The cold never bothered her. In fact, she welcomed the bone chilling numbness. She welcomed the numbness. The quietness.

Ever since she had sought out Gai-sensei for help in improving her taijutsu she had loved early mornings. Early mornings had become her time. The village was still asleep, only the occasional shop owner or shinobi crossed her path. There was no doctor or nurse wanting her opinion, no patients needing help. Tsunade was still asleep, the Hokage Tower quiet for the most part. She was needed nowhere, and she took full advantage of it.

It had been four weeks since she had been able to go for her morning run. Four very long weeks and she knew the next two were going to be just as long. So, when she woke up in Shisui's room only a few hours after falling asleep she deiced even though she was tired the run was needed more than sleep. She had transported to her apartment, quickly discarding her jounin vest, opting instead to run in a black sports bra and jounin pants. Sakura kept her weapons poach and kunai holder attached. Even with her seal in her arm, she wanted to have quick access to her weapons. She quickly threw her hair into a high pony and started her run.

The cold air felt amazing as she breathed in and out. It was easier to focus on the feelings of the cold air and the burning sensation in her legs and lungs than focusing on everything else that was going on.

Sakura didn't want to think about Sasuke. Didn't want to have to process the feelings that whole interaction had brought forth. She loved Sasuke, but she wasn't in love with him. Her love for Sasuke was different from her love for Kakashi, Naruto and Shisui. Apart of her was afraid that if she gave into Sasuke she would lose apart of herself. The part of herself that she had worked so hard to get. Sakura wasn't perfect. She had flaws, the list almost a mile long. But she was proud of what she had managed to accomplish. She didn't hide behind others. Not anymore. And she refused to ever go back to her old genin self. She never wanted to be as helpless and useless as she had been in the forest of death. She had been so pathetic back then. Never again. She had promised herself she would never be that useless ever again.

Sasuke had changed since the team had reformed. Maybe she had been unfair to him. Maybe she had pushed him away and kept him at a distance for too long. She had hurt him. But he had hurt her first.

And things were more complicated now than ever before.

Then there was Itachi. Something had changed between them and Sakura wasn't exactly sure why. She could tell there was a sharpness in his glances that wasn't there before. She also didn't like the fact he was questioning why she had left the team or who her partner was. Itachi might not be a Nara but his intelligence rivaled them no doubt. Sakura had heard about the hours long shogi matches between Itachi and Shikamaru. She didn't like someone that clever looking closely at her. Itachi was a genius, and she wanted as much space between them as she could.

She neared the front gates, and she could already see the team gathering. The only person missing is their assigned team leader. Sakura slows her pace to a walk, her eyes bouncing between team eight. There was no better tracking team in the village, but she couldn't help but feel some level of irritation. It was her information that lead to this discovery. She wanted a piece of the action. She didn't doubt team eight's tracking abilities, but she worried their combat skills weren't enough for what they were about to walk into.

"Everything will be fine." He says falling into step with her. He had been there when Sakura had argued that she should be sent out. She trusted the judgment of her Hokage, but this was personal.

"He took out two of our best anbu. They aren't even jounin level, forgive me for having doubts Kakashi." She says looking at him. "I don't want to see you coming home in a body bag because you sacrificed yourself." She warned.

Kakashi doesn't say anything, just puts his hand on her shoulder and gives it a squeeze. He knows she is worried. He couldn't remember the last time Sakura had questioned Tsunade's judgment. She had pushed that fact that at the very least an anbu team should be sent to shadow them just in case fighting broke out. She had pushed for Badger to be sent out but the Hokage wasn't having it. Tsunade said that was unnecessary since the mission was only supposed to be find and report, they were never supposed to engage with the enemy.

But there was a sinking feeling in her gut that wasn't going away. Sakura had learned a long time ago to listen to her instincts.

Something was going to go wrong.

Sakura reached into her holster and pulled out a special kunai she had marked. She sent a small wave of charka through it before handing it to Kakashi.

Kakashi one eyed widened looking at the markings on the kunai. "This is-"

"It's not perfected yet. But I would feel better if you took it sensei." She insists cutting him off. Sakura can't make eye contact with him. She knows he knows that symbol. It…it wasn't something people were aware of yet. What she had been doing…researching and trying to recreate. "I'm not doubting your skills. You can wipe the floor with me on your worst day. But you can't heal sensei."

