Chapter 2


A/N: Heyo! I'm backkkkk! I know this one is a fast update, don't get used to it lol. I got this one out because I have exams in less than two weeks. I have a few important things that you need to know…

1. This story takes place just a few months after Sasuke leaves, meaning this story does not take place in shippuden. I'm sorry if any of you were let down.

2. Sakura does not know about Kyuubi right now. I felt like it would be more fun for you guys to read about how she figures it out. I'm having fun writing about this I hope you're enjoying reading about it too. I'm sorry if people were let down by this.

3. This story will not be veryyyyyy long, I'm thinking about maybe 7-8 chapters. It can be stretched till 10. But we'll see about that.

4. I'm sorry I'm saying all of this in the second chapter. When I posted the 1st chapter I was in a hurry because I wanted to play a PC game. Oops… My bad lol.

5. Canon goes to hell in my story, sorry about that, but I guess that's why it's called a fanfiction.

Alrighty imp. Notes over, you can go ahead and read the chapter now!


They were standing in the hokage's office. To say that the room was messy would be an understatement.

Paperwork was strewn all over the floor, the hokage's desk was lying in front of the doorway with a split in the middle. And the poor chair had been thrown out the window and was currently lying on top of Genma, a poor Jounin with bad timing. Both Genma and the chair were sporting huge bumps.

Kakashi sighed as he stood there with his perverted book beside Genma and the chair. Sometimes, he had trouble remembering which sanin was crazier than the other.

Back in the office…

Tsunade glared at the two genin standing in front of her.

"Naruto! You should have listened to me!" Sakura yelled at the blonde genin.

"Wha-? How is it my fault?!" Naruto exclaimed with a scandalized expression.

Tsunade gave the boy a death glare, "You entered through the window… AGAIN! When I specifically told you at least a thousand times to use the DAMNED DOOR!" The blonde haired woman yelled at him.

"Woa- Well- I- I mean I didn't expect you to go all Godzilla on us baa-chan. I mean you have some really bad anger issues, I think you need those uh those whatchamacallits? Oh yeah! Anger management classes!" Said Naruto while rubbing the back of his neck with a sweat-drop on his head.

Sakura smacked her forehead and sighed. "Naruto you are such an idiot." She mumbled. Naruto looked at her in confusion when Sakura rolled her eyes and pointed in Tsunade's direction. As Naruto turned to look at Tsunade he gulped in fear as a huge fire could be seen surrounding her.

"Oh yeah? Well I think you need one of those thingamabobs called brains that you SO severely lack!" Snarled Tsunade as she advanced on the poor boy while cracking her knuckles in preparation for a good beat-down.

Naruto gulped again in fear as he started backing away. "Baa-chan! Why aren't you going after Sakura-chan too? She came through the window with me!" He whined while Sakura gave him a side glare.

Tsunade smiled devilishly at both of them, "Oh you don't need to worry about Sakura, brat. I have a special punishment for her." She said with mock sweetness.

Now it was Sakura's turn to gulp in fear. 'Oh just great.' She thought sarcastically when suddenly she heard Tsunade's thoughts in her head.

'This is a good enough distraction to get out of paperwork. Thank kami for these brats! A good time in a hot spring with a bottle of sake, here I come!' Her gleeful voice floated in Sakura's head.

Sakura shook her head at her teacher's antics as she watched Tsunade pull back her fist and Naruto cover his head when suddenly the door opened. Three pairs of eyes turned towards the door to see a horrified Shizune with Tonton standing there.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" Yelled Shizune with a comical expression. "Tsunade-sama! What did you do?!" She asked in anger.

The hokage in question sweat-dropped, "I was just teaching these brats the proper way to enter a room." She shrugged as she said so.

Shizune rolled her eyes, "By destroying the room? Now how will you complete the paperwork?" She asked in disappointment.

Tsunade smiled sadly but everyone knew she was faking as she said with an overly dramatic flair, "Oh no…. You're right my ever so faithful assistant Shizune, it's such a tragedy. The poor paperwork will never be completed now…. Oh well let's get go some sake!"

Everyone sweat-dropped.

"Uh Tsunade-shishou? Ino said you wanted to tell us something important?" Asked Sakura carefully. Tsunade's eyes widened, "Oh yes! I completely forgot!" She exclaimed.

"Baa-chan you're getting old. Too bad that jutsu of yours can't help with memory." Said Naruto as he chuckled.

"Naruto!" Sakura hissed at him as she punched him on the head while Tsunade's eyes narrowed.

