This chapter has been revised.

Arms crossed, Mayu leaned against the building, appearing bored. Honestly, she cared little for the topic. Everyone present was tense accept her. The team sent to rescue the Kazekage had returned to the village almost thirty minutes ago. The journey back had turned into a race. Of course, Gai had come in first, with Kakashi still on his back. Lee had arrived next with Mayu, cheering loudly, on his back. This had greatly annoyed the guards because it had been early in the morning. The others, panting, had arrived soon after. All had been well. Well, except for Kakashi. They had to take the jounin to the hospital.

That had been where they had met the Hokage. She had congratulated them on their mission, and told them all to get some well-deserved rest. She had left, but Naruto followed her, telling her about the 'reward' he and Kakashi had received for defeating Sasori of Akatsuki. Intrigued, Mayu had followed them. But she had been disappointed. Apparently, Sasori had given the location where he had intended to meet his secret spy, which had infiltrated Orochimaru's inner circle. Mayu narrowed her eyes as she listened to Shizune and Tsunade go back and forth. The argument consisted of who would go investigate.

"Whatever! I'll go round up members to go with me!" Naruto finally exclaimed, annoyed with the arguing. "Come with me, Mayu!" He moved pass the Hokage, and then leapt from the building. Shrugging, the kunoichi moved to do the same. She had nothing better to do, anyway. Mayu caught up to Naruto. "Bah! Shizune-nee-chan talks too much!"

"She only worries about you, Naruto," Mayu told him. "Getting involved with Akatsuki is dangerous, after all."

"Still, I don't think that guy would have laid a trap like this while he was dying," Naruto muttered. "If that's the case, then Akatsuki won't be there anyway. Instead, this might be a chance for us to find out information about where Sasuke is."

"Hm…"

Naruto glanced at his teammate from the corner of his eye. "Still…?" he thought. The blond ninja bit his lip and focused his gaze elsewhere. That indifferent expression came whenever the subject turned to Sasuke. He couldn't believe how uncaring she was. Even without her memories, shouldn't she make fun of the Uchiha? At the very least. It had been something she used to do, after all. Then again, whenever Sasuke came up, he had spoken of bringing him back. Or he had implied it. The way she was acting, it was as though Mayu didn't care either way. "Then again, I haven't been trying to point out Sasuke's good points when she's around…" Wouldn't she get suspicious if he were to randomly spout how awesome his best friend was? He wouldn't put it pass her. Mayu was like super perceptive, or something.

"Hey, Naruto!" she suddenly called to him. Again, the blond shinobi glanced her way. "Who exactly are we looking for?"

"Oh… Oh yeah," Naruto muttered. He jumped down to the streets. Mayu followed him. The blond crossed his arms and began walking in a random direction. "I don't really know, but who would be a good fit?" The kunoichi shrugged, walking beside him. "I have to think about this very carefully." He ignored Mayu's snicker of 'Good luck,' and continued thinking critically. "It'd really suck if the person I picked ended up getting in the way. If he's strong, but has a shitty attitude, then the team will fall apart."

"It's been awhile, Naruto, Mayu," a deep voice greeted them. The two teens halted their movements and turned back. The blond had been so deep in thought that he hadn't seen or sensed a person, leaning against a large tree. Mayu had only been paying attention to her teammate's words, so she didn't see the person either. However, she did recognize him right away. It had been about a month since she had seen him, though. The figure stepped out of the cover of the tree and into the light. As usual, he dressed from head to toe, completely covering his identity. It was no wonder that Naruto couldn't identify who the person immediately. "It's me."

Mayu snickered. "Yeah, Shino, that's going to make him realize," she thought. The kunoichi crossed her arms, watching the interaction between the two. Naruto had rushed over to the 'unknown' ninja, inspecting him from all sides. Still, he hadn't been able to figure out who it was. It was when Shino spoke again that Naruto finally caught on. "Ah, you got it, did you?" Mayu laughed. Naruto turned to her with a sour expression.

