"Well, I think that the missions are gettin' too easy these days." Genma said conversationally as he knawed thoughtfully on his ever-present senbon. "Not that that's a bad thing really, it's just..."
Kakashi nodded as he took a drink of the warm substance filling his small glass. "I know what you mean, but that means Konoha's at peace..." He said, pausing to take another drink.
Sakura eyed him curiously. No matter how many times she'd seen her old sensei without his mask, his face was always so perplexing.
"I heard Tsunade speaking with Shizune the other day about sending out some nin to confront The Akatsuki." Kakashi finished.
"Really?" Sakura asked softly, taken by suprise. "And just how, may I ask, are they going to find them? They're always on the move, aren't they?" It was true, to her knowledge. It had taken Sasuke almost year to find Itachi.
"Sakura, don't you realize that we have shinobi more skilled than ANBU in our ranks? Konoha has them tracking a few of it's members." Genma explained, turning towards the only female of their party.
"Of course I know about them. I was the Hokage's student after all." She said sarcastically. She couldn't hold back the slight bitterness that edged into her voice. The part about Konoha still actively watching the Akatsuki was all new information. She knew, of course, that that old perverted sannin was still tracking them, but still.
"Well, I think it's time for another round of drinks..." Kakashi said. He directed his eye towards the waitress and raised his hand in a signal for her to bring them more sake.
After the sake was set before them, the subject veered towards weopanry, and Sakura's attention strayed.
So, they were watching the Akatsuki? Well, she had to wonder if she would be sighted when, or if, she found the man she was thinking of. That was a new matter to think of. Would she risk her status in Konoha just to quench her curiosity? And, how did she know that he wouldn't kill her on sight? From what she'd heard about him, he was ruthless. Yet, somehow, she couldn't convince herself that he would do something like that. That look he'd given her, she knew he'd recognized her. He had to have.
"SAKURA!" She was torn abruptly from her thoughts as Genma's voice reached her ears as he waved his hands infront of her face.
"Huh?"
Genma sighed. "I said, and apparently I was right, that we're boring you."
"Oh no, I was just thinking." She said, smiling. She couldn't help but notice that Genma had just gotten rid of some unnoticed tenseness at her somewhat more friendly tone.
"I believe..." Kakashi began, " That your blonde friend and the secratery.. Yuki? I think... were wondering where you were this morning." The two women had been looking for her in the time between when they'd left her place, and when they'd arrived at the pub. "We wouldn't mind if you wanted to go find them."
She glanced towards Genma who nodded with a smile.
"Okay, then I'll just finish my drink..." She said with a smile, now even more light hearted as the aspect of spending the day with two of her friends came to light. Besides, she had plenty of time to think about that later.
"Don't worry, as soon as you leave, we'll talk about nothing but you." Genma said with a classic flirtatious wink.
"I'm sure." She said sarcastically as she sipped at the contents of her cup. "Me and everyother woman passing by... Speaking of which, Kakashi, are you seeing anyone these days?"
Genma raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. After she shrugged in reply, he turned to face Kakashi curiously, for he himself didn't even know the answer to her question. He watched as Kakashi held his cup between the first two fingers and thumbs of each hand. He kept his same bored, aloof stature as he answered. "No. Are you?"
Sakura laughed. "Do I look like I'm seeing anyone?" Then as she saw his eye flick towards Genma, she understood. "No, I'm not."
Sakura sighed as she drained the last of her drink. "Well, I'm gonna go find Ino."
...The two jounins waved as she turned to leave. Then as her foot was about to step out into the sunny Konoha afternoon, she could have sworn she heard the words "I'm getting worried about her..." Her heart lept nervously and she hurried out onto the street. Did they suspect?
She shrugged it off as she saw Genma laughing through the window in front of their table. She rushed home quickly, knowing that Ino would be their waiting, or at least have left a note.
To her dismay, whenever she stood infront of her doorstep, she discovered that the door was unlocked. Sure enough, whenever she opened the door, she saw her two friends sitting on her couch, laughing heartily to themselves. Ino turned expectantly towards her as she shut the door behind herself.
"Took you long enough." She laughed, throwing a wadded peice of paper at her. "I was about to leave a note and leave without you."
Sakura smirked and walked over to her loveseat and took a seat on the soft materia. "Where are you dragging us this time? She asked with a sigh.
She saw Yuki smile as her friend retorted, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? You don't wanna go? Fine, we'll go-" She said, standing abruptly.
"Where Ino?" She cut her off, knowing how quickly her friend would forget her anger.
"She wants to go to the pool." Yuki said, speaking up.
"Yeah, so get you're bikini, and lets go." She said, snorting. Ino had forced her to buy a bikini as soon as summer had hit them again. Ino had a weird obsession with swimming, she loved it.
"Fine." She said, standing and shuffling to her room. It wasn't that she didn't like swimming, on the contrary, she loved it. It was just all of the people...
Hurredly, she pulled on her swim wear, and put on some loose clothing. Without another thought, she grabbed a bag and shoved a towel and sunscreen into it. Seeing her friends still chatting quietly on her couch, she grabbed some Tylenol from her bathroom cabinet and downed three. If she was going to put up with Ino for the rest of the afternoon, she'd need them. On a second thought, she shoved them in her bag.
"Comon!" Ino screeched with a grin, appearing in the doorway.