"Ignoring that." Said Tsunade pointedly, "You two will find this interesting."

This caught the attention of the two genin.

"Sasuke was spotted in Suna." She said without missing a beat. Two jaws opened in astonishment.

"What the hell baa-chan? You sure?" Asked Naruto hurriedly.

"What's that supposed to mean brat?" Tsunade asked angrily.

"Calm down Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun is just in shock." Said Shizune trying to calm the riled up hokage.

Sakura hadn't said anything but she could hear the jumble of thoughts of the other three standing in the room. The combination of their thoughts and this news was starting to give her a head-ache. She didn't know how to react. They found Sasuke, she should be happy. Right?

But then why was there a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had a feeling something bad was about to happen in the near future and there was a big chance it had something to do with her two team-mates.

"Tsunade-shishou, I think Naruto meant to say that how was Sasuke spotted in Suna? He isn't one to be careless and let his guard down." Sakura finally said something.

Tsunade turned to her apprentice, "I know Sakura. I think he got himself spotted on purpose so that he could get Naruto to come after him. You know what I'm getting at don't you?" Asked Tsunade in a serious voice. All signs of playfulness were gone from the room.

Sakura sighed and whispered, "Yes… He wants to fight Naruto and settle the score." Then she heard Tsunade in her head saying,

'Poor girl. It's hard to go through things like these at such a tender age. Especially for the one who gets caught in the middle. They remind me so much of our team and well Kakashi's team. I think it's safe to say team 7 is cursed.'

Sakura was confused. She knew that Tsunade's team was horribly ripped apart when Orochimaru did what he did. But what happened with Kakashi-sensei's team? She wondered.

'Will we end up like them too?' Thought Sakura fearfully and sadly as she looked at Naruto who had a determined look on his face. 'That look is never a good sign.' She thought when she heard his thoughts,

'I won't let him get away this time! He's never gonna beat me! I'll make sure of that!' His determined voice said making Sakura smile as she thought, 'He never gives up does he.'

"Now what?" Asked Naruto with a serious expression, his usual goofy smile and shining eyes were transformed into a somber grimace and hard eyes.

"Well, Gaara sent me the information, so I'm positive it's correct. He said it was strange that Saskue hadn't done anything like destroying the village and stuff. He actually told me not to tell you Naruto." Said Tsunade with a sad smile.

"WHAT?! WHY?!" Naruto bellowed as Sakura shook her head sadly.

"Because Naruto, Gaara doesn't want you to do anything stupid and reckless." She said in a soft voice.

"The hell Sakura-chan?! I won't!" Whined Naruto.

Tsunade held up a hand silencing the blonde, "Naruto, I am not going to stop you from doing anything because I know you're not going to listen. So, I am sending both you and Sakura on a mission to get him back."

Naruto whooped in delight as Sakura gave a small smile.

"But…"

"Oh man baa-chan….Not that but!" Naruto whined as Sakura giggled.

Tsunade hid a fond smile that almost graced her features as she looked at her two favorite brats in the world with affection. They reminded her of her and Jiraya at that age. 'Now if only Sakura would realize sooner…' She thought.

'What does she mean by that?' Sakura thought confusedly as she heard her voice in her head.

"Listen to me brat and don't interrupt! I am going to send you on the mission… but… you're not going alone. I would've liked to send Kakashi with you or Jiraya but both of them are busy at the moment so you're going to have to go with one of the other genin teams. Which team you ask? That I'm going to leave up to the both of you. All teams are capable of handling the mission." Tsunade finished telling them.

"Oh… well that's not so bad! Alright! Come on Sakura-chan! Let's go and decide!" Yelled Naruto enthusiastically before jumping out the window.

"Wa-wait for me you idiot!" Yelled Sakura before following the blonde and jumping out.

"BRATS!"


After half an hour during which Naruto and Sakura goofed off a little….

"Sooooo, who do you wanna ask?" Naruto asked his pink-haired team-mate who was currently enjoying an ice-cream cone.

"Hm?" Asked Sakura as she turned her head to look at Naruto. As she did so, Naruto started giggling. "What?" Asked Sakura self-consciously.

Naruto suddenly stepped closer to her which made her blush slightly. "Na-Naruto?" She asked in a whisper.

Naruto just flashed her his trademark foxy grin, "You have a little something on your nose." He said as he touched her nose with his finger and wiped the blue ice-cream off to put it in his mouth. Sakura stared at him in a daze, a simple touch had made butterflies erupt in her stomach.