"How the hell was I supposed to know with his face hidden like that?" He turned back to Shino. "You idiot!" Mayu's laughter abruptly ended. Her nose had twitched. "What is it, Mayu?"

"Kiba," she answered. For some reason, Naruto took on a fearful expression. Without warning, Akamaru jumped down from who knows where. Inuzuka Kiba straddled the giant dog's back. The ninja exclaimed a greeting to his teammate, and then focused on the two members of Team 7. Naruto pointed a shaking finger in his direction. Kiba, though, appeared excited as he hopped off his animal partner's back.

"Naruto, it's you!" he stated. His nose grew closer to the blond and actually sniffed him several times. "Yup, it's definitely Naruto!"

"That's how you recognized me?" Naruto asked flatly. Then Akamaru barked loudly, shifting the attention to him. Grinning, Mayu walked pass the two shinobi and towards the large dog. As she petted the animal, she could hear Naruto and Kiba conversing about Akamaru's growth spurt. The dog sat and accepted the pleasant treatment from the kunoichi. His tail wagged in satisfaction.

"Hey!" Kiba suddenly appeared beside her. "Why do you smell even more like a cat than before? Don't tell me you have hordes of them back at your place."

"Haha, very funny!" Mayu placed her hands on her hips and turned to the brown-haired shinobi. "It just so happens that I have a feline partner." Kiba blinked, surprised to hear that. "Yup, she's as big as Akamaru. Wanna see?" Without waiting for a response, Mayu bit her thumb and performed the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu. Her hand gently touched the ground. Kiba had to jump back to avoid the sudden appearance of Mayu's feline partner. "Meet, Nana-chan!"

"Nana…?" Kiba repeated, raising a brow. The kunoichi jumped from the large black leopard and grinned. "No wonder… You smell just like her." The shinobi rubbed at his nose.

"That had better been a compliment," Mayu frowned. Then her eyes lit up. Unceremoniously, she lifted her blue shirt, showing off her stomach. "Check it, Kiba! I'm forming abs now! What?" The Inuzuka blinked, and then squatted down so that his eye level was at Mayu's navel. He actually reached out and touched her skin.

"Hm, impressive, especially since you used to have a flat stomach," he said. The enraged sputter from Naruto was ignored. Kiba smirked before standing to his full height. "Still, you're nowhere near my level." He lifted his shirt, revealing his four-pack abs. Mayu gasped, touching his muscled stomach. "Jealous, huh?"

"Kinda," she answered, nodding her head.

Naruto, not being able to take this interaction anymore, jumped in between the two. He had even pushed Kiba away. "What the hell is this?! Why are you guys so touchy, feeling?!"

"Why the hell are you so angry?!" Kiba shouted back. Naruto was about to retort, but a sound entered his ears. He sharply turned his head in the direction he heard the noise. "Eh, Naruto…?" The blond, though, ignored his name and walked away. He could have sworn he had heard a familiar noise just now. He poked his head around the corner. Ah, now he understood why it had sounded so familiar. Hyuga Hinata had hidden herself around the corner after she had let out the small 'eep.' Naruto grinned. He remembered that sound quite well now.

"What's up, Hinata?" he exclaimed. The lavender-eyed kunoichi gasped and slowly turned her head to him. As usual, her cheeks were stained red. He had recognized her right away because of it. Though her hair had grown longer, it was definitely Hinata. "Why are you hiding?"

"Na-Naruto-kun…!" Hinata whimpered. He was so close to her face. The kunoichi squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to faint. Swallowing hard, she forced a smile. "I… I… I was su-surprised to see you," she managed to get out.

"Ah! Stuttering again, Hinata-chan?" Mayu asked, appearing beside Naruto. She grinned a knowing grin, causing Hinata to freeze. "Could this regression in the Naruhina-?"

"You're back, Mayu!" Hinata interrupted. She hastily moved away from the blond to stand in front of her friend. "And… You have a forehead protector. Congratulations. I knew you would be able to."

"Yeah, Hokage-sama was like super impressed with my skills, so she let me be on a team with Naruto," Mayu explained. "We just got back from the Sand village. They let us rest there after our mission was over."

