"Really hate to break it to you boys, but your teammate is going to get pummeled, she'll never last against Tsunade" Jiraiya commented when they all gathered together outside Tanzaku town for the first training session at only 7 in the morning, courtesy of Tsunade herself.
His comment earned two matching glares "Don't underestimate Sakura-chan, she's a lot stronger than you know" Naruto harrumphed unhappily not liking that Sakura's abilities were being discredited even before the training session began.
Next to him Sasuke nodded "Exactly, she's been training, long and hard so don't put her down just yet" Sasuke snorted ebony orbs focused on the two females, he didn't want to miss a thing in the least since it would be a session to remember.
Tsunade scoffed "Those boys put a lot of faith in you girly, so let's see you last against me" Tsunade scowled not liking this one little bit, then with a smirk, leaped forward intending on knocking the brat out quick and easy.
Imagine her surprise when said brat clenched her fist and when she was within range brought it down, the earth exploded beneath their feet and she had to jump back hastily to avoid the rain of rubble from the resulting destruction.
"Like they said don't underestimate me Tsunade-sama, for the village and this country, my friends and family I will not back down no matter what you put me through" Sakura vowed locking burning emerald orbs with shocked honey.
Off to the side Jiraiya gaped "We knew as well Jiraiya" Tobirama said with a little shrug, "Though if I'm being honest, she's able to create a lot more destruction than before" he finished feeling a smirk tug his lips upwards in amusement.
Hashirama chuckled lightly "Quite, looks like Sakura-chan really does care for this country" Hashirama murmured under his breath, it was nice to know that someone did otherwise he wasn't sure if he'd be able to accept her position as Princess.
The ebony haired woman shuddered "Just where on earth did she learn that anyway" Shizune asked once the training session came to an end, over an hour later, in which Sakura had managed to avoid getting slammed seven times out of ten.
Now she was currently flopped on the ground, Tsunade leaned over her "By herself, that's not the only thing Sakura-chan can do" the preteen blonde in the group grinned a whiskered grin and flounced over to his female teammate.
Who sat up with a silly grin "How do you feel Sakura" the raven haired preteen grumped out not liking that he and Naruto were the only ones who weren't beat up this time, it was unusual and he felt like training now.
"Great, Tsunade-sama really tested my limits and pushed me past them as well" the pinkette chattered hands glowing a bright green to heal all of the injuries she'd sustained in the last hour alone, but still smiling like she always did.
Her chakra coated hands drew Tsunade's attention "Brat you know medical ninjutsu as well, for kami's sake, what the hell are you trying to prove by copying me" the honey eyed blonde stomped her way back over to the pink haired brat.
Sakura paused in healing herself "I'm not trying to copy you Tsunade-sama, I learned so that I could protect those important to me" emerald irises narrowed daring the woman to accuse her again of copying her.
"Okay that's enough hotheadedness for the time being, Tsunade, why don't we leave the brats go into town and have a drink yeah" the white haired Sannin offered, distracting his old teammate from pounding on the girl some more and with that signaled their departure.
Shizune shook her head "I'll just stick with them, see you later" the ebony haired woman waved heading after the retreating duo, all she'd witnessed flashing through her head as she went, hardly able to believe that someone else was able to wield chakra enhanced strength.
"You go on Tobirama, I'll stay with these children for the time being, keep an eye on them so they don't get into any unintentional trouble" the mahogany haired male waved his brother off as the three genin wandered away from the makeshift training grounds.
Tobirama eyed his older brother warily for the moment before shrugging "We'll meet up for lunch then" the white haired former Second Hokage suggested then body flickered away intent to scout around Tanzaku for awhile.
Leaving Hashirama to follow after Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura for nearly four hours, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune still absent when they sat down for lunch in a regular tea shop and five minutes after that Tobirama joined them.
"I was wondering about something Nidaime-sama about the body flicker technique" Sakura didn't waste another second in questioning one of the best, soft red orbs shifted in her direction before the man chuckled.
Her heart dropped into her stomach thinking that he wasn't going to answer her question "What were you wondering Sakura-san" Tobirama inquired thinking that it was going to be something silly about how far away one could go using the technique.
What he got was completely different "Not just her, we were all wondering, if a person can match their chakra to another persons could the user of the technique switch places with another" Sasuke put in and Sakura shot him an exasperated glare.
"And we were also wondering about adding different unique items to the body flicker, instead of the standard leaves everyone uses in the village or smoke" Naruto continued acting smarter than usual which really shocked the two Hokage.
