Chapter 2

Sakura walks her sure, steady steps. The village starts to fade into the background with each bound, until eventually, greenery and dirt become more abundant. In a few more minutes, she'll be back at Training Ground 3.

There is an extra pep in her movements—a newfound vigor flows like a current through the veins of thin, agile body.

It'd been a few days since she'd seen Sasuke and Naruto. Work always sucked her in, and although it was difficult to slip away, she had to a lot to preparations to complete.

By the edge of the field, a gloomy Naruto sat. It'd been a while since she'd seen such a look on him. Newlyweds tended to walk on the brighter side of life. Blocking the sun from his face, she smiles down upon him.

"Are you alright? What's got you so down?"

In some ways, Naruto reminds Sakura of an over-fed bulldog, more than a sly fox. The man groans and rolls over on his side, hiding her cheerfulness from his view.

"Sasuke joined Team Taka."

Sakura blinks.

How…unsurprising.

Sasuke had a gypsy soul, never staying in one place too long. How could she blame him? Things can't go back to normal that quickly…it must be hard, training with friends as though everything were normal.

Picking up a fallen leaf, Sakura tucks the thing into the elastic of her shuriken pouch and speaks aloud. "Can they even join the Jōnin Exams if they aren't ninja of Konoha?"

The kunoichi didn't know too much about Sasuke's former teammates. She'd met each briefly after the war, but most of her knowledge was gossip. The only one she knew on a first name basis was Karin, and their first impressions of one another was severely lacking.

Sasuke had stabbed her moments before, after all…

"I think this is some sort of citizenship challenge for them or something. Like, if they pass, they can belong to the Leaf. I don't know. Kakashi pisses me off."

Naruto's anger was almost palpable, and that frustrated Sakura. If anyone deserved happiness, it would be Naruto. It's the least Sasuke could do.

Sakura thinks of all of the turmoil their other teammate had put them through. They had accepted every harsh word, every deathly blow—they had even defended him when he went on his journey of redemption!

Inhaling a deep, refreshing breath of air, Sakura brushes her fingertips against Naruto's short, spikey locks. If he wanted Sasuke to be on their team, she would try her best to make that possible.

"Let's go talk to him."

Team Taka

"Sasuke, there are two ninja approaching fast."

Sasuke pauses, breathing deeply. The cold morning air stings his lungs a bit. He wipes his mouth, glimpsing at Karin as she looks beyond the training grounds of The Forest of Death.

There's no need to ask who is coming.

A rush of liquid plops down besides Sasuke and forms into a humanoid shape. Suigetsu sneers, running his long tongue across needle-tipped teeth. "Your old teammates, what are they doing here? Can we kill them?"

"Of course you can't, you dumbass!" Karin scoffs as her pale hand smashes into Suigetsu's face. In an instant, water slushes to the forest floor, dampening the dirt beneath them. "Stop trying to kill everyone."

"You're one to talk!"

Jugo, curious of the commotion, meanders towards the group with a flock of birds chittering on his arm. His quiet demeanor was peaceful on most occasions, but now it only seemed to taunt Sasuke. The team he'd accumulated was…something else. It's a wonder how they'd all stayed together, even after his departure.

Konoha didn't have too many lunatics running about, and even fewer were ninja. Perhaps that's why they bonded. We all search for people whose demons play well with our own.

"Hide, and attack them." Sasuke barks to the trio, looking over each one with finality.

He was dominant by nature. It was in his blood. Sasuke understands that submission is not a right, but a gift given someone who respects the others trust and dedication.

The balance between all of this is delicate. That's why he appreciates his former team.

Abiding his command, each member dives amongst the trees. Karin follows closely beside Sasuke and curls her body around his new arm, adjusting her glasses just as her blond cousin hits the ground with a powerful thump.

The man waves his hands above his head, shouting towards the treetops. "It's just us, Sasuke!"

Unlike Karin, who can see a person's life force, Naruto can feel the emotion and intentions hidden within it. His body hums from the presence of chakra, thick and omnipotent, looming just above his head. It causes the back of his neck to tingle—the bloodlust is profound.

When Sakura lands next to him, she notices Team Taka's footprints immediately. She is not blessed with Naruto or Karin's chakra abilities, but she's has excellent observation skills.

Incidentally, Sakura is the first to be attacked.

Pivoting to the left of Jugo's lariat, she is skillfully separated from Naruto. Sasuke smirks, proud that the training her offered was not for naught. It's within Taka's best interest to split the team in two.

Naruto puts both hands up in surrender. He has no intention to fighting anyone—not seriously, at least. "Hey, big guy, we're not enemies."