"Ah, I saw the note you left behind," Hinata remarked. She smiled lightly. "I'm glad you accomplished your goal." Mayu nodded her head. However, a frown soon surfaced.

"Now, I have another goal," she muttered.

"What?"

"No, nothing!" Mayu waved her hand. She turned to Naruto. "Anyway, I'm leaving right now."

"What? But what about-"

"I'll leave that up to you," she winked. "I'm going to take a nap. Come get me whenever! Bye!" Before Naruto could protest further, Mayu had jumped up and quickly made her escape. Soon after, Nana had disappeared, as she was no longer needed. Naruto sighed heavily.

"Such a lazy teammate I have," he muttered, frowning.

0-0

Despite what she had told her teammate, Mayu's intentions weren't to take a nap. Rather, it was a rendezvous of her own. Whilst they rested in the Sand village, she and Ino had planned to meet up once they had returned to the Leaf. As to not arouse suspicion, they had decided to wait awhile. However, since it appeared that Mayu would be leaving so soon after the successful mission, she had made a decision to seek Ino out sooner than planned. This was the reason she was currently sneaking into Ino's room. Silently, she crawled in, closing the window behind her. She removed her shoes, leaving them on the table that was near the window.

Her blond comrade was not in her room now. Mayu's nose twitched. However, it appeared that Ino was here. The sound of running water caused the kunoichi to avert her gaze. There were three doors. One must have been an exit. The other must have led to a bathroom. Yamanaka Ino sure was a spoiled one. Her room had its own bathroom. Crossing her arms, Mayu moved to sit on Ino's bed. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long. Within a few minutes, the young Yamanaka opened the door and stepped out of her bathroom, body wrapped in a fluffy blue towel.

Only once Ino focus on her bed did she realize that someone was in her room. Of course, she let out a squeal, which abruptly stopped once she recognized the person. "M-Mayu…! What the hell?!" An embarrassed flush adorned her face. She hadn't sensed her comrade at all. The dark kunoichi merely smirked. Removing her hand from her chest, Ino walked over to her closet. "Why are you here?"

"I'm going on a mission soon, I think, so I decided to see you before then," Mayu explained. "Anything new with your body?" Sighing, the blonde walked into her closet, searching for clothes to wear. Her master allowed her for a week after the double mission in the Sand village. Just for a little, she would forgo fashionable clothes. She hadn't planned on going anywhere today, after all. "I can't find anything different with mine." Ino came out of her closet with a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.

"Same here," she answered.

"Hm…" Mayu nodded her head. "I thought as much." She closed her eyes, deep in thought. "I've been thinking about it, and I doubt our bodies 'awakened.' Rather, it must have been our minds based on the circumstance." Her head tilted down, yet her eyes remained shut. As Ino changed, Mayu remained quiet.

"I haven't felt any changes either," Ino murmured, pulling her shirt down. "There's nothing to indicate what happen to us when our ancestors appeared. They said that we were the new guardians, didn't they? But what did they mean? Guardians of what?"

"I don't know," Mayu shrugged. "But I have an idea… We should perform our respective clans' jutsu. The primary one." Ino furrowed her brow. "Think about it. Your ancestor came outta me, while my ancestor came outta you. That's too weird, don't you think? If we use our jutsu, perhaps we will find them."

"I… I see," Ino mumbled. "So you want to try this now?" Mayu nodded her head again. "Okay, let's do this." Her hands slowly came together in her family's signature hand seal. Mayu ran through a set of hand seals, stopping on the ram. "Ninja Art-" She focused on the dark-haired kunoichi.

"Ishikari Style-" Mayu extended her fingers towards the blond kunoichi.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

0-0

Mayu squeezed her eyes shut, holding her head. That collision felt worse than she had expected. After a few moments, the throbbing went away. She opened her eyes and removed her hand from her head. Her gaze shifted several times. She had never seen the inside of a person's mind before due to her family's jutsu, but according to her grandmother, each individual had different environments inside their heads called mindscapes. It was a subconscious kind of thing. The person had no idea about the world created inside their heads. Nor that it was constantly changing. Mayu narrowed her eyes. Uzumaki Naruto's mindscape was a network of sewers. Haruno Sakura's was a void of purple and black. Well, had been what their mindscapes had been depicted as. Who knew if it was actually true?

