to go meet Genma, I'll be back soon," Kakashi waved lazily, sauntering over to the door.

"'Kay," Sakura waved back, entering her bedroom. Boy, was she exhausted. A whole family had caught a seemingly contagious disease, and it was her job to find a cure--and quick. They didn't want a pandemic spreading around the village.

She had spent most of the day studying, looking for the cause and cure; when she wasn't, Sakura was helping the Hokage with her papers.

I filled out one paper too many.

Her right hand was cramped, in a rigid position and it wasn't the most pleasant feeling that exists, mind you.

…And read one book too many.

Since she had strained her eyes to read line after line of text, they were stinging her eyelids were also threatening to shut permanently any second now.

"Goodnight," she said to no one in particular. The small bed dipped as Sakura crawled in quickly slipping into sleep which was welcoming her with open arms.

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Early morning sunlight slowly filtered through the blinds of the windows. Abstract patterns of light danced on the surface of Sakura's pale bedroom walls.

Time to wake up Kakashi..

The kunoichi heaved herself out of the warmness of her bed. She lagged out of the room, then into the small living room where Kakashi was sleeping.

Or at least should have been.

"Kakashi?"

The vague hum of the villagers bustling outside was the only sound that responded.

Kakashi plus Genma… Plus a late evening..

"I'm going to kill him," she snarled. She quickly stomped out of her home.

Many civilians who were familiar with Sakura stopped themselves from greeting her as they saw the pink-headed girl trotting down the street. A Haruno Sakura, with bed-head hair, a wrinkled uniform, and an expression dangerously bitter was something you'd want to stay clear of.

A nearby storekeeper had an anxious look on his face when he spotted her walking up to his stand.

"Er, hello Sakura.."

"Have you seen Genma or," she stopped, as if the pause would make the following words more dramatic," Kakashi?"

"I recall them being at the bar last nig—"

"Thank you," Sakura smiled sweetly. The gesture was quite contrasting to the vibe she was giving off.

And with that, she spun around and stomped noisily away. Finally reaching the familiar bar for shinobi, she violently kicked the door open.

Just as expected, both Genma and Kakashi were sprawled out, heads resting on a table. Experiencing a hangover, no doubt.

"Eh…Hey Sakura," Genma slurred. He barely lifted a hand to wave.

"Hello Genma," she gave another fake and innocent smile. Her head then whipped around to the other sleeping jounin.

The Copy Ninja was sleeping so peacefully…. She had to change that.

"KA-KA-SHI!"

He awoke, though not too startled. "Ah, hello Sakura… Sorry, I just got caught up with everything," he trailed off lazily.

Sakura dragged him out of the bar. She was biting her tongue furiously to prevent herself from going 'kaboom', but stopped as an unfamiliar character ran up to half-awake Kakashi.

"Hi Kakashi-kun," she cooed. The girl then giggled flirtatiously which made Sakura's eye twitched uncontrollably.

Oh how she wanted to wring the girl's pretty little neck…

"I'm sorry, we have to go," Sakura apologized insincerely; pulling Kakashi away so hard his arm was probably dislocated from his shoulder.

Sakura didn't know why she was so worked up over the stranger's greeting.

Sakura didn't know why she was so furious right now.

And most of all, Sakura didn't know where to bring the hangover-ed Kakashi.

The thought of leaving him in the middle of the road was tempting, but she decided against it. Soon enough, she found herself back in her home, except this time, Kakashi was there, leaning limply against her for support.

Watching him sitting on the small couch with his chest lifting leisurely with every inhale made the itch of dumping him in the middle of Konoha worm into her mind once again. It was annoying: she had been so angry while he was still indifferent.

Those patients aren't going to recover by themselves. She reminded herself.

The nin hastily threw a few pills on the table next to Kakashi and then left.

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The green-eyed kunoichi sifted through pages of a thick book, searching for any hints of what the victims were suffering from. No luck. Sighing, she rubbed her temples in a circular motion to lighten the headache.

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Meanwhile, Kakashi had just awoken. He immediately got up and made his way to the kitchen sink, grabbing the edge of the silver surface as he emptied his body of the previous night's indulgence.

His head throbbed in pain.

But this was ignored, because the only thing he felt right now was guilt.

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I had to make a little quarrel, or else I think the story would be too fluffy. Blame me and my paranoid self.

Please do review!