Author's Note:

Amazing! I updated a day later! Is this manna from heaven?

Disclaimer:

I can't own Naruto, mehn. I'm still 16 years old.

"State your purpose," Tsunade said with a heavy load of authority in her voice. While the pink-haired kunoichi had been training as her apprentice for years, it was still a little difficult for her to get used to her shishou's ill temper.

Instead of smiling nervously, she kept a stern face and composed herself to appear professional. "Hai, I want to know if there are any updates on the availability of the missions requested by the Yamanaka Clan, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade's squinted eyes widened to their normal diameter as she played with her polished nails. She knew about her apprentice's purpose. She knew that she just wanted to help out some shinobi. However, she was absolutely not certain about her relationship with the man involved.

"What kind of extract do you need?" she asked, surprising Sakura a little due to the extent of her knowledge.

She bit her lip and wondered if she had also made it obvious that the amount of dedication to the plan was a little too... unusual. After all, the pinkette had been visiting the Hokage's office and asking her shishou or sometimes Shizune if there were any missions requested by the Yamanaka clan. Unfortunately, their responses disappointed her every time.

The blonde ran her fingers through the ends of her pigtails, noticing her subordinate's odd behavior. Did she have some sort of romantic relationship with that Uchiha? She had been going to her office every single day.

Tsunade smirked as she arranged the stack of papers on her desk, saying, "There is one coming up. The files and its cases are still being processed though."

As soon as the news was delivered to her, Sakura's green eyes lit up as if hope had taken over her anxieties.

The Godaime resumed, "You can come back tonight."

Finally, results were coming to the pink-haired medic on their own.

Sakura hummed to herself as soon as she exited the Hokage's tower, finally relieved that her hands were already near the vials. Her instincts told her that the mission was going to be A-rank, or possibly S-rank. No matter what the circumstances are, she was more than strong-willed to take it. Ever since her desire to become a stronger kunoichi, this goal was the one she most sought after.

Sighing, the image of Team 7 popped into her mind. She was worried that because of her goal-orientation, it would be likely for her to neglect other priorities. She hadn't even visited her parents for a really long while now.

Because of her unexpected farewell from their lunch date, Naruto organized a dinner date for them still at Ichiraku's Ramen. It was about time for the reunion. And it was about time for her to craft a believable excuse and story in response to their future questions about her so-called boyfriend.

Her legs sauntered through the dark sidewalk as her mind dealt with possible arguments with her team. Looking up from her feet, she noticed a familiar figure walking towards her direction from the distance.

And of course, in the most unexpected encounters, it happened to be a man with black hair, eyes, and clothes.

Uchiha Shisui.

The two were walking on the same sidewalk, each facing the other's direction. The prodigy walked lifelessly, as if time ran slowly for him. Sakura then came to a realization: it was the first time in a while for her to encounter him without him using teleportation techniques.

As the two were nearing each other, her legs slowed to a stop and her eyes followed his eyes that were focused on the ground.

He then lifted up his face as the two were only a few meters away from each other.

Sakura remained in her spot only to be passed by Shisui without a glance.

A wave of coldness flooded the kunoichi's heart. Her troubled mind could not understand the recent events' nature. Could he have despised her for kissing him in the cheek? Could he have decided to avoid her because he knew that she had diagnosed him last night? Could he have settled with the decision to stay away from her because he didn't want to be healed?

She couldn't understand no matter how hard she tried. Her mind was malfunctioning at the moment. Presently, what was bothering her the most was how she had reacted to his cold acts.

She was irritated. She was angry. She was sad.

In other words, she was frustrated.

Sakura didn't dare to turn around, face him, and call him out. She had her pride to treasure. Besides, they weren't, at the very least, friends.

As soon as she reached the ramen stand, Team 7 was already there, waiting for her.

Naruto's and Sai's faces were wearing expressions that showed that they were not only expecting her, but expecting something from her. On the other hand, Sasuke was busy eating his ramen.