Ino's mindscape was white with a mirror floor. Orbs of blue, green, and pink were scattered throughout. The orbs seemed to be hovering and slowly moving around, though. "Pink…?" Mayu thought. Her thoughts echoed all around her. Thinking might be impossible here. The pink orbs seemed to be a strange occurrence even though Mayu hadn't been in Ino's mind before.

"Indeed, it is something that has appeared recently," a voice told her. The kunoichi slowly turned her body, facing the direction of where the deep voice had come from. "It means she has allowed herself to fall in love." The voice had come from the man she had seen before. Mitsuo, her ancestor, stood before her. "It would seem that my sister's descendant is quite clever."

"What? What does that mean?"

"You figured out how to meet me," Mitsuo answered. "But there is another effect of coming here that you did not realize." Mayu raised an eyebrow, wanting him to explain. The man cocked his head to the side. "By coming here, you and Ino have successfully become the guardians. A part of you both will remain in one another, and all generations that come later, as I have done before you."

"So wait… You're telling me that you've been alive in Ino's family this whole time?" Mayu questioned. "You essentially had two lives?"

"No, I do not know anything pertaining to my life after I came to reside in the Yamanaka family," Mitsuo stated. "This part of me only knows the life before I came to be here, and the lives of the ones I have been in. That is all."

"Hm… I have to do this now?"

"You will not be aware of it once you leave this girl's mind, but yes. This is to ensure that the Yamanaka's jutsu and our jutsu cannot be used against one another," Mitsuo continued. "With another spirit inside to overcome the effects the jutsu, it will be useless to try to use the jutsu in combat."

"Okay, so… Are we related to the Yamanaka clan?"

"No, there has yet to be a blond in our family," Mitsuo answered. "Our ancestor and Inoue... were close associates. They discovered that they had similar abilities. However, the rest of society feared their abilities and cast them out. They were the monsters of their time. This was before it became the norm for humans to have abnormal abilities."

"Ah… but why am I not speaking with your… our ancestor?"

"She was… wounded and could not perform her ability quite right. And so generations later, I became the guardian because I had the most potential of being awakened."

"I see… So then are you going to tell me about this awakening?"

"Of course. What Inoue and I have done is broadened your minds' capabilities to match our own," Mitsuo said. "Ino will have the ability to move objects with her mind. If she trains hard, she could also be able to move animals or humans. You will have mind control."

"Mind control…? The Yamanaka clan already has that, right?"

"Don't be a fool. That is a jutsu. Your new abilities will require no chakra."

"No chakra…" Mayu repeated, bemused. She could understand why people thought them as monsters. "You said abilities as in more than one?"

"Yes. Both of you will have the power to concentrate and condense your thoughts into physical, invisible attacks. Depending on the will or anger, that will be the determining factor as to how powerful the attacks are."

"This sounds too easy."

"Easy? No, this will not be easy. You will have to learn how to use these abilities. We will teach you," Mitsuo said. Mayu swallowed. "Each time you come into this girl's mind, I will train you. Likewise with Ino in your mind. Eventually, you will master your abilities. Once that happens, I can finally rest."

"Is that right?" Mayu frowned. "How long is this going to take?"

"As much time is needed. It could appear like seconds to the outside world, but it will feel like years inside."

"Ah, what?" Mayu groaned loudly. "Years?!" She groaned again.

"Yeah, I wasn't too happy about it either…" Mitsuo chuckled lightly. However, his neutral look returned soon after. "If you're lucky, this will only take three years to master. If you're not… five." Mayu's horrified expression was enough for the man to snicker again. "Don't worry, in reality, it'll only be two seconds each since this is purely mental training. We will begin immediately!"

"No way! I didn't sign up for this! I wanted to sleep!"

