Sakura woke up with a headache. It pulsed behind her sinus angrily and when she tried to open her eyes, all she could do was groan miserably.
"Your eyes are swollen, Sakura-chan." Ino laughed quietly when she only groaned louder. "I'll get your clothes and some ice for that."
Sakura only managed to push herself up into a seating position on the futon before Ino was back. She gave her a glass full of iced water and Sakura gulped it all down before trying to speak.
"What time is it?" She croaked.
"Just before dawn," Ino sat down next to her and pointed to her chest. "Your boob is showing."
"Ino!" Sakura quickly set the glass down and used both hands to put her towel back in place.
"It's not like I've never seen you naked, Sakura-chan," Ino scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. "It is the first time I slept next to someone who was naked, though. Never figured it would have been someone with pink hair, to be honest."
Sakura stared wide eyed at her for a moment before an incredulous laugh escaped her.
"You're ridiculous." Sakura shook her head at the blonde. She reached for the discarded glass and used the ice inside it to press soothing cold into her eyes.
"What happened with Tachibana?" Ino didn't waste any time. Sakura could hear in her voice that this wasn't the only thing she had been meaning to ask but she knew Ino wouldn't mention what happened at the hideout. She knew Sakura had killed those men and that relieving the fact wouldn't help her in any way.
Sakura sighed.
"I froze."
"So… the mission?" Ino asked carefully, her hands twisting in her lap.
"A success." Sakura dropped the ice back on the glass and got up to start getting dressed.
"Sakura," Ino huffed. "Stop being so evasive."
Sakura was quickly putting on her warmer clothes, they were about to enter Tetsu territory and the extra layers would be necessary soon. She waited until she was almost done before turning back to her best friend.
"He said that his brother was thinking of keeping relations with Konoha strong and that we would have more time to get to know each other." Sakura ran her hands through her hair and sat down with her back to Ino. "He's a decent guy. Can you make a braid for me? My hair is a mess from sleeping with it wet."
"Just because he's not pushy doesn't mean he's not an asshole, Sakura!" Ino started stroking her fingers through her hair a bit more aggressively than merited. "Doesn't make him any less of a paedophile."
"Paedophilia would imply I'm underage, Ino-chan." Sakura said gently.
"You are still too young for these kinds of things!" Ino insisted harshly and Sakura could hear the tears in her voice.
"But not too young to kill?"
The silence that ensued was heavy. Ino's hands were shaking as they finished weaving her hair into a perfect braid and the two of them sat still for a while before the blonde's quiet sniffles made Sakura speak up.
"I'm sorry." She said without turning around. Ino sniffled once more before getting up abruptly.
"No." She shook her head and looked head on at Sakura with a fake smile on her face. "You're right, Sakura-chan. We're kunoichi of the Leaf. We do whatever is needed of us, right?"
They didn't do much more speaking while they got their things in order. The whole group gathered for a hearty breakfast at the suite's common room and they headed out just as the sun had finished rising over the tree tops.
The trip into Iron was done in quiet chatter. The weather got progressively worse and by the time they could see the Sanro, the three wolves mountains, they had been carting through snow for about two hours. The sun was almost completely hidden by heavy clouds now but Sakura's internal clock told her it would be a few hours until noon.
"This is where we depart, Sakura-san." Tachibana stopped their entourage when the road they were on forked into three paths.
"Are you sure you don't need us to accompany you to your estate, Tachibana-sama?" Sakura asked the man with a frown on her face. It didn't feel right leaving them in the middle of the road.
"We are already in my land. No harm will come to me." Tachibana looked her over clinically then his eyes moved to his brother before resting on her once again. "Call me Sadatoshi, our families have done business for generations, there is no need for such formalities."
Sakura knew her family wasn't the only reason he was granting her permission to call him by his first name. Sakura's connection as a Haruno made an impact, sure, but things had changed since the beginning of the mission. There was respect on his eyes when he looked at her now and maybe a bit of cunning when he looked back at his brother.
Sakura was sure that if her dad allowed it, Sadatoshi would try to arrange a marriage between Shinsei and her.