'I would much rather write a history exam than try to figure out these confusing feelings.' Thought Sakura miserably as she tried to calm the fluttering butterflies. It was so much easier when they were kids. 'Why did we have to grow up?' Before she could get lost in her thoughts Naruto interrupted her train.

"So which team then?" He asked again smiling at her.

"I dunno. I think we should work with a team who we know well and with a team that has good dynamics." Replied Sakura.

"You're right Sakura-chan. But how do you make yourself seem so smart?" Asked Naruto as he adopted a thinking pose.

A tick mark appeared on Sakura's head, "That's because I am smart you idiot!" She said as she punched him hard in the arm.

"Ow…ow…ow! Sorry Sakura-chan!"

"Hmph!"

"How about bushy-brow's team?" Naruto asked suddenly back to normal.

"Lee's team? Hmmm… All of them are nice, but we don't really know them well enough except for Lee." Sakura replied thoughtfully.

Naruto nodded in consent, "Yeah you're right and Neji can be a jerk sometimes even though he's a good person."

"That and Lee's weird ramblings about the YOUTH OF FIRE! YOSH!" Said Sakura as she imitating the green jumpsuit wearing ninja. Naruto burst out laughing at Sakura's spot on imitation.

"Oh! Sakura-chan! My stomach hurts!" Said Naruto continuing to laugh.

"Alright now, let's get back to the point." Said Sakura trying to sound stern but a giggle escaped her anyway.

"Yup! So, bushy-brow's team is out." Said Naruto.

"Yeah, that leaves us with team 8 and team 10." Said Sakura. "How about team 8?" She asked.

"They're a strong team. And they're nice, but don't you think Shino is a little creepy with all those bugs crawling out of his body?" Said Naruto giving a slight shudder.

Sakura was about to disagree and reprimand him for talking like an idiot when she was provided by a mental image of Shino with bugs pouring out of his every nook and cranny. She knew instantly that this mental image was conjured by Naruto's mind. It felt a bit different looking at someone else's imagination, like wearing something of the wrong size.

"Well… when you say it like that, I guess he's a little creepy. But Hinata is nice, albeit a little shy." She said.

Naruto shrugged indifferently as he replied, "She's weird. I don't know why she's always turning red and fainting." Sakura winced at his blunt honesty. 'Poor Hinata.' She thought.

"And well Kiba is…" Naruto trailed off as he made a sour face. As he did so Sakura heard someone else's thoughts that warned her of the approaching individual.

"Naruto!" Yelled a boy about the same age as them and with a small white dog by his side.

"Yo Kiba!" Naruto greeted him with enthusiasm while Kiba just glared at him.

"Woah man what's with the look?" Asked Naruto confusedly.

Kiba growled, "You mean, you've already forgotten about this morning?"

"Uhhhh….."

"Jerk!" Yelled Kiba.

"Wha-? But what did I do?!" Yelled Naruto in an affronted voice.

"You hurt Hinata, that's what you did, you loser!" Kiba yelled at him in irritation.

"Hurt Hinata? I didn't hurt her! I would never-

"Can it spiky!" Said Kiba holding his hand up to silence the blonde. "I'm going to make you pay! Nobody hurts my Hinata…uh I mean my team-mates and gets away with it!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! And by the way, I can beat you even in my sleep dog boy!" Yelled Naruto getting all fired up.

Sakura could only watch in astonishment as the two boys exchanged insults and threatened each other. 'Boys. Are. So. Stupid.' Was the only though going through her mind.

Finally her patience snapped, "Alright! That's enough both of you!" Said Sakura as she stepped in between them and pushed them away from each other.

"But Saku-

Naruto tried to say but was silenced by a glare from said girl.

Kiba started laughing, "Looks like pinkie's got you on a leash blondie!" This caused both teens to blush hard as they got the second meaning. Sakura turned towards Kiba and glared at him.

"You better shut up dog boy or else I'll make you and you're not gonna like it." Said Sakura venomously making Naruto tremble when she heard Kiba's voice in her head,

'HA! This bitch thinks she can order me around, well I think I'll just show her who's boss!' His voice resounded in her head.

Hearing this made Sakura even angrier, but if this wasn't enough for Sakura to kill him the next thing he said did the trick.

"Woah, woah pinkie I ain't yer boy toy! Got it? So you can't boss me around like that wimp!" Said Kiba pointing at Naruto who straightened up and glared at Kiba after hearing this.

Sakura's glare intensified, "The hell you just say?"