It had been a very long time since Sasuke had seen his teammates work together. Sasuke had no idea what kind of…style Sakura had, besides her massive hits and chakra prowess. Naruto seemed to take battles more seriously.

As Jugo bounds his way towards Naruto, Suigetsu makes his appearance.

Breathing hot air into Sakura's ear, he shoves his foot into the soft spot behind her knee. The roughness surprises her, but the action didn't. She had grown much more perceptive in the years that have passed. Turning expertly from her downed position, the girl plants both palms into the ground and kicks both feet wildly into Suigetsu's chest, hitting him with the force of a bull. A shower of water flies to the ground, wetting the earth beautifully.

When his body finally forms back together, Sakura is already powering up her left fist.

"Woah, there," he says as she plunges deep into the cavity his chest. His liquefied form dodges her forearm. "Punches don't do much damage to me, kid."

She jerks her arm from his body, reacting immediately to her new information. Sasuke watches as her abundant green chakra narrows into a small, scalpel-like blade. With no hesitation, she severs a large pathway of chakra at his shoulder.

Jumping away from the fuming, cursing fish-man, Sakura steps backwards towards the sound of Jugo's pursuits and backflips just in time to avoid one of his almighty hits. As soon as she touches ground again, the girl lunges forwards and tugs Naruto behind her body, as if she were shielding him.

"That's enough! We aren't here to fight you."

These men are loyal to few, and listen to even fewer. Both Jugo and Suigetsu run towards her, ignoring her warning, with heavy gallops. One draws his sword and the other mutates his appendages, ready to step up their wrath.

Surprisingly, Naruto doesn't make a move to stop them.

With his Sharingan, Sasuke watches an incredible overflow of energy build up around Sakura's dainty, small hand. She pounds her fist into the ground, splitting mile-long fissures into its surface. Debris rains down from the sky in a spray of rock and clay, uprooting trees and such.

The godlike voltage that erupted from Sakura's hit was…awe some. If she had a successful hit to a human body, bones would turn to gelatin and organs would rupture into vapor.

Sasuke did not see perfection in anything, though. He notices that her speed is lacking even with her (comparatively) long legs. Such short stature meant each stride only matched half of a normal shinobi's, and that was a huge disadvantage.

He thinks silently to himself. "If Naruto and I cannot get to her in time…she is able to heal herself completely. Does she have any abilities beyond that, though? How are her chakra reserves?"

He pulls his new limb from Karin and uses his Shunshin no Jutsu to appear by Naruto in a flash. Making a waving gesture, Sasuke calls off both Suigetsu and Jugo, giving the Jinchuuriki just enough time to yank at the high-collar of Sasuke's cotton tee.

"What the hell was that all about?"

Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin look on curiously. Sasuke had threatened people's lives for far less, after all. They knew that Naruto was not an enemy. He was an equal in every right, and…perhaps the only person alive that could truly stop Sasuke if he needed to. Was that why? Taka exchanges looks with one another.

Sasuke simply shrugs off Naruto's grip, but the he doesn't stop. "You did that on purpose! Aren't you gonna say anything?"

Sasuke Uchiha was honest. Some would consider that a valuable trait—and maybe it was, in most situations. He did not play dumb, or act innocent. "I was curious. I wanted to test you."

Naruto wasn't dumb, either. "I know you did. That doesn't make it okay."

Sakura comes between the two; her shoulders slouched and face showing frustration. She had always been the mediator, the defender…and from the outside, the girl who stuck her nose in other people's business. Planting firm palms on either man's chests, she speaks loudly. "Naruto, Sasuke, please calm down. This won't lead to anything good."

Turning her head slightly to look at Naruto, Sakura lowers her tone. "We can't blame him. He hasn't been around us in a very long time. I'm sure he wanted to see how you and I worked together, but…"

Whipping her head, she catches Sasuke's eyes with her own. The look is intense. "You don't have to attack us to judge our battle style. We're more than happy to spar, and…if you'd ask me, I'd tell you everything."

Her emerald irises watch him closely. She was not searching for information; Sasuke hid his emotions too well for that. In fact, she was doing the opposite. Sakura was also allowing him to do the same. Like a cat showing its belly, she offers him everything. She meant her words.

Sasuke hated when she did that.

Sasuke can handle unwanted touches and advances. He can shrug off an arm, deny a dinner date, and turn away from gifts and even proposals. Sasuke cannot, however, physically back down from her stare. That showed weakness, and he was not weak. What bothered him the most was her knowledge of the sharingan—how rare it was for a shinobi to offer such a thing.