As Sakura sat down on the seat between Naruto and Sasuke, she spoke, "I'm sorry for leaving abruptly earlier."

Slurping his noodles without a care in the world, the Uzumaki grinned at his female teammate, saying, "It's okay, Sakura-chan. You're here now. Why don't you order?"

Frowning in disgust, she complained, "Naruto, don't talk with your mouth full."

With some noodles in his mouth, he replied, "But it's only half-full!"

Sai tilted his head and closed his eyes to form a fake smile, saying, "You shouldn't expect good manners from an idiot, Ugly."

Both Naruto and Sakura grunted irritably at the pale-haired nin's comment. After all, the pinkette still hated the nickname even though they were already close with one another.

And Sasuke, being the Uchiha that he is, replied, "Hn."

Remembering their conversation earlier, Sakura decided to relieve herself of embarrassment by ordering.

Naruto may be viewed as stupid by many people, but he was the type to catch odd auras. This time, he noticed that there was an unusual mood between his two original teammates.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura more often than usual and the latter was trying to pale her reddened cheeks secretly. "Secretly".

"Sakura-san, it has been a while!"

The four turned around to the source of the loud and vexing voice, not at all that surprised to find that it came from a man with bowl-cut hair and tight green spandex.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him irritably, saying, "Bushy Brows, shouldn't you be telling us that?"

Kneeling down with gesticulations that were quite hard to catch, Rock Lee proclaimed, "Sakura-san is my muse! It is important that I treasure her."

Sakura smiled at him nervously. "Lee-san, it has been a while, huh?"

A bark followed her statement, a bark that came from a large white dog that was accompanied by a tall brunette who reeked of fur as well.

Kiba greeted them, "Yo, it's been a while since I've seen you, guys." Akamaru barked in agreement.

While chewing the noodles in his mouth, Naruto exclaimed, "Why are you all so nostalgic?!"

Ignoring the Jinchuuriki, Rock Lee turned to Sasuke, "I declare war over Sakura-san's heart. I won't lose to you, Sasuke-kun!"

With little effort, the Uchiha returned a grunt.

A spark of light lit up in the Inuzuka's sharp eyes, one that made it seem like the Uchiha was hiding something... fishy and... kinky.

"Two missions in a month, eh, Sasuke?" Kiba commented grinningly.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, replying irritably, "What do you mean?"

Their conversation pulled Naruto, Sakura, and even Sai into the circle of curiosity. They had no idea what the hell the dog-master was babbling about.

Glancing at Sakura, Kiba responded with a slier grin, revealing a sharp fang, "You returned alone weeks ago, right? Then you joined Naruto, Sai, and Itachi afterwards."

Glaring at him, he questioned impatiently, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sai was still quiet, but Naruto was the opposite. "Oi, Kiba! You should stop eating those pills. You're turning mad. Sasuke came with us from day one."

The brunette yelled, "Shut up, you idiot! I'm not turning mad!"

Akamaru barked twice at him as well.

The dog master turned to Sakura, wanting an answer, leaving her utterly confused and frustrated as well. "Didn't he have a mission before you visited his house?"

"What?" Sasuke demanded with a thinner line of patience left.

Then realization hit Sakura.

About a week ago, Sakura slept in Shisui's house because she had blacked out the night before when it had rained. The following morning, she was left to wear his clothes that had their clan's crest embroidered at the back (forgetting even her clothes). And then she met Rock Lee and Kiba, both of which thought that she had just come from Sasuke's house in his clothes.

Sakura's emerald eyes widened and anxiety came to attack even her inner demon. She most definitely didn't want Sasuke and her teammates to know that she had slept in Shisui's house. Damn, just what kind of beautiful day did she have?! Did Ichiraku's Ramen carry some sort of bad luck for women with flashing pink hair?!