Kakashi doesn't respond right away. He just continues to stare at the symbol. A blast from the past hitting him at full force. When he does finally look at her, for a brief moment he doesn't see pink hair and emerald eyes. Instead there is a young genin with short brown hair and big brown eyes with purple makeup across her checks. It feels like a punch in the gut and something feels as if it twisted inside of him.

Then he blinks and there is Sakura staring at him waiting for him to pocket the kunai. There is something in her eyes he can't place. What he can place is a hint of fear and uncertainly and he can't tell if it's because of the mission or because of what she had just given him. Whatever her reason for fear was he trusted her. He quickly pockets the kunai.

"All you have to do is send a pulse of charka into it and I'll come running to you." She says refocusing on the team in front of them. She feels horrible to be doubting her friends, but she wasn't naive. The snake shinobi was a monster. The unspeakable experiments he had done to his fellow followers and the people he captured made her sick just thinking about it. There was a very strong possibility that they were about to be walking into a trap with genetically modified shinobi waiting for them.

"Everything will be alright Sakura." Kakashi says flashing her a fake smile. He ruffles her hair before walking to his assigned team.

Sakura watches as the team takes off into the woods. Her eyes trained on Kakashi's back until she could no longer see him. Only when she could no longer sense them does she turn and continue her run, trying desperately to clear her head of worry.


He was disappointed.

Itachi had finally gotten a moment to check the archives and it hadn't been helpful. There had been very little information about Sakura. All of her medical skills had been listed, along with her status as one of the head medics at the hospital. Yet there was very limited information beside that. Her file showed that she held the rank of jounin. But her mission count was missing, and there was no mention of any anbu training or promotion.

It was extremely strange.

As an anbu captain he should be able to access some of her file. He wonder what was so special about Sakura that information was purposely left out.

Itachi had hoped going to the archives would have helped him piece together part of the puzzle in front of him but all it had served to do was add more pieces. But that was alright. Itachi did always enjoy a good game, and it had been quite some time since someone had challenged him, especially like this.

He would just have to keep a closer eye on the pink haired shinobi.

He entered the tower almost an hour early and wasn't surprised at all to already feel her charka signature there. Itachi was beginning to wonder if the girl ever slept. He opened the door to find her staring at a map.

It was a new map, separate from the two she had on the boards. She had a handful of colorful pins poked on the map at the tip the country of fire's boarder. Kirigakure was extremely close to that location. He didn't have to ask to know what she was doing.

They had all agreed that their first goal should be capturing the three tails. Sakura had briefly mentioned that Badger was checking leads to see if the location could be found. It had made Itachi question what kind of relationship Sakura might have with the anbu. It was clear no one else had been pulled into this information she had been gathering before their team was formed. She had also made a fuss about Badger being added to the team. Why would she tell him about this information and then be against said person joining the team assigned to do something about it?

"Good morning" she greeted without looking up. She stuck two more pins in the map before straightening in her seat. It was clear to Itachi that she couldn't have been here very long. Her hair was wet and twisted in a messy bun. Her lips covered in some type of red gloss. Her jounin vest was draped over her chair. The room smelt like vanilla, not that he minded. He had always had a sweet tooth.

"Any word from Badger?" He asked moving closer to her to get a better look at the pinned locations.

She just shock her head. "Not yet. He should be back any day. If the rumors are true, there are few locations that could hold something like that, let alone kept it a secret all these years." She leans further back in her chair. Her left hand coming up to rub her right shoulder. He could tell by the way her hand was moving that she was trying to get rid of a knot.

"Let me." He says stepping behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. He feels her tense immediately but doesn't push his hands off. She just lowers her hand. Itachi moves his hands closer to her neck and can't help but think about how small she. It would be so easy to just snap her neck. To allow someone to get this close to their weak spot was not something shinobi took lightly. Yet Sakura didn't fight him.

A deep sigh escaped her when he began to move his fingers. He could feel some of the tension leave her. He works in silence for several minutes, stopping only when he feels no more stress in her shoulders. Itachi isn't sure what had possessed him to message her. He had never done that to anyone before. But he had wanted to touch her. To feel her. Even after he stepped away, he could still feel her warmth on his hands.

"Thank you" she says quietly.

His is mildly assumed to see a blush across her face. "You wouldn't have a stiff neck if you actually slept at your house Sakura." He teased, taking a seat across from her.