0-0

"Eh…?" Naruto's run changed into a walk until he stopped. His blue eyes glanced around the area. However, he couldn't see anyone. "This is the right place for the meet up, isn't it?" The blond shinobi crossed his arms. He didn't see these three new members to Team 7 that the Hokage was going on about. Mayu wasn't here either. It was strange considering his teammate tried her best to be on time. Hell, she was usually early. "Maybe I got the location wrong," Naruto thought, frowning. He was in the process of turning when footsteps alerted him to another presence. From behind a pillar stepped out a pale shinobi. He had recognized him instantly. The short dark hair and his expressionless dark eyes were all too familiar. "YOU…!" He pointed a finger. The unknown ninja merely smiled and politely greeted Naruto. He wasn't buying it for a second, though. The guy had showed the exact same smile when he had attacked him earlier. "You're the one from the roof earlier!"

Another person stepped out. He appeared older than Naruto, but blue eyes remained focused on the ass that had attacked him with a smile. The older ninja even spoke, but Naruto's glare remained fixated on his new teammate. Thinking of this guy in that way only caused the snarl on Naruto's face to widen. The older ninja watched the interaction between the two, almost sighing out. This was not going to be easy. Naruto was too heated, so he hadn't realized another had approached. She greeted the man with a small nod.

The new addition turned to Naruto. After a few moments, she placed her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed. "Naruto… Naruto!" Finally, she shouted his name. This brought the blond shinobi out of his fierce stare. He sharply turned to face the speaker. Expectedly, his eyes widened in shock. He sputtered out her name while pointing a finger. "What's got you so riled up that you didn't even notice me?" Her gaze focused on the pale ninja dressed in black. "Do you know him?"

"Yeah!" Naruto returned his attention to the shinobi. "He attacked me earlier, Sakura-chan!" Immediately, the two young ninja moved, pulling out their respective weapons. The atmosphere was most intense. "Like I'm going to let you get away with-" Naruto's threat was cut short due to the rock colliding with his head.

"Knock it off!" A voice nearly hissed as the blond stumbled, trying to remain upright. The four turned their heads in the direction of a nearby tree. "Jeez, can you get any ruder? I'm trying to sleep!" Mayu jumped from the tree she had been napping in. She had landed on all fours. Currently, she was stretching, much like a cat would. Her slow yawn was not covered.

"Mayu! You were here this whole time?" Naruto questioned as the kunoichi stood up. She nodded.

"I wanted to get as much rest in as possible before the mission, but some loud mouth prevented me from doing that," she answered. Naruto scowled at the implication. Mayu's attention, though, focused elsewhere. She walked over, examining the other three. "So this is the new team, huh?" Blue eyes locked in on green eyes. "I thought you weren't a ninja. Why are you going?"

"Hokage-sama wanted a medic to go along. Since I was the one available, I got chosen," Sakura explained. Her lip twitched. "I still have basic ninja training, you know." Mayu didn't seem to catch the irritated tone of the pink-haired medic. She turned her focus on the other two, asking who they were.

"I am acting as the team's interim captain while Kakashi-senpai is in the hospital," the man answered. "Please call me Yamato." He stepped forward again. "Since you guys are on the same team, it will cause problems if you don't get along."

"Eh…? But I don't even know these two. Why wouldn't I get along with them?" Mayu murmured. The pale ninja released his grip on his weapon, causing the kunoichi to shift her attention to him.

"Sorry about before," he said. "I wanted to know how strong you were since we're on the same team." For a moment, Naruto appeared confused. Then he retracted his kunai back into his sleeve, saying that the pale ninja didn't have to go that far. "Thanks to our encounter, I've learned that you are a useless, dickless, pantywaist." The reaction to his opinion was met with Naruto's furious shouting. Sakura had to hold him back from attacking. Laughter had burst from Mayu's lips, leading Naruto to begin shouting at her.

"Don't start a fight with him!" Sakura shouted. "He's our teammate now!" She tried very hard to hold Naruto back from attacking his teammates. It wasn't clear who he was going after, though—Mayu or the pale one? "And you," she directed her gaze to the unknown shinobi. "You're really being a jerk." He actually chuckled, but it seemed as false as his smile. "If you keep acting like that, everyone will hate you." Her green eyes narrowed at his form.