He frowns.

Wrapping tighter around Sasuke's arm, Karin puffs out her chest and points an accusing finger at Sakura. "Who are you to tell Sasuke what to do?"

Sakura looks at her, fluttering her eyes rapidly. "Oh I…I didn't mean to come of that way." A blush covers her face.

She backs away from the couple and bumps into Naruto. She had crossed a boundary, sure, but so had Sasuke... and his teammates probably never heard anyone question him unless he was planning to fight them.

Before she can say anything further, Suigetsu slithers past Sasuke and stops directly in front of her, capturing her hand and kissing it with wet lips. Her mood changes quickly, from apologetic to apathetic.

"It's nice to finally meet you." He says. She was rather pretty…in an adolescent sense. Suigetsu looked her up and down, much to the disdain of Naruto.

Anytime someone tried to hit on her, or flirt in any way, Naruto completely rejected it. Only perverts would be attracted to someone who looked as young as she did! Karate chopping Suigetsu's wrist, Naruto gathers the bumbling Sakura into his chest.

"Back off, freaky water boy!"

"What? Who are you calling freaky, you brat!" Suigetsu calls back.

While the both of them bicker, Sasuke watches with annoyance. Naruto and Sakura seemed even more connected than before—which wasn't unusual—but Naruto was married, wasn't he? It had happened sometime after the…moon incident. He'd betrothed himself to Hinata Hyuuga of the Hyuuga clan. From Sasuke's limited memory of her, he knew that she was quiet, polite, and dainty—the complete opposite of the buffoon she'd wed.

Naruto wasn't the type to marry for any reason other than love. The last time Sasuke heard, he was in love with Sakura…and from what he'd seen so far, their closeness and his jealousy only seemed to prove that.

What was this?

Sakura slaps her hand across the back of Naruto's head painfully, spooking birds from their perches. "You need to stop being rude!"

"I'm the rude one?" He asks incredulously. "That guy was attacking you a minute ago and I'm the rude one?"

Ignoring him completely, Sakura turns on her heel and speaks to Sasuke, jarring him from his thoughts. "Naruto says you ditched us and joined Team Taka. Did you?"

"Only thee-man-squads are allowed." Sasuke replied slowly. "Jugo, Suigetsu and Karin make up their own team."

Suigetsu interjects, draping his arm roughly around Sakura's slender shoulders. "Yeah, he was just teaching us a few rules."

"Like no eye-gouging," Jugo explains.

"Yeah, yeah, like no eye-gouging."

The forest wasn't quite as lively as it had been during the Chunin Exams. Sakura vaguely remembers the proctor's warnings—something along the lines of, "We haven't fed the animals, so be careful!" Perhaps now they were all fed and docile, making it easier for the sextet to train amongst one another.

Naruto had teamed up with Karin, who was trying to help him with his chakra sensing. The woman was obviously not too happy with her partner, but continued explaining the different feelings she got from various chakra signatures around her. Her red, ruby lipstick seemed to glow in the daylight as she spoke.

"Your normal chakra reminds me of spearmint. Kurama's chakra is warm and orange, like the sun, but the first time I felt it, it was more like a chili pepper. He's not so fiery and mean anymore."

"That's so amazing! I can't believe you can see all of that. For me, your chakra feels… lonely. Are you lonely, Karin? Wait, no… you're lost. Uh, what's the word—unrequited? That's probably because of Sasuke, huh."

The paleness of her face switches to beet-red in under a second. Flailing her arms around her like a madwoman, Karin screams loud enough for everyone to hear. "I-I DON'T LOVE SASUKE OR ANYTHING! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? GET REAL, KID! HA-HA! HA-HA-HA!"

Sakura rolls her eyes and heels the palm of her hand to her chin, propping it up in the process. She listens as the two bicker while the day stretches onward. On the other side of the field, Sasuke watches Jugo and Suigetsu exchange blows. Jugo is struggling, trying to catch his breath after more unsuccessful hits lead to nowhere. When he falls to the ground for the third time that evening, Sasuke finally points his arm to the edge of the grass, telling Jugo to sit.

Suigetsu catches Sakura's eye. He pants, takes a long sip of his water bottle, and finally winks at the girl. "I can spar with you later, if that's what you want. We can go someplace private."

Watching his eyebrows wiggle suggestively, Sakura fights the chill that waved from her spine and stood from her seated position. "No, thank you. I can battle with Jugo—right? Is that okay?"

It takes Sasuke all of two minutes to realize the question was directed to him. Jugo was unstable, though medication had calmed a lot of his murderous rage. One painful hit from Sakura could send him on a killing spree, and many lives would be endangered if Sasuke couldn't tame the beast. Shaking his head, Sasuke denies her request.