"If your cousin wasn't such a pain in my ass, I would have been able to." She countered. "I'm hopeful after last night, my presence won't be needed. Shisui is out of the danger zone. He should be able to go home in a few days. I'm still confident that he will be able to return to missions in six months if he takes it easy now and allows his body to properly recover."

"Do you always go this far for your patients? I've never heard of another medic placing a seal on their patient to feed them a constant source of medical ninjutsu." He watches as a ghost of a smile touches her lips.

"I've always had a problem knowing when to stop when it comes to my patients. But Shisui is a special case. We have been friends for several years. When he is fully recovery, I plan on kicking his ass for ever allowing Kabuto to get that close." Itachi went to interject, to clarify that Shisui had taken a blow meant for him, but she just shock her head. "I've read your mission report Itachi, I know what happened. But he should have never been out in the field. You can't go into battle if you can't even see."

A small wave of panic crashes within him. Had Shisui been having problems with his eyesight as well? Shisui had never said anything, but neither had Itachi. Would that have changed things if their eyesight hadn't been destroyed by the sharingan? "Are you going to report that to the Hokage?"

"No. Tsunade-sama would pull him from missions much longer than six months just out of spite. Besides the damage should be repaired now. It should no longer be a problem as long as he comes to me every six months for a checkup."

"You were able to repair the damage?" He questioned immediately. Sakura just nodded her head. "How?"

"I've healed Kakashi's sharingan multiple times before. Even though his is a transplant, it was clear to see how the pathways should be connected." She refocused her energy on the map in front of her. Clearly wanting to end that line of questioning.

Itachi doesn't press her, he is to wrapped up in his own thoughts.

Maybe there was hope his eyesight could be repaired as well.

The question would be if he could trust her enough to ask.


Shisui wasn't surprised when Sakura didn't come back to check on him. It had been four days since their talk. He kept replaying the whole thing over and over again in his head. Why hadn't he gone to Sakura for help? Did he think her skills weren't enough? Or was he worried if she learned about the damage and was unable to fix it that she would tell the Hokage, and he would be pulled off the roaster?

If he wasn't a shinobi who was he? Would he be able to return to the compound knowing what the elders would think of him?

To be forced into an early retirement at 24 would have stung too deeply. He wouldn't have been able to face his family.

No one had updated him on his eyes. They remained wrapped. The last nurse that had come in said the doctor would be in to talk with him before he was released. The nurses had constantly been giving him updates on his other injures. Several medics had come and checked his healing process, touching every part of him but his eyes. He was starting to stress out. Shisui had to rip off the heart monitors because he was tired of hearing the machine beep every time his heart rate increased. He was already dressed in civilian clothes. He was just waiting for the final checkup before being released and he was losing his mind.

He was able to rip the bandages off his eyes to check the damage himself when his door opened.

"Sakura" he calls out, smiling slight. A small part of him had been hoping that the doctor releasing him would be her. Another part of him kept reminding him that he had fucked up and that she was to pissed off to be bothered.

"How are you feeling?" She asked stepping in front of him. Her hands glowing green as they covered his eyes.

Shisui allowed the warm sensation to fill his senses. Something about Sakura had always been so calming. "I'll feel better when I know what's going on with my eyes." He could feel her stop the flow of medical ninjutsu and heard her let out a deep breathe.

"I'm going to unwrap your eyes. Whatever you do, do not call forth your sharingan." She warned and waited till he nodded his head in understanding before unwrapping the layers of gaze. "You can open your eyes."

His eyelids flutter open, his vision momentarily blinded as his eyes try to adjust to the light for the first time in over a week. Then he focuses in on Sakura. She is leaning against the window frame. Her emerald eyes are locked onto his, and for the first time he sees the depth in her eyes. He sees the individual eyelashes that are curled. He sees how different her eyes look form when she was a genin. Her face had lost the last of the baby fat from childhood. Her hair was even a more vibrant pink than he thought. Shisui had always known Sakura was pretty but he had never been able to see her true beauty till now.

"What? How?" He tries to form his thoughts but fails.

"How is your vision?" She asks ignoring his confusion.

"Perfect." He answers still in amazement. "How did you fix them?"