"Oh? But I really like ugly bitches like you," he said. This time, Yamato held Sakura back from thrashing the pale ninja. A new burst of laughter came from Mayu. Still giggling, she moved over to the pale ninja. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.

"You're funny. I think I'm going to like you," she grinned. Without warning, she planted a kiss to his nose. This brought on the confused and enraged shouts from Sakura and Naruto respectively. However, she ignored them both. "My name is Ishikari Mayu. Let's work well together, alright?" Slowly, the shinobi nodded his head. The false smile returned.

"My name is Sai. I am glad you feel that way, darky."

Mayu blinked, and then slowly removed her arm from shoulders. For some reason, she was mildly offended by that. "If that's how you feel-" Her eyebrow twitched, as did her upper lip. "-Then should I call you pasty? Pasty white ass?" Yamato waved his hands around in an effort to shift the attention to him.

"Okay, okay—enough with the hostility," he ordered. He lightly tapped his mask styled forehead protector that framed his face. "Anyway, the five of us will start our mission soon, and we won't get enough chances to get to know each other, so… introduce yourself." The blond shinobi scoffed and shifted annoyed eyes to Sai. He stated his name only. Similar to Naruto, Sakura stated only her name and glared at the one who had called her an ugly bitch. Mayu snorted before saying her name. Sai merely smiled, oblivious to the eye daggers. "Now that you know each other, that's the end of that. I'll explain the mission now." After giving the details of the mission, Yamato ordered the four to gather equipment and meet at the front gate in one hour. The younger ninja signaled that they understood, and then went their separate ways. Well, Sai went off in a different direction, but the other three stayed together.

As they walked beside each other, Naruto couldn't keep his grumbles to himself. He locked his hands behind his head. Clearly, he was irritated. "I really just… can't stand that asshole!" he nearly growled. "Why is he taking Sasuke's place?! I don't like him at all!" Sakura frowned as she watched Naruto from the corner of her eye. She took a glance at Mayu, but the kunoichi only stared straight ahead as if she wasn't even listening to her teammate rant.

"He's… definitely vulgar," she commented, locking her hands behind her back. "But don't you think he resembles Sasuke-kun somewhat? Like his face and voice?"

"Ehhhhh?! No way! Sasuke's way cooler than that- I mean, Sasuke's just better!" Naruto shouted. Sakura smiled at the response. She couldn't help but to agree. Then her gaze slid to Mayu. She had remained silent on the subject, and so Sakura chose to ask her. As she was Uchiha Sasuke's girlfriend, it would only make sense that she felt that Sasuke was cooler than any other guy.

"Uchiha Sasuke… cooler?" Mayu furrowed her brow. A frown formed on her face. "Just what is your definition of cool?" Sakura blinked in confusion. "Uchiha Sasuke is not cool. He is a traitor. A heartless shinobi with only power on his mind. He betrayed the Leaf, abandoned his bonds, and sought only vengeance." The dark-haired kunoichi lowered her gaze to the ground as she walked. "Sai might be different than what you're used to. But, at least, he doesn't have a one track mind. In that aspect, Sai is cooler than Uchiha Sasuke." The medic of the three nearly gasped, but managed to keep it in.

"Shouldn't she be praising her boyfriend?" she thought, stunned into silence.

Mayu blinked once, and then sighed. "I'm leaving. Meet you guys later," she announced. She then jumped away without another word. Once she was gone, Naruto let out a heavy sigh and stopped walking, causing Sakura to turn to him. She stopped as well.

"What was that all about?" she questioned. "She acts like she doesn't care about Sasuke-kun at all."

"That's because… she doesn't," Naruto grimaced.

"What? But I thought-"

"She doesn't remember. She can barely remember being in your body," Naruto continued. He sighed heavily again. "That period of time she was gone erased her memories. She can't remember her feelings for Sasuke. Even if I tell her that, she'd probably deny it." To say that Sakura was shocked would be an understatement. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Amnesia? Was it possible? Truthfully, she knew little to nothing about Ishikari Mayu. Her appearances and disappearances were unknown to her.