"I hope we were of service, Sadatoshi-sama." Sakura bowed at him, the girls following suit and echoing the gesture.
"Konoha will always be welcomed in my lands as a sign of gratitude, Sakura-san." Sadatoshi nodded at them and left without another word to them. "Hurry up, Shinsei."
The younger samurai smiled charmingly at the girls and saluted them jokingly.
"Ja ne, Kunoichi-chan." He winked at her.
Temari snorted as they stayed watching the backs of their traditional garb. She slung her arm across Sakura's shoulder and together the four of them went back the way they came.
"How did that go?" Sakura could see from the glint of her eyes that Temari was fully aware of the side mission she had undertook. It was no use playing dumb so she merely grinned back, face full of faked female smugness.
"Mission complete."
Temari laughed out loud and Ino joined with a snort and a shake of her head while Hinata stared wide eyed at them all.
"At least we can go back to acting like ninja now."
And with that they all took to the trees, happily channelling chakra into their feet to help them move faster. It had been constricting to travel like the samurai and Sakura was glad she could feel the wind rushing towards her once again. Her headache lessened as the exercise pumped adrenaline through her veins and Sakura felt weightless.
When noon came around, Temari stopped them to say goodbye.
"We can go with you to Suna, if you want." Sakura offered.
"No way." Temari shook her head and turned around. "Go home and get your pay, Sakura. You deserve it." She waved her hand. "See you girls in a couple of weeks back in Konoha."
Sakura had almost forgotten that Temari was going to be a constant in Konoha. She was suddenly ridiculously glad for the Chunin Exams and the opportunity it gave her to keep in contact with the girl.
"Wait up!" Sakura walked up to her as she scribbled something on a piece of paper she had laying around her in backpack. "This is my address. When you go back maybe you could visit? Or send me a letter…"
Sakura trailed off awkwardly, her cheeks burning at how stupid she felt. Temari was just a teammate she had for one mission, she was older and foreign, she wouldn't want anything to do with Sakura. But still, a part of her wanted the girl's friendship. She had made the horrible tasks Sakura had to do for the first time more bearable and it meant something to her.
Temari looked surprised at Sakura's request but she quickly took the piece of paper and sent her a fierce smile.
"See you soon!"
"See ya!" Ino waved excitedly.
"Have a safe trip, T-Temari-san!" Hinata blushed at her stutter but there was still a tiny smile on her face.
Sakura turned back to her teammates and smiled greatly, a big weight seemed to be off her shoulders. The girls smiled excitedly at her, also happy to be done with the mission.
"If we keep a fast pace and camp out in the woods we can be in Konoha for breakfast." Sakura raised her eyebrows. "What do you say?"
"It's been a nice vacation but I'm ready for my kaa-san's food!" Ino put her hand on her hip and laughed a bit.
"I can keep up, Sakura-chan!" Hinata nodded determinedly at her before giving a shy smile.
"Yosh!" Sakura turned around and tightened her hitai-ate. "Let's head out then!"
It was a nice feeling to be going back home. Sakura was still a bit shaken with the things that had happened and she was sure plenty of nightmares were to come but it didn't really matter because the mission was a success. She did it. She actually managed to accomplish her first mission as a chunin with only minor setbacks.
Well, minor to Team Seven standards, anyway.
They kept an almost full speed pace for the first two days of travel, only stopping long enough to scarf something down and change out of their winter clothes before moving on. On the end of the third day, the sun was almost completely hidden by the horizon and, by Sakura's estimative, they could even make it to Konoha in that same night if they didn't mind running in the dark for about an hour.
Maybe she had counted her blessings too soon. Maybe she had angered the universe in anyway or maybe the headache that had been making its comeback all throughout the journey had made her miss the signs of an ambush.
It didn't really matter because one second they were chatting animatedly about whether they should stop for the night or keep going and the next second Ino was screaming and dropping to the forest ground.
With her best friend's blood splattered all over her face and the sounds of kunai rushing through the wind, all Sakura could do what stare wide eyed at all the red around her.
Don't hate me?