"I'm surprised you were even able to see at all with all the damage. Had you come to me your eyesight would have been fixed much sooner." She says, her features twisting in sadness. The other night Shisui had wanted so desperately to see her face, and now it was clear as day in front of him. And it hurt. He had looked at Sakura like a little sister, and to see her hurt, and to know he was the causes, killed him. "Why didn't you come to me?"

"If the Hokage found out she would have pulled me off the mission roaster."

"Do you think so little of me that you thought I would have turned against you Shisui? If I couldn't fix the sharingan, fine you can't use it, it doesn't mean I couldn't have fixed your normal eyesight. You have always been so much more than the sharingan you possess. Another month or so and you could have permanently blind. Then what? What would have happened if I lost you during your last mission because you couldn't see?"

"But you didn't lose me Sakura." Shisui said standing from his hospital bed. He could see her fighting back tears. He needed to show her that he was okay.

"The only reason why I didn't lose you is because your cousin ran like hell to get here. He defied orders and came and got me in the middle of the night. You flat lined on me twice. I held your heart in my hands as my team work desperately to restart it. I felt your heat stop. We had to shock you three times. I wasn't even supposed to be in the village Shisui! I was on a mission I managed to finish early. You don't get to stand here and act like this isn't a big deal!" She yelled; the first set of tears rolled down her face.

He wrapped his arms around her, unsure of what else to do. He couldn't argue with her. He had been selfish and stupid. He should have gone to her. "I'm sorry." Are the only words he can think to say as he kisses her forehead. "I'm sorry for not coming to you. I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I'm sorry you drained your charka and got injured in the process. I'm sorry you have been here every night checking on me even when I don't deserve it. I'm sorry Sakura-chan." He squeezed his arms around her tighter. Shisui could see how tried she was. Itachi had made it very clear what had happened and what the medic in his arms had done to ensure he survived.

Sakura pushed her head further into his chest. "No training for two months. I don't want you activating your sharingan until I give you the all clear. No missions for six months. I will be checking up on you, and if I find out you're not taking it easy I'm going to hurt you."

"Sak-"

"If you allow your eyes to rest, I'm confident I've repaired the damage. The report says your eyes were damaged by Kabuto. The only person who knows is Itachi. No one else needs to know."

"Thank you." The words don't seem enough. They aren't enough. Shisui can only tighten the hug. He would make it up to her.

The door to his hospital room opens once more, and in walks his cousin. He sees Itachi pause in his movements, his gaze locking onto Sakura. Her back is to him, and she takes a moment to ensure her face is dry before breaking the hug.

"I've already signed the paperwork Shisui. You're free to go home. I'll be by in the next few days to check in on you." She turns and starts to walk out the door only stopping for a second to acknowledge Itachi before she is slipping out the door, closing it behind her.

Itachi looks like he wants to say something but doesn't. He just takes Shisui's bag. "Let's get you home."


His breathes come in and out quickly as he fights to catch his bearings.

They should have known better.

The five of them stood on top of the cliff as the rocks, tress, and ground swirl around like a whirlpool below them.

"We would have been flattened if Akamaru hadn't sniffed out that escape route." Kakashi said, his eyes looking all round in case an enemy was hiding nearby.

"Good boy, Akamaru" Kiba praises his dog. "So, they did lay a trap, after all."

"Yes, but not for yes" Shino explained. When his other two teammates sent him confused looks, he continued. "I doubt the enemy has any idea we're even in the vicinity. I think that trap was set off to destroy the evidence. To destroy the hideout itself. "

"But all those people still inside" Hinata cried.

"Yeah pretty ruthless, all right." Kakashi shock his head slightly. It seemed Sakura hadn't been wrong to be worried. "Well, in as much as we've located Orochimaru's hideout, we've achieved our mission."

"But we can't really say it's been a success, can we?" Shino asked. "We can't return to the Leaf without having gathered any information about his current whereabouts and plans."

Kiba nodded in agreement.

"There is one bit of information that we've learned. That was a timed explosion. Whoever set the timer had to have been here recently." Hinata said with a determination in her eyes. They couldn't just turn back now.

"You're right. And if they're still in the vicinity, we should find out what we can from them." Kakashi was beginning to wonder if team seven wasn't cursed in their missions going haywire, maybe it was him. The three shinobi before all agreed. None of them wanted to return to the Leaf empty handed. Shino sent out a wave of insects to scatter all around them.

If someone was nearby, they were going to find out. And if things turned from bad to worse, he always had the backup Sakura had given him.