"So if she's really forgotten about Sasuke-kun… that means…" Her thoughts trailed off. A frown appeared. What was she thinking? She couldn't possibly see this as an opportunity. For a moment, her eyes closed. Mayu may have forgotten, but… "I'm an idiot… Even after all this time…"

"Anyway, Sakura-chan, it's gonna be great working with you again," Naruto snapped the medic out of her thoughts. He moved on ahead, waving back. "Meet ya at the gate!" The blond took off. It was only a few seconds before Sakura could no longer see him. Her eyelids lowered, partially covering her green eyes.

"Is this… my chance?" she thought.

0-0

The team of five walked at a leisure pace. Yamato took the lead with Mayu following close behind him. Behind her were Sai and Naruto. Sakura walked behind those two. It was relatively quiet, but the atmosphere was quite tense. Naruto had not stopped glaring at the pale ninja since the group had left the Leaf village. With vibes like this, it was only a matter of time before a confrontation ensued. Finally, Sai could no longer take the staring. "What is it?" he questioned. The blond remained silent, choosing to continue scowling at the black-clad ninja. "Please stop staring at me like that or I'll have to smack you."

"Oh shit," Mayu thought, coming to an abrupt halt. She turned to see Naruto had expectedly begun yelling at Sai. She watched the two of them go back and forth until her teammate finally exploded with rage, nearly screaming out that Sai didn't belong on the team at all. Yamato stepped in, reminding the blond of what Kakashi had taught him. Teamwork.

"It's because he's not part of Team 7!" Naruto shouted, pointing a finger in Sai's direction. "The other member of Team 7… is Sasuke! This guy is… just taking Sasuke's place, someone chosen to fill the gap. I'll never consider someone like him as a team member!"

"Well, I'm glad you think of me that way." Sai replied with a smile. One hand moved to his hip. "Betraying the Leaf village… Running off to serve Orochimaru… Don't put in the same group as that gutless little homo. The weak, shit-for-brains, clone of Orochimaru known as Uchiha Sasuke—please do not compare me to him." Naruto looked about ready to attack the pale shinobi.

"Naruto," Mayu stopped him using her voice alone. The blond turned her way, still looking as fierce as ever. The dark-haired kunoichi walked over, arms crossed over her chest. "Sai's opinion is Sai's opinion. Don't attack him just because he announces it. He's your teammate now whether you like it or not. I seem to recall you did not want to be teammates with Uchiha Sasuke at the beginning. Or am I remembering that wrong?" Naruto merely grumbled. "You didn't like him all too much either, but you eventually you got along with him. You don't know Sai. He doesn't know you. Calm the hell down!" Naruto averted his gaze to the ground, feeling scolded by an older sibling. "Have patience and learn to control your temper. It's irritating." The blond mumbled a few words, but didn't protest. Mayu turned to Sai. "Like I said, your opinions are your own. You don't personally know Uchiha Sasuke, but you've heard of him. You can only form an opinion based on what you heard, so what you said about him is perfectly justifiable."

"Mayu…!" Naruto growled out.

"Tch…!" Sakura's expression hardened.

"That being said… now that you know how Naruto will react to your opinion, I ask that you keep them about to yourself," Mayu continued. "It's clear to me that Naruto doesn't like hearing negative comments regarding someone he views as a best friend." She smiled brightly. "Talk shit about Uchiha Sasuke in front of me again, and I'll stop talking. I'm sure you know what that means, right, Sai-chan?" The pale ninja appeared befuddled for just a second before he returned her fake smile.

"Got it," he said. "I won't say anything in front of you or him. But it's amazing… You smiled while giving a threat. I'll have to remember that."