Tobirama stared at the three genin before him in surprise "Best answer their questions Tobirama, as it seems like their willing to listen to you quite avidly" Hashirama chuckled finding amusement in the situation as his younger stared at the genin dumbfounded.
Before clearing his throat "Right then it is possible for your question Sasuke-san to sync your chakra to another person and switch places, but it extremely difficult, and you can use other items for the body flicker, such as feathers, flower petals, among a myriad of other things" the white haired male explained.
Immediately the members of Team Seven looked at each other and nodded "Thank you very much Nidaime-sama for answering our questions" the pinkette smiled polishing off lunch and placing some ryo on the table to cover her part of the bill.
"Yeah, yeah, we can't wait to incorporate our own styles and stuff" the blonde knucklehead flashed him a whiskered grin doing the same as his teammate had and pulling out some ryo to pay for his food, which was as usual ramen.
Hashirama watched them vanish in the next moment "My, my the children of this generation are certainly interesting aren't they Tobirama" the mahogany haired male shook his head lightly rising to his feet as well.
Following after the genin, this time his brother came to and once again they were led outside the village "Okay Dope you have to work on that Rasengan thing for awhile, so Sakura and I will get started on syncing our chakra up to one another in order to switch flicker" the ebony haired preteen pointed.
The knucklehead sighed and headed towards a different area littered with little tree's before determination filled him, he would get this jutsu down even if it was the last thing he did and with that all three of them were training just as they usually did.
Until they couldn't go on and they'd finally run out of chakra "Need some help back into the town you three" Hashirama noticed their exhaustion and wondered if they'd even make it back, he doubted it because they'd trained much harsher than usual.
In response the lone girl perked up a bit "I can get Naruto, but I think Sasuke might need some help" Sakura pointed to the Uchiha who was still sprawled out on the ground, covered in bruises, cuts and possibly a broken bone, sweat pouring from his still.
While Naruto was mostly exhausted on chakra "Do not worry about the Uchiha boy" Tobirama snorted before reaching down and hefting the boy onto his feet, and then they were all headed back to the hotel.
"Ugh remind me to not try so hard next time cause that is one hard technique" Sasuke groaned partway there as he finally managed to catch his breath, practicing the body flicker was one thing but this sort of training was a whole other realm of agony for him.
Sakura giggled lightly at him "Least I don't look half as beat up as you do Teme" Naruto sniggered before wincing as an elbow was nudged into his side in warning, he quickly fell silent as they made it the rest of the way to the hotel.
"Good heavens what on earth happened to you two" Shizune shrieked when she saw them drawing her mentor from her hotel room, who stared at two of the genin with shocked honey eyes that instantly filled with wariness.
A moment later their own hotel room door flung open "Can't an old man get some peace and quiet around here, kami the hell did you two do get into a fight with Orochimaru or something" Jiraiya grumbled at first as his nap was disturbed before staring at the genin in horror himself.
Each of them shook their heads "Bunch of brats, here let me heal you up, then your on your own for the rest of the night, just make sure you eat dinner and breakfast and brat you better show up or the bet is off" Tsunade grumbled healing the three idiotic genin brats.
Before sending them off to eat dinner, once they were done they took showers and quickly crawled into their chosen beds in order to get some shut eye and regain the chakra they'd lost during the day to be ready for what would come their way the next day.
Which was basically a repeat "Damn brat stop acting like you understand me" the honey eyed blonde glowered at the girl who could get under her skin so well, it pissed her off, but this brat was different of course.
"Then stop acting like a child throwing a tantrum Tsunade-sama, those that care about you that have been lost wouldn't want to see you like this ever" the pinkette spat knowing just what to say and dodging the kick that would have crushed her spine in the next moment.
It looked like someone had set off an exploding tag as the two females sparred "Scary as usual then, just got to wonder why Sakura-chan is intentionally pissing Granny Tsunade off" the blonde of Team Seven tilted his head to the side curiously.
Earning a strange look "Wait she's pissing her off on purpose" the raven haired Uchiha frowned before focusing his onyx orbs on the sparring duo just as the next blunt statement came and he found the knucklehead to be right.
Jiraiya snorted "You mean you just now realized that" the white haired Sannin shook his head glancing to the temperamental females again and feeling just a tiny bit of trepidation, both of them were strong, stubborn and had extremely short tempers it seemed.
That was it he realized they were alike "Got to wonder why that girl is the way she is, what pushes her forward" the ebony haired woman asked but got no answer, there were very few who understood the fuscia haired preteen and it seemed like neither of her teammates understood her at all.