Kiba smirked at her, "I said I ain't yer boy-

Before he could complete the offending sentence, Sakura had pulled back her fist and hit him with a chakra enhanced fist sending him flying into the sky. All that could be seen was a glowing star in his wake. (A/N: I am not in anyway making Kiba a jerk, this just needs to happen for the flow of the story. Sorry Kiba lovers.)

Akamaru barked as if apologizing for his master's behavior and then ran after the shining star no doubt to find his idiot of a master.

Sakura dusted her hands as she turned towards Naruto who was looking at her in awe, "Well, Team 8 is out. But it's not just because Kiba pissed me off though."

"Uh huh… Oh yeah, it's better this way… I mean otherwise me and Kiba would just be fighting all the time." Naruto quipped up.

"So team 10 then?" Both of them asked at the same time. Naruto smiled at her, "It's like you can read my mind." He said with a chuckle. This caused Sakura to almost trip before realizing he was joking. She gave a weak chuckle before following him.


"Slow down Choji! At the rate you're going the whole village will be out of food by the next month!" Yelled Ino at the fa- I mean uh slightly chubby boy.

"That's an exaggeration and you know it Ino." Answered Choji as he swallowed a mouthful of roasted beef.

"This is so troublesome, I could be watching clouds but no, you had to drag me here didn't you devil woman?" Said Shikamaru in a bored voice.

Team 10 was sitting in their favorite eating place… well Choji's favorite eating place. They were sitting by the window, Choji on one side and the other two on the opposite side.

"Shikamaru how lazy can you get?! I mean who chooses watching clouds over their friends? What's wrong with you?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru sighed, "Ugh… another nagger… What a drag…" Choji snorted at this which caused Ino to glare at both of them.

"FINE! Do what you want to! I don't care. Ungrateful, hmfph." Scoffed Ino as she turned towards the window to look outside only to come face to face with a pig face made by Naruto who had squashed himself into the glass.

"AHHHHH!" Screamed Ino as she jumped into Shikamaru's lap in a mix of fear and surprise. This caused Shikamaru to blush a pretty red as Ino buried her face in his neck.

Both Shikamaru and Choji turned their heads towards the window to see Naruto and Sakura in hysterics. Choji looked at his two team-mates and smirked, "Feeling comfortable Shika?" He asked in a teasing tone.

Shikamaru blushed harder and glared at his best-friend, "Shut up…" He mumbled.

During this small exchange, Naruto and Sakura had entered the restaurant.

"Well, well, well! Shikamaru! How does it feel to have a girl in your lap?" Asked a cheerful voice that belonged to none other than Naruto. Shikamaru just sighed, "Naruto…"

"I didn't know you were scared of pigs Ino-pig, kind of ironic isn't it?" Giggled Sakura as she subconsciously rested her elbow on Naruto's shoulder for support.

This caused Ino to jump off Shikamaru's lap in a flash and glare at her pink haired frenemy. "Shut up Forehead! I was just surprised, that's all!" Yelled Ino, as she did so Sakura heard her thoughts,

'Dammit, I got too caught up in his warmth… Gah! Shikamaru!' Ino's voice yelled in Sakura's head.

Sakura had to pinch herself hard to keep herself from laughing out loud. She was saved from her secret getting out when Naruto spoke up,

"Uh guys… We have a favor to ask you." He said as he took a seat next to Choji. This caught everyone's attention. "Go ahead." Said Choji as he started stuffing his face again.

Both Naruto and Sakura proceeded to narrate everything that had happened in the past 2 hours.

"So you want us to go with you?" Confirmed Shikamaru.

Both members of team 7 nodded in consent.

"Well I have no problem. I'm happy to help." Said Choji through a mouthful of lamb chops which elicited disgusted expressions from the girls.

"You're the best Choji!" Said Naruto happily as he clapped him on the back.

"I'll go too, even though it's troublesome…" Said Shikamaru sighing lazily.

Naruto and Sakura smiled at him in appreciation, then they both looked at Ino. Ino looked between the two hopeful faces, one next to her and the other in front of her.

"Ugh… Fine… I'm in too, but I'm not doing this for the both of you. I'm only doing this to save Saskue-kun." Said Ino as she folded her arms and fell back on the bench, as she did so Sakura heard her thoughts,

'That should wipe any ideas of me and Shikamaru from Forehead's and the goofball's heads.' Ino's disgruntled voice floated in her mind.

Sakura giggled inwardly, 'That's never going to happen piggie! You're in for a wild ride Ino-pig!' She thought with an evil smile.