"Okay!" Yamato clasped his hands together. "Wood Style! Four Pillar Prison Jutsu!" His shout caused the heads of the young ninja to turn in his direction. Behind him stood a large wooden cage made of chakra and the ground underneath them. "Either I can lock you all in this cage for a day to improve your teamwork, or we can go to a hotel with hot springs. Which will it be?" The four merely stared at him. "You don't know me either, right? I like being nice and friendly, but…" His face suddenly took on an expression that Mayu couldn't quite place. "I don't have any problems ruling with fear!" Regardless of not knowing, it still scared the crap out of her.

"Eeekk!" She literally screamed, jumping into Naruto arms. Sakura stared at Mayu with a flat expression as Naruto tried to keep the wiggling girl calm. "Kill it with fire!"

"… This person is… weird as hell," the medic thought.

"Isn't fire a bit much?" Yamato questioned, expression shifting back to neutral.

0-0

"Don't go looking! Why are you always talking about penises anyway?!"

The shout from the male side of the hot springs caused many women to laugh loudly. Sakura sank further into the water up her neck. It was embarrassing to realize that the shout came from Uzumaki Naruto. Mentally sighing, her green eyes glanced in Mayu's directions. She was sitting against the edge, giggling as well. How could she just laugh about the situation when Naruto was her teammate? Ishikari Mayu really was a strange one. "You're too carefree, you know." Sakura moved over to her comrade and sat beside her. It was depressing to realize that Mayu's breasts were larger than hers. The medic sighed heavily. Then again, many of the women here had bigger breasts than her.

"Sakura, something wrong?" Mayu asked, turning her head. Flushing, and not because of the hot temperature, the pink-haired teen quickly waved her hand.

"No, nothing!" she lied. The kunoichi stared for a moment, and then shrugged. She went back to relaxing with her eyes closed. "But… I did want to ask you something," Sakura admitted. Mayu didn't respond in any way so she continued. "This mission is… Like Captain Yamato said, this mission could be the Leaf's chance to take out Orochimaru and bring back Sasuke-kun." Still, no reaction. "I wanted to know… how you felt about it."

"How I feel…?" Mayu finally opened her eyes. "What's that got to do with anything? I'm following orders… That's it."

"But you and Sasuke-kun are-" Sakura had to stop herself and calm down. "You and Sasuke-kun were on the same team before. Sasuke-kun often spent time with you while you shared Hinata's body. Don't you think… you had a bond with him as well? I mean, like you have with Naruto. He told me you lost your memories, but that hasn't stopped you from treating Naruto like a good friend. I wondered… if you feel something about bringing Sasuke-kun home. You were… friends."

"Whatever bond we had didn't mean a thing to him," Mayu muttered. "As I said before, Sakura, he made the decision to leave the bonds he made behind. He didn't care, so why should I? Especially since I can't remember." The kunoichi was silent for a moment. It looked as though she wanted to say something else, but chose not to. Instead, she turned and moved to get out of the spring. "I'm going in since I'm sleepy." She lifted herself out before wrapping a towel around her body. "Try not to make too much noise when you come in. I tend to fall asleep fast, but really I'm a light sleeper."

"The hell you are," Sakura thought.

"Wake me for dinner, though!" Mayu began walking away. The medic watched her go until she closed the door behind her. With another sigh, Sakura turned back around to finish relaxing. Her gaze aimlessly stared down at the surface of the water. She sank in. The water covered her whole body from her lips down. She curled her body, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"I see…" The medic closed her eyes, and then allowed her body to sink completely. "Even though she forgot, she still feels something for Sasuke-kun… Even if it is bitterness, it's still there. It isn't indifference like I first thought. She just doesn't want to talk about Sasuke-kun at all because that might bring about unwanted memories. Could it be that she doesn't want to remember him? Is that preventing her memories from returning?" Something big must have happened on the mission to retrieve Sasuke. And the only ones that know about it are… those three. Even Naruto seemed to be not telling something. That, itself, was big. Sakura pushed herself out of the water. "It's none of my business. I'm not a part of that team anymore," she murmured. "I gave it up because I wasn't fit to be on it." She nodded to herself. She had chosen her own path. No need to backtrack. Even if she was immensely curious. Sighing lightly, she decided to cool down as well.

Tomorrow, she would need to be serious.

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