"For those she cares for there is no one that can break her resolve that is one of the things I've understood while watching her" Tobirama spoke up in the next moment, soft red eyes watching the fight progress until Sakura was to exhausted to go on.
And Tsunade flattened the girl so she was sprawled out on the ground "Tsunade don't be so rough with her, she is the princess of this country, her parents the Feudal Lord and Lady wouldn't be to happy if she was brought back severely injured" Hashirama scolded harshly.
Shuffling forward to heal the girl who intrigued him "Shodaime-sama, my parents understand that I am a shinobi of Fire Country, I don't want to be treated special just because I'm the Princess, I've worked hard to get to this point" Sakura stated firmly.
"Yeah it's kind of a point of irritation for her, but still Sakura you do have to be careful, even if your parents have acknowledged that you won't be giving up your chosen profession, we still have to make sure you make it home to them" Sasuke pointed out.
It wasn't often that Sasuke made a point and with a long suffering sigh Sakura nodded "Just don't be afraid to lean on us sometime Sakura-chan like we do you, we're a team after all" Naruto flashed her the brightest whiskered grin ever.
Earning a fond smile from the young fuscia haired girl "Alright there you go brat all healed up and if you come back to the hotel tonight looking like ragamuffins I'm not healing you this time" Tsunade snorted and stalked off.
Her attendant on her heels "Lady Tsunade please wait for me" Shizune hurried after her mentor once again, Tonton tucked into her arms like usual and then the two women were gone from sight probably to go spend their time at a hot spring or whatever Tsunade fancied.
Leaving behind one Sannin who shook his head "That went well, anyway see you kids around" Jiraiya vanished in the next moment and the genin were left to their own devices, it was something they were use to actually.
As they found something to occupy their time "Oooh look at this Teme, what do you think about this for Hinata-chan" the knucklehead blonde of the group showed off a headband that had little rice-balls etched into it.
Sasuke raised a brow looking the item over before nodding "She'd like it I'm sure but why the sudden interest to get Hyuga a souvenir Dope" the ebony haired preteen questioned, clearly the other boy didn't really know why only that it had captured his attention and he was going to get it for her.
Off to the side of them shifting through a bin was Sakura "Mm I wonder if my little siblings would like this, or Mom, Aunt Mebuki is sure to appreciate this" the pinkette hummed under her breath pulling out rolls of material of beautiful colors.
Watching them from the shadows were the two former Hokage "Don't think I've ever seen her carefree like that before" the former Second Hokage commented, soft red eyes following the lone girl as she flitted about the shop picking out the oddest things.
"Perhaps she's excited about her siblings and cousins that will be coming into this world next year" the former First Hokage chuckled amused at their antics, but he also knew that after this the three genin would get serious again.
He was right to as soon as they finished goofing off in the shop and had eaten lunch, the genin of Team Seven vanished outside the village once more to train hardcore, pushing each other past their limits in order to improve.
All while Naruto worked on perfecting the Rasengan and his two teammates practiced using the body flicker switch technique on one another, it was no surprise to the former Hokage's that the first one to get the technique down was Sakura.
Just as chakra exhaustion caught up with them "Whoa that was totally awesome how you switched places with Sasuke-teme just now Sakura-chan" Naruto shouted exuberantly running towards his downed teammates as they flopped on the ground.
They both gave him tired smirks "Maybe but it was extremely hard to manage just the once, though now I understand a little bit more and will be able to do it again tomorrow hopefully" Sakura yawned exhausted beyond belief, not to mention starved.
"Ugh sometimes I wish I understood chakra like you do Sakura cause it would totally come in handy" Sasuke groaned pushing himself up onto his elbows before flopping back to sore to even more another inch like yesterday.
Thankfully the former First Hokage decided to take pity on them "Here you three go, remember what Tsuna-chan said, though I must say your training sessions are quite intense" Hashirama chuckled hands glowing a bright green as he healed all three of the genin before him.
"And I'm proud of you for managing that much in just two days of practicing" Tobirama praised lightly not wanting to expand their ego's to much, but wanting the girl to know that she'd done good and it had impressed him a little.
Moments later they were all healed up and traipsing back to the hotel for dinner "Kami do you three need to practically destroy your clothes during your training sessions" Shizune was utterly horrified at their appearances for the second night in a row.
Once they'd all gathered in the hotel cafeteria, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke shrugged to tired to really commit to any kind of conversation "Must you train like that anyway stupid brats" Tsunade scowled at them furious that they were all training harshly.