"Okay, okay." Sakura sighed, a small smile appearing on her face. No matter how annoying her friend could be, she couldn't imagine life without her. Her annoyingness was the quality that made her Ino. Well, that and her constant boy chasing.
XXXXXXX
"I don't understand why we couldn't have gone swimming by the bridge." Sakura complained, seeing how many people were at the pool. "We used to when we were younger..."
"You don't know whats in that water, there could be anything in it. You, of all people, should know that." Ino said, throwing her things onto one of the chairs used by sunbathers.
"Yeah, I know." Sakura sighed. She just wasn't in one of those moods where she actually liked the perverted compliments. Then again, those moods were rather rare on her part. In fact, she had a sudden longing to beat the crap out of someone or something. She pulled off her clothing and threw it onto the chair next to Ino's. She screamed as she was suddenly yanked towards the edge of the pool. "NOOOOOOOO!"
Ino laughed as she was sure that her friend was going into the water, but just as she was at the edge, Sakura swung Ino around infront of her so that she fell into the water instead. "AHHHHHHH! Fuck! It's COLD!" Ino screamed as she climbed out of the water. Sakura's eyes widened as she was pulled into the water seconds later. "You BITCH!"
"Ladies, PLEASE! This is a public pool."
Sakura turned to see the lifegaurd sitting in the chair, staring directly at them. "Sorry." She said, smirking mischeviously, perhaps it was because she had just pushed Yuki into the water. The said woman preceded to then yell out every profane word known to man towards the rosette kunoichi, which had apparently ticked off the woman who was acting as lifeguard. Sakura thought she recognized her as one of the new sensei's at the academy.
She suddenly leapt over Yuki as the said kunoichi raced towards her with a running start from behind to push her face forwards into the freezing water.
"F----..." Yuki stopped herself as she almost let a forbidden word slip.
Ino grinned evilly as they all exchanged mischevious glances. They all knew what the other was thinking. Who could they get to slip first?
XXXXX
Sakura turned and shuffled, still dripping wet, towards her things, closely followed by her friends. She threw her things onto the ground beneath her chair and pulled out the tanning lotion. After being back in Konoha for more than a year, her tan that she'd grown so fond of had disappeared.
Ino muttered under her breath as she begrudgingly sat on her own chair about how there were only two kids there, and they were both fourteen. As if they'd never heard it before.
Sakura sighed and laid on her stomach, cushioning her head on her arms. She closed her eyes contentedly as she felt the heat begin to get more intense on her back. "I really missed this." Sakura said quietly.
"What? Ino asked, pausing as she turned to face her friend.
"This. Us, hanging out. Acting immature."
Ino nodded. "Yeah. After we came home, it felt so forein for you and Hinata not to be around all the time."
"Do you miss the sand?" Yuki asked quietly, now laying on the other side of Ino.
"Well, yeah." Ino sighed. "The men there weren't as cute though." Ino laughed as her friends rolled their eyes. She pulled her legs up and sat indian style on the chair. "Which reminds me, I heard that you're leaving Konoha." She said, turning to face Sakura expectantly.
"Um... Yeah, in a week."
"Why?" Ino and Yuki asked simultaneously.
"Well, I'm going.. I'm visiting someone." She said, blushing a bit at her obvious mistake. She reall did have to get her story straight.
"Hmmmm...? A male someone?" Ino asked, finally laying on her own chair. A single perfectly shaped eyebrow raised in curiosity. Sakura couldn't even imagine, if she tried, all the assumptions running through the blonde's head.
"Maybe." She said, smirking. She couldn't help the smirk. As the subject was renewed in her mind, she pictured him in her head. Finally seeing him and speaking with him again would push away the dreams... hopefully.
"Who is he? Yuki asked, her curiosity kicking in.
"Um... Just an old friend. Let's just drop the subject." She said, growing anxious at their prying. As she turned onto her back, she felt, rather than saw her old friend eyeing her curiously, but she dropped the subject. Sakura was thankfull that Ino could read her and know that she really should drop the subject.
"Oh yeah!" Ino said, sitting up and checking her watch from within her bag. "You guys are coming to my place, and I'm going to give you guys makeovers, 'cuz we're going out tonight."
"Makeovers?"
"Well, I can't think of a better word for what I'm going to do." Ino said, shrugging. "Anyway, I figure that if we leave here at four, and go to my place, I'll be done around... seven?" She said, practically glowing with excitement.
"Ino... I think you should have been a beautition instead of a kunoichi." Yuki said, shaking her head.
"Eh? Nah. Not many kunoichi would pay money for that." Ino said, showing that she'd obviously given it some thought. "Besides, it wouldn't be the same as making you two my dolls." She said, grinning. "I mean, come on. There are some ugly kunoichi in Konoha."
"That's true... " Sakura said, nodding. As mean as it sounded, it was true. "What about Shikamaru?" Sakura asked, remembering what had happened on previous nights out with her blonde friend.
"Oh.. He'll be there."
Sakura nodded understandingly. "Yuki, don't you have to work tomorrow?"
"No. I'm on my vacation too. I came a month before you did, so I'm due my vacation time too." She explained.
"Oh... So there's no way we can get out of ITTT!" She ended with a scream as Ino pushed her out of her chair. They all erupted into laughter.
Review please.
Pretty please?
Ummmmm... With sugar?
And... Ice cream?
And... and... cookies!
Nods
Throws out cookies and other mentioned edibles to reviewers