'SHANNARO! That's how we roll!' Yelled Inner Sakura happily.

"Yeah, yeah, all that matters is that we get that bastard back!" Exclaimed Naruto while Sakura and Shikamaru sighed and Choji and Ino rolled their eyes.

"When do we leave Forehead?" Asked Ino turning towards the pink haired kunoichi.

"Hmmm… The best time would be early morning, it's almost evening now." Said Sakura.

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah you're right. Let's meet at the gates by 5:30 tomorrow." Everyone nodded saying yes.

"I'm curious about something. About that whole Kiba incident you told us. What was Kiba talking about?" Asked Ino with a confused expression as Sakura nodded, "Yeah, even I'm curious." Trying to play innocent, because she already knew what had happened. Kiba's thoughts were narrating the whole incident when they were talking.

Everyone looked at Naruto to tell them, but he was sporting a confused expression too. Choji just sighed as he remembered what had happened.

"Naruto, don't you remember what happened this morning? While we were talking?" He asked.

"Hmm… Nope!" Said Naruto with a silly smile while Choji just sighed again.

"Guess I should tell you guys. This morning while Naruto and I were talking, Hinata came up to us with Kiba and finally managed to stutter and ask Naruto out on a date which he refused and told her that he had to train. Looks like Hinata took it personally and so did Kiba by the looks of it." Explained Choji.

"Wait… She was asking me out on a date?" Naruto asked confusedly while Choji looked at him incredulously, "What did you think she was doing?" He asked.

"I thought she just wanted to hang out. Well anyway even if I had known she was asking me on a date, I would still refuse." Said Naruto indifferently.

Curiosity getting the best of her, Ino asked, "Why?"

Naruto smiled, "Shy girls aren't really my type you see, cause I like 'em feisty." He said and then winked at Sakura which caused her to glare at him and turn away to hide the prominent blush on her face.

Then the subject changed and the four genin and one chunin started enjoying their time before they had to go through tough times.


"Are you sure they'll be alright without someone more experienced accompanying them?" Asked Shizune in a worried tone.

"They'll be just fine Shizune, I have faith in those brats." Replied Tsunade who was now sitting at her desk which had been miraculously fixed.

"And I have faith in you princess, you should too Shizune." Said another voice from the window.

Tsunade sighed in annoyance, "Jiraiya… You're an idiot."

"Wha-? Why?" asked Jiraiya in a scandalized voice.

"Just cause." Was the stupid response he received. Shizune sighed at the two's antics. When would Tsunade just accept her feelings she wondered.

"That's the most intelligent thing you've ever said." Said Jiraiya sarcastically.

"Can it idiot!" Tsunade yelled at him.

"Ooo, someone's touchy today. Is it that time of the month again?" He chuckled shamelessly, as he did so, he never saw the poor chair being flung in his direction.

Both the chair and the sanin went flying out the window as Tsunade dusted her hands and walked out of the office. She slammed the door behind her and Shizune winced at the impact.

"Seems like old people can act like idiots too." She mumbled.


Akamaru had been looking for his master for at least half of the evening before finding him lying upside down in a dumpster. "Woof!"

Kiba chuckled, "I acted like a jerk, didn't I? Guess I should apologize." He said to Akamaru when a quiet voice interrupted him.

"Kiba-kun?"

Kiba looked up to see Hinata looking at him in concern, "H-Hinata! What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Oh I was just pa-passing b-by. A-are you o-ok?" She asked worriedly.

Kiba chuckled again, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a little scuffle with someone. It's all good." He finished smoothly… well as smoothly as he could for guy lying upside down in a dumpster.

Hinata knelt down next to him and helped him up, "I-I'll he-help you, c-come on." She said quietly.

Kiba grinned at her gratefully, "Thanks!" He said happily while Hinata gave him a shy smile as a small blush graced her cheeks.


Sakura had been tossing and turning for the past two hours. It was 12:30 now. Her clock ticked away as Sakura tried to get herself to sleep which was proving to be futile.

You see her neighbors were having a party. So, sleeping next to a house full of teenagers partying and having mind reading abilities did not mix. All their thoughts were floating in her head. Some of these thoughts were much too inappropriate for a mere fourteen year old.

She felt like she had lost a large part of her innocence tonight. If she had to hear one more sexual joke or ahem…cough…ahem dirty thoughts or some boy practicing cheesy pick-up lines, she was going to punch every single one of those party people.