Kiba chuckled and raised his eyebrows repeatedly while eyeing Sakura knowingly, saying, "Sasuke's very lucky." He turned to him and continued, "You're the first one to experience 'it' in our age group."

He eyed her again with a knowing look that said "Right, Sakura?"

The Haruno stood up and threw an arm around Kiba while giving him a murderous smile, "Lying isn't nice, Kiba."

Her eyes skidded from a nervous Kiba to her Uchiha teammate, who, she swore to Kami, flashed a dangerous glint in his eyes for a split-second.

And things weren't getting any better.

"Sasuke-kun, even if you and my Sakura-san have done 'it' together, you must still consider me as your rival!" Rock Lee exclaimed while pointing an index finger at him.

Sakura knew that Sasuke wasn't stupid. She knew that by now, he had already known that it was connected to what Ayame had said earlier. The only option left for her to choose was to convince her team by denying.

"An Uchiha..." Sakura heard Sasuke mutter under his breath.

Anxiety groped her chest and nervousness masked her face. Her head ached with all the happenings that easily knocked down her efforts in concealing her connection with Shisui. She didn't want her teammates to know, and she most definitely didn't want to risk her chances with Sasuke!

All of a sudden, Sai stood up and said with a fake smile, taking everyone by surprise, "We don't need stupid people and rumors to ruin our appetites."

Haruno Sakura couldn't believe it.

Why did she have to deal with such an awful day? Rumor here, rumor there. She does not have a boyfriend and she most definitely is still a virgin!

Rubbing her temples, she sighed to herself as she walked towards the Hokage's tower under the night sky.

The kunoichi was left to only sigh over her awful day until she arrived at her shishou's office. She entered after knocking the door, knowing full well that Tsunade knew of her intentions.

"Good evening, Tsunade-shishou," she greeted.

The blonde woman nodded upon her entrance and took out a folder from her stack of files. Most of the time, she was direct and straightforward when it came to mission briefings. However, this time, she was more direct than ever. Maybe she's really tired. It's evening for Kami's sake, Sakura thought.

"The Yamanaka Clan requested for an A-rank mission. It's a dyad mission so you are to work with another jounin," she stated while yawning.

Sakura kept herself composed. "Who's my partner, shishou?"

Tsunade rubbed her eyes and blinked several times before entertaining her question, "Originally, I thought on assigning Rock Lee or Kiba, because they're the only ones who're free at the moment. Naruto and the others are still recovering from their last mission too."

Darn right, Rock Lee and Kiba are too free for their own good, Inner Sakura complained.

The Godaime continued, "But someone personally came to me earlier and requested for a mission. And since I know what your purpose is, I had him assigned as your partner. It might be useful for you. After all, you'll be his medic all the way."

Tsunade's worn out expression softened as Sakura's emerald eyes widened in utter shock and surprise.

"Shizune is still calling him," the old woman said.

Sakura's thin lips parted and wondered if she should be thankful or worried that he was her partner. Her chest was wrapped up with different kinds of feelings. She was relieved to be given such a chance to diagnose him some more, annoyed that they wouldn't get along due to his cold treatment, and... a little happy because he was her partner. And the reason for the latter was inexplicable.

A knock was heard from over the door and so Sakura turned around to see Shizune enter with Tonton and...

Uchiha Shisui.

"Sakura-chan, you didn't tell us that you had a mission," Naruto said while pouting his lips.

Sakura tilted her head to the right and smiled at her clingy teammate. She then patted his shoulder, cheering him up, "I'm sorry, Naruto. I was informed just last night."

He stomped his right foot on the ground childishly and protested, "But we jut got here!"

Team 7 minus Kakashi was standing by the gates of Konoha, the men present to see their female teammate off. At the same time, Uchiha Shisui was leaning against the left wooden gate to wait for his partner, although his eyes were wandering off somewhere.

Sakura gave her male best friend an apologetic smile once again. What could she do? She couldn't pass up the chance. It was something important to her. A precious goal.