Sakura had been on edge from the moment she walked into the office. The first sign that something was wrong with the pinky was that she had been late. For the first time since this team formed almost a week ago, Sakura had come in almost twenty minutes after their meeting time started.

She hadn't even offered an excuse. She had simply said sorry and started reviewing her file.

Her jounin vest was halfway unzipped, making Itachi wonder why. Genma had brushed against her once to go to the bedroom and Itachi saw her clench her jaw. Was she hurt? Maybe overextended herself during training? But then why not just heal herself? He could tell her charka was lower than it had been the last few days.

Sakura had refused to make eye contact with him. He knew she knew he kept glancing at her. But he wouldn't push the matter. They weren't close. And if the roles were reserved, he wouldn't appreciate it either.

Shikamaru had been going back and forth with Sakura over the possible location of the three tails. Shikamaru seemed to think the beast would have been hidden somewhere inside or at least closer to the hidden mist. The previous host had died in that area, it made more sense that the beast would be closer to where it separated from his host. But Sakura was insistent that wasn't the case. She claimed the beasts were known to come out of nowhere, she argued it could have transported itself somewhere far away for its own safety after the separation occurred.

"We're assuming they have the mental capacity to think like that." Shikamaru counted.

"When the nine tails attacked it didn't seem to have a battle strategy. It just destroyed everything in its path." Genma said. "One would think once it separated from Kushina it would have ran to avoid capture instead of fighting back."

Sakura ran her hair through her hair, clearly frustrated. "It's possible with Minato there that wasn't a possibility. He would have fought to seal it before anything else. Plus, the three tails was released when his host died. The nine tails was released when Kushina's seal broke. The three tails might have been to injured or weak to fight back, leaving the only option to flee."

"We are to limited in our knowledge of the tails beasts. We cannot say anything for certain." Itachi finally chimed in after remaining silent the last hour of this debate.

Sakura went to say something back when her focus shot to the window. Not five seconds later a masked anbu was standing right beside her. The look on Shikamaru's and Genma's face made it clear they hadn't felt his approach either. His black mask firmly in place, not a speck of dust on him. His hand was placed on her shoulder, too close to her for Itachi's liking.

"Badger" she called out. "I was wondering when you would be gracing us with your presence."

"What have you found?" Shikamaru asked. It was apparent that the anbu was staring at the map in front of them.

"I believe I have located the location of the three tails." His hand slip from Sakura, and landing on the map, in the same general area Sakura had been arguing for.

"No way-" Genma said staring.

"The Hokage has summoned you two now." Badger said pointing to Itachi and Sakura. "I will catch the other two up on the new information I've gathered."

We both form the hand signs and disappear from the room, reappearing only a couple floors down in front of her office. Sakura knocks and we are quickly called inside.

Tsunade is sitting behind her desk a pile of paper shoved to each side. Once she is done reading the scroll in front of her, she looks up.

"M'Lady" Sakura greets bending into a bow. Itachi follows with one of his own. "You wanted to see us."

"Yes. Badger has discovered the possible location of the three tails, and I am sending the two of you out to confirm and protect it while we form a sealing team." Sakura immediately went to protest, why Itachi wasn't sure, but Tsunade wasn't having it. "This mission is top priority and the perfect opportunity for the two of you to get acquainted with one another. Since Shisui will be out of commission for a while, you two will be partnered together for the time being."

Itachi didn't have to look at Sakura to know she was unhappy with the new development. He could feel her chakra swirling inside of her, reacting to her emotions.

Tsunade throws a scroll at him and he easily catches it. "I want Itachi taking point on this mission."

"Hai M'Lady" Sakura acknowledges.

"You two are to leave immediately." They didn't have to be told twice, already making their way to the door. "Ah and Sakura?" She called out making them both pause. "Your request has been approved."

"Thank you M'Lady." Sakura gives one last bow before slipping out the door agreeing to meet at the front gate it fifteen minutes.

So, they were partners now. Itachi couldn't say he wasn't pleased. This game him the perfect opportunity to get to know her. It would be interesting to see her combat skills out in the field. Itachi intended to make the most out of this partnership, especially since the clock was already ticking.


Author's note: Thank you guys so much for the reviews. I love reading each and everyone of them. Next chapter is when things really start to pick up. Let me know what you guys want to see happen. Stay safe everyone and thank you.