"Ugh! This is ridiculous!" She mumbled as she got out of bed. "There's no way I would be able to sleep with these stupid thoughts." Mumbled Sakura as she changed into her ninja gear. "I need some fresh air."

As she got ready to sneak out of her house, another thought floated into her head, 'Woah! Those are huge! Wonder if my head would fit between 'em.'

This almost caused Sakura to lose her balance and tumble down her balcony. Shaking her head to clear it she jumped off and landed on the ground lightly.

Sighing she started walking around the village under the cloudy sky. Very cold winds were blowing tonight making the poor girl shiver and she regretted leaving the warmth of her cozy bed. As she was chastising herself mentally she came across the library.

Sakura smiled wistfully as her mind filled with memories of herself running towards the library as she came home from school or going into the library to escape the bullies. The library had been like a second home to her.

Deciding something Sakura walked towards the back of the huge library and spotted the window a few feet above the ground, she used to use to sneak in or out when the bullies would be waiting by the front doors.

Instead of carefully climbing the tree and crawling towards the window, Sakura could now just use her chakra to walk up the wall and drop down into the library without breaking a sweat.

As she did so, she looked around herself remembering the good 'ol days.

'The library, the best place to quell your thirst for knowledge and unravel the mysteries plaguing your mind. Let's go find out the mystery behind this mark. There's gotta be something around here.' Thought Sakura as she started searching. It was pretty dark around the library since no lights were on. But luckily Sakura always carried a flashlight with her in her ninja pouch.

An hour and a half went by without her finding anything! She even checked the restricted section! Well there was one aisle left, so she went to check it out.

Since Sakura was shining the light upwards towards the shelves while walking through the aisle, she didn't see a whole bunch of books lying on the ground haphazardly and ended up tripping and falling down hard.

"Owwwww…." She mumbled. "Ugh! What kind of an idiot keeps books on the ground like this!" She yelled to no one in particular before slapping her hand on her mouth. 'Damn… I'm such a loudmouth…' She thought before noticing her flashlight shining on a large book lying in front of her.

It had a brown hard cover. She lifted the book and noticed it was pretty heavy. Grabbing her flashlight she shined it over the front of it. Its title said: All you need to know about Jinchurikis and Bijus.

The first part was printed in small silver letters and the next part in large golden letters.

'Jinchurikis and Bijus? Hmmm… I have never read about them before…' She thought when suddenly a memory of her mother snatching this very book from her little hands came to her. She remembered her mother's fearful expression. She didn't understand why her mother snatched it out of her hands and she still didn't.

Her curious and intelligent nature caused her to make the decision of taking the book with her on the mission. As she got up off the ground while lifting the book up she stumbled into the book shelf on her left. This caused a glass bottle on the fourth shelf to tumble out.

Sakura panicked and tried to grab the bottle. Even though she succeeded, the weight of the heavy book made her tumble forward into a chair sitting in front of her. A loud bang resounded throughout the library. Sakura was lying on the ground with one hand raised upwards with the bottle securely in her hand, the book had flown into the air and fell down on Sakura's stomach, knocking the air out of her and the chair was lying beside her.

"Uhh… I'm a disgrace to the name of ninja…" She mumbled through the feeling of self-loathing. Someone was bound to get suspicious and come to check in now.

She pushed the book off herself and sat up. Bringing the bottle down to her eye-level she noticed that the bottle wasn't empty. Quite the contrary, as it had a roll of paper in it tied with a red ribbon. The paper looked very yellow and old. It seemed like a pirate had sent a message like in old cartoons she used to watch as a kid.

As curiosity got the better of her again she popped the bottle open and toppled it over to take out the roll of paper. Loosening the ribbon she opened the roll and gasped.

On the top part of it was the same phoenix mark as the one on her arm. Her eyes travelled downwards and scanned the elegant writing that was fading due to time. It said:

'The mark of the phoenix. If anyone with this wretched mark is seen, they are to be killed on sight. People with this mark can perform witchcraft! They are twisted evil demons! They control and manipulate normal humans to make them do their bidding. They have no mercy, they are monsters! No normal person can know what another is thinking. The source of people like this is the phoenix itself, the one who bestows the mark on them. Killing it would free the world of this evil. We need to join forces and work together to wipe this threat off the face of earth. Shinobis and Kunoichis bearing this mark are threats to the other ninjas and civilians.