To be honest, Sasuke isn't sure why she wants to spar in the first place. She was a medic—a last-resort fighter. Being on a team with himself and Naruto meant that, if either were downed, the world would most likely end and Sakura wouldn't be able to do anything, anyways.

For now, she can mend any broken bones that result from everyone's training. That would suite everyone the best and save her chakra.

Sakura does not stamp her feet. She does not groan, pout her lip, or yank her hair. Instead, she waits patiently and observes the battles around her. Her turn would come along soon. Right? But…after a few hours, when the day was drawing to an end, they all called it quits and found a small waterfall that peeked from beyond the edge of the woods.

It smelled of earth and dew. The sound of water crashing echoed softly around the clearing, creating a lullaby fit for woodland creatures. A deer and two hares scurried away from their post, abandoning their thirst skittishly as the hexad approached.

"Man, I'm exhausted!" The redheaded kunoichi exclaimed.

Sakura and Karin were the first to take off their shoes and baptize their feet. Karin had kicked off her boots haphazardly and unbuttoned her top, showing skin plagued with bite marks. She had been sticky and sweaty all day, cursing the mugginess of this damned forest.

A sigh escapes her lips, husky and feminine, and she peeks beyond her red fringe to see if Sasuke had been alerted to the noise. When no one seems to be paying any attention to her dip, the woman sweeps out a long wave of water with her hand, letting it splash and turn to glitter against the sunlight.

Sakura is not so flamboyant. The Tea Rose had simply walked up to her ankles, keeping her qipao top and ninja skirt at a respectable length. It was a hot day by spring's standards, and even Sasuke had found it hard to breathe through the humidity. Although a nice soak sounded refreshing, the girl opted to soak her feet, teasing her skin with coolness.

Suigetsu had already merged with the water; only his face showed a slight form of human characteristic. Naruto stripped down to his boxers, wild, young, and carefree—something Sasuke could never mirror, even before his family had been slaughtered. He was raised to be collected and composed at all times. Naruto wasn't…raised.

Before Naruto could make it to the water, Sakura yanks him by the arm and pulls him towards her. Her voice was shaking as she pressed her body to his, in a way that might be inappropriate had it been anyone else. Sasuke reads her pale lips as she whispers into the shell of the idiot's ear. "What the hell happened to your back?"

Sasuke hadn't noticed before, but long welts bubbled across his tawny skin, red and swollen, stretching over his shoulder blades and ending at the dip of his back. Naruto tries his best to turn around, but ends up spinning in circles, unable to see what everyone else saw.

"What's wrong with it?" The blonde replied.

Karin peeked around to look, and Suigetsu was already poking the scratches. Both were equally intrusive. "Damn, kid, you've got some woman at home don't ya?"

Naruto's face flushed. "Well, I mean…I guess…"

"Naruto," Sakura seethed, hissing between her teeth. "That looks awful! Hinata knows how to heal you, how can she let you walk around with those marks? How do you even have them, don't you heal naturally? It doesn't hurt?"

Sakura was obviously referring to the sunlight that baked across his flesh. The heat would only cause more damage to the tender, inflamed marks. Naruto isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, however.

"Not when I'm doing it, no. I don't really notice! I'm kinda too busy—"

Sakura, in a panic, slaps her hand on his back hard, letting her green chakra slowly seep out from her skin. "That is not what I meant!"

Suigetsu watches as the skin loses that pink, bright tone. He's healed in seconds. "You're good at that. All Karin does is moan and then pass out when she heals people."

Karin wades towards him, but he's already gone. "Fight me, you moron! Get over her and fight me!"

This nonsense is all too much for Sasuke. He beckons Jugo towards him, planning to leave the four behind as soundlessly as possible, but Sakura always notices his departures. It was a simple part of their history together.

"Hey, Sasuke,"

Sasuke stops and turns. They seem to have become the center of attention, as all eyes dart back and forth between the two.

Suddenly, Sakura cannot seem to find her voice. The words that wouldn't come out seem needy, worthless. Sakura doesn't want to sound needy. Sakura doesn't want to be worthless. "Can I—can we train together again tomorrow?"

Sasuke narrows his eyes. "I didn't see you training today."

Though his words may hurt, they are not meant to be insulting. Sasuke dealt in truths.

She looks away from him and towards the setting sun. Pinks, oranges, and blues, blending seamlessly created the perfect backdrop for nightfall. He walks away, and she doesn't even bother to watch his back disappear.