Sighing, she responded, "I promise to make it up to you, guys, when I come back."

That definitely made the kyuubi vessel grin.

But it sure did made Sakura feel guilty.

She wasn't so certain about how long it would take for her to come home. She and Shisui were assigned an A-rank mission to assassinate an illegal doctor who had stolen the secret scroll of forbidden techniques by the Yamanaka Clan and retrieve the aforementioned scroll. According to her shishou, the man was located at a town in the West. Moreover, according to the elders of the clan, the man had been using the scroll to abduct young women for human experimentation.

Her shishou told her that it could take her a month or two before she could come back. After all, the town was very far from Fire Country. They would have to travel by foot to the country's wharf for 3 days or so. Then, they would have to travel to the land by boat for another 3 days.

And Sakura wasn't even sure how she could bear with such, considering the fact that her partner was still very much ignoring her.

"Sakura," Sasuke pulled her out from her train of thoughts.

Naruto and Sai backed a few meters away from the two, giving them their much needed privacy. They both had a feeling that there was something going on between them lately, different from the old flirt-and-push-away kind of relationship back when they were genins.

Sakura childishly blushed at the sound of her name being called by his voice. She looked at her shinobi sandals as the Uchiha stood in front of her.

Sasuke wore his usual stoic expression. After clearing his throat, he said, "I have a question."

Upon hearing his request, the kunoichi gulped hard. After all, Sasuke had been asking too many questions that flustered her to death. "What is it, Sasuke-kun?"

He blinked several times before responding, "What exactly did Kiba mean?"

Inner Sakura choked on her nonexistent ramen.

Not this day too!

However, things were different today. Due to the mission assignment, fortunately, her mind was focused on devising strategies to successfully grasp an exact picture of what Shisui's body needs.

And so, fortunately, she was not so troubled nor was she guilty of being dishonest.

"Eh, we had a game of truth or dare weeks ago and it ended up with that kind of rumor being spread," she turned to him.

A (very) little smile made its way on Sasuke's lips upon hearing her tale. Sakura had no idea if her act was convincing enough. But right now, she didn't want to think about it or else her behavior could give away her thoughts.

"Thank you for the food pills," he said.

Before Sakura could look into his eyes, Sasuke poked her forehead with two fingers in one hand, leaving the pinkette's cheeks to madly heat up to a boil.

"Take care," he said.

Sakura was taken aback by his small act. And that was an understatement.

While rubbing her forehead, all she could think about was the possible reason behind the change in his attitude towards her. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. The gesture just left her gaping like an idiot.

"Excuse me, but time's running," Shisui said all of a sudden as he teleported his way to the two of them, surprising the kunoichi even more over his decision to finally not ignore her.

His tone was still at its coldest and his eyes at its deadest. He appeared right in between the two teammates and wore an indifferent expression.

"Ah, yes," the kunoichi said nervously as she eyed the two. Their presences together created some sort of frightening aura that she couldn't describe. All she knew was that it was just so... Uchiha.

Sasuke glared at the taller Uchiha for ruining their moment but Uchiha Shisui showed that he could care less.

After waving goodbye at her team, Sakura finally joined her partner as they ran together into the forests.

If you thought that I was going to make Sasuke and Sakura enter into a romantic relationship, then you were most definitely wrong. I hate cliches and I'm scared that this might turn into one, considering that there are some predictable events. But I promise to do my best! Will update next week maybe! I'm going to Hong Kong this week hehehe.

Who else likes Bruno Mars? BECAUSE I LOVE HIM. I attended his concert last month and got to watch him in the fucking front row like right in front of the stage AGHHHH I MISS HIM.

Also, I'm kinda worried about my writing style. It's definitely different and easier to use, but it's more direct or straightforward. The imagery is all lost agh. Anyway, I want to thank those who reviewed and reviewed throughout the chapters. I'm really grateful! You make me happy huhuhu.

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