Signed & Approved By the Council

July 18, 1499

The paper fell from her hand as her thoughts swirled like a tornado, 'Evil, demon, monster, twisted, abnormal…'

Sakura couldn't believe what she had just read. It didn't seem like a page torn out of a book. No it looked like an official letter or something. Her eyes went back to the faded date at the bottom right corner of the page. '500 years ago…' She thought. 'This was written 500 years ago…'

She had come to the library to find information about this mark and her new abilities, even though she did find it she was not expecting to find something like this. Suddenly lying wide awake in her bed and listening to crappy hormonal thoughts didn't seem so bad. After reading this paper, it seemed like people with this mark were considered monsters and normal people were scared of them. Suddenly she was glad she hadn't told anyone.

'But why? Why would people consider them monsters?' Sakura wondered. 'What does the part about killing the phoenix itself means? Why would they want to hurt it? Just because it gave some ninjas the ability to read minds? This does not add up. There must be something else to the story.'

These thoughts were deeply upsetting, but before Sakura could dwell on it further she heard a click signaling that someone was turning the lock meaning someone was coming! She had to get out before they found her, she could not afford getting grounded just before an important mission if the person caught her. They were bound to tell her parents.

Quickly pocketing the paper, Sakura grabbed the heavy book and bolted for the window. She quickly threw the flashlight and book out the window before getting out herself. She closed the window quietly and slipped down the wall on to her butt, as the adrenaline rush calmed down and exhaustion started taking over her.

Taking that as a sign for her to go back home and rest, she gathered her things and set towards her house as once again her mind started pondering over what she had read.

She was deep in thought as she passed by the forested part of the training grounds. She had taken a longer route back in order to get some thinking done. As she was passing by she heard someone's voice in her head,

'Just you wait Sasuke! I'm gonna bring your sorry ass home weather you like it or not!' She recognized the voice as Naruto's when the second voice spoke up.

"Could you keep it down kit? I'm trying to sleep." The disgruntled voice said.

'You can deal with it fur-ball, you're tough.' Said Naruto nonchalantly.

"Fur-ball! Don't kid me boy! I can gobble you up in a second without you even realizing." The voice hissed.

'Oh boo-hoo! I'm shakin' in my boots!' Teased Naruto.

"You don't wear boots dumbass…" The voice guffawed.

As this goofy conversation went on in Sakura's head, she could detect Naruto's location somehow. She followed the voices in her head, 'Wow that makes me sound like a schizophrenic.' She thought when she noticed that she was still carrying the book. Due to some unknown reason Sakura hid the book. She didn't know why but it was just a feeling that she shouldn't let anyone know about the book. The paper was safely tucked in her pocket so that wasn't a problem. Her thoughts then went to the second voice.

'I really don't have enough energy to figure out who the second voice is today… I'll get to it tomorrow.'

'Lazy-ass.' Said Inner Sakura cheekily while Sakura just scoffed.

The trees cleared to reveal a raised ledge and on it was standing her goofball. 'Did I just call him my goofball again? Ugh what is this?' She thought then shook her head to clear the weird thought.

"Naruto? What are you doing here? At this hour?" She asked.

Naruto turned around and smiled at her, "I could ask you the same thing Sakura-chan." He said smoothly.

A slight blush made its way on to her face. "Well, I was just contemplating life." She said as she came closer and stood next to him.

Naruto started laughing, "You sound like Kakashi-sensei Sakura-chan. Maybe he's rubbing off on you." He said with a smirk.

"I do not!" Said Sakura as she lightly punched him on the arm while Naruto just grinned at her.

"What were you doing here?" Sakura asked again.

"Just thinking about the mission and how many bones I'll have to break before Sasuke agrees to come back." Said Naruto as he turned to look at the cloudy sky.

Sakura just shook her head at his choice of words. "You're an idiot you know that?"

"Tee-hee… Doesn't matter Sakura-chan. I'm gonna fulfill my promise to you no matter what the cost!" He exclaimed and Sakura heard the continuation of his sentence in her head,

'Even if the cost is my life, I'll gladly give it up to see you smile.' It made Sakura gasp out loud. Luckily Naruto was not focused on her at the moment.

'No way! Does he really think that I'll be happy without him?' Thought Sakura as the urge to strangle the boy next to her for his denseness overwhelmed her but she squashed it and instead took a deep breath,

'Yeah! Go for it girl! CHA!' Said Inner Sakura referring to the earlier urge to strangle Naruto, but Sakura just ignored her.

"Naruto, I want Sasuke-kun to come back as much as you do, but that doesn't mean that if he came back I'd be ok with losing you." She said in a quiet voice with a hint of desperation that Naruto noticed. He looked at her for a few moments and Sakura grew more nervous. Had she made a mistake saying something like this?

"You mean it Sakura-chan?" Asked Naruto in a serious voice.

Sakura turned to face him and gave him an incredulous look, "Of course I do, idiot!"

This caused him to smile widely and he pulled her into a bear hug. "Thank you Sakura-chan…" He whispered in her ear.

Sakura was about to pull back and punch him like usual but this time his warmth and strong arms made her body relax and made her feel safe. So she gave in and after hearing his thanks in her ear made her blush madly because of the close proximity and melted her heart.

As the heartfelt moment between the two team members stretched on, Sakura suddenly noticed a flash of silver and green.

"Um Naruto?" She whispered softly.

"Hm?" Hmmed Naruto as he enjoyed holding the girl of his dreams in his arms.

"I think I just saw Kakashi-sensei." Said Sakura as she pulled back pointed behind Naruto.

"What?" Asked Naruto as he turned towards where she was pointing. "I don't see anyone." He said.

"I am positive I saw him. Let's go and look deeper." Replied Sakura as she grabbed his hand and pulled him with her.

They started going deeper into the forest and searched for about 15 minutes but came up without any Kakashi-sensei. "Where is he?" Hissed Sakura in annoyance when Naruto pulled her hand back to stop her. "There…" He said in a shocked whisper as he pointed towards the right.

Sakura looked towards where he was pointing and saw Kakashi-sensei talking to… Shizune-san!

"What the hell?" Both genin mumbled at the same time as they watched the two jounin talking. Sakura recognized Shizune's body language as the jonin kept leaning into Kakashi and kept touching his arm.

"What is going on?!" Naruto whispered into Sakura's ear in utter shock.

"I-I think this is a …. Date!" She whispered back in equal shock.

"WHA-

Before Naruto could yell and give up their position, Sakura slapped her hand on his mouth. "Quite…." She hissed at him.

'What is he being so shocked about, at least he isn't the one hearing the inappropriate thoughts going through their heads!' Thought Sakura as tried to suppress a groan of disgust.

'That body…. My god, I just wanna rip that shirt off and…..' Sakura yelped as Shizune's voice finished the thought in her head. Who knew Shizune had a… well… uh… this kind of a side. Her sensei was on another level though.

'She's cute and looks delicious… Wonder if she'll enact some of my Icha Icha paradises with me…. Oh we could do that one….' Sakura groaned as Kakashi's thoughts described too much in too much detail. An overwhelming urge to throw herself off a cliff came over her which she sadly had to squash.

As she thought about ways to purify her mind, she heard Naruto gasp, "They- they're ki-kissing…"

"Wha-?" Said Sakura in astonishment as she looked at them again and sure enough they were kissing!

It seemed like a sweet and lovely kiss. Sakura awwed and Naruto ewwed. But soon the sweet kiss turned into a beastly, fast and passionate kiss that surprised both genin. As Kakashi took of Shizune's jonin vest and started pulling off her shirt, Sakura jolted out of her shock induced stupor and pulled Naruto up.

"Come on, let's get out of here before this movie gets rated R." Sakura hissed in his ear.

"Oh man… it was just getting good." Whined Naruto which caused Sakura to look at him with an appalled expression.

"I'll deal with your pervyness later, for now let's get out of here!" She whisper yelled at him.

"Oh you know you love it." Smirked Naruto which elicited a death-glare from his pink-haired team-mate.

Sakura turned towards him with a blush, "I hope you have enough money for a funeral!" She hissed at him with a murderous glint in her eyes.

Naruto gulped as he ran out of the forest with Sakura hot on his heels throwing threats at him.

Needless to say, the rest of their night was spent in an imitation of a Tom & Jerry episode.


A/N: I hope you like it as much as the first chapter. Ugh I wish I was a better writer. Well anyway thank you for the good reviews! I feel very happy! But I'll be sad again when I get my results soooo, I'm counting' on you guys to make me feel better! I think the next chapter will be out after New Year's.

So, I wish you a lousy Christmas, I wish you a lousy Christmas, I wish you a lousy Christmas AND a crappy New Year! Lollz, jokes aside I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Enjoy to the fullest and forget the crap filled donut of a year known as 2020!

Until next time! And of course please read and review in the spirit of Christmas and maybe I'll write a Christmas special in the story, it can be the next chapter you know, if I feel up to it. I'll tell you later what the Christmas special will include.

Toodloo, pippip, cheerio, see ya later!