Like seriously how could they even stand to fight one another like that "No point in telling them that, I doubt they'll stop Tsunade" Jiraiya snorted with a shake of his head and soon enough they were all finished eating and heading to their rooms to get some shut eye for the night.
Where the day's repeated until they were on the final day of the bet, but when the genin woke up they sensed something seriously wrong "Uh where's Granny" the blonde frowned as they gathered outside the town.
Not only that but the blonde's attendant was missing, the Sannin that was their mission leader and the two former Hokage "Something's not right, we should go back to the hotel" the Uchiha on the team felt as if they were about to be attacked.
Then quickly ushered his teammates back to the hotel "I agree there's something going on here and I'm going to get to the bottom of it" the pinkette frowned deeply not liking that they'd been abandoned somehow.
With that mindset she turned and headed a few doors down to Tsunade and Shizune shared hotel room and without even knocking threw open the door and found the source of Sasuke's unease, Shizune, Hashirama and Tobirama were all knocked out on the floor somehow.
It was wrong and she hastily jumped to their sides, hands glowing green "Please Tsunade-sama don't go" Shizune mumbled waking slowly while Tobirama was on his feet in three seconds flat after being woken up.
"You three where is she, Tsunade" the white haired Second Hokage demanded harshly of the genin causing them to flinch in response, when he realized they didn't have an answer, he scoffed under his breath and headed towards the window.
Next to rise was Hashirama "Just knew something was wrong with Tsuna-chan, she's gone to meet Orochimaru" the mahogany haired First Hokage shook his head in disappointment, where had he gone wrong.
His gaze turned to the window as it was slid open and just as his brother was leaning his head out a kunai flew in front of his face "That damned Tsunade drugged me, she's gone to meet Orochimaru" Jiraiya appeared struggling and as if he was in a great amount of pain.
This was turning out to be one of the worst situations ever that they'd been in, before Sakura made a decision "Jiraiya-sama I can burn the drug out of your system, then Naruto and I will go with you to stop her" Sakura spoke up.
Every eye turned onto her "Why am I being left behind" Sasuke scowled not happy in the least, he had the necessary skills after all to fight and defend himself, his teammate was being a little overconfident it seemed.
Sakura pressed her lips together "Because Orochimaru is after your Sharingan is he not, Tobirama you will go with them as well, I'll stay here and watch over Sasuke" Hashirama took charge, knowing that it was better this way.
Knowing she was right Sasuke grit his teeth before sighing "Don't worry Teme, we'll come back I promise" Naruto grimaced getting the feeling they were about to be put through hell like never before as they headed towards the window.
Moments later Jiraiya was ready to go as well "Better hurry then cause I have no idea what Tsunade is plotting in that head of hers" the Toad Sage grunted leaping out the window glad he had access to his chakra again.
On his heels were two genin, Tsunade's attendant and a former Hokage "This is probably the worst idea in history" Tobirama scowled unhappily much like the Uchiha boy had earlier when the girl had told him to stay behind.
"Probably Lord Second but this is the only choice we have on the matter" Shizune sighed depressed, this wasn't right would Tsunade really sacrifice them in order to have two of her important people returned.
Upon arriving on scene she was relieved to find that Tsunade had turned down the offer of having Dan and Nawaki reanimated and was currently fighting Kabuto "Bastard as if I'd ever accept anything you told me, it was a lie" Tsunade was cussing left and right at Orochimaru.
While simultaneously destroying the ground and punching the gray haired teenager before her until he went flying backwards "Seems like we have some guests, Jiraiya and the little brat that ruined my plan during the Chunin Exams" Orochimaru glared.
Leaking KI into the air, but to his surprise the girl brushed it off like it was nothing and glared right back "Even if Tsunade-sama is stubborn, she still knows the difference between right and wrong" Sakura snapped and grabbed her scroll with Nuibari after making a clone to stand by Jiraiya.
Unsealing the weapon and launching herself after Kabuto who was a traitor, his onyx eyes widened as he was nearly stabbed by the needle like sword "How did you come into possession of that weapon" Kabuto demanded dodging to the best of his abilities.
Tsunade had really beat him and now he was being forced back by a mere girl, it was kind of degrading really "Nuibari chose me as his next wielder, I won't let you continue to give shinobi a bad name Kabuto" the pinkette thrust her fist out as well.
It slammed into his side and Kabuto was sent flying from the chakra enhanced punch, he hit a rock "S..Scary, that's just from one week of sparring with Granny Tsunade" Naruto gulped staying out of the line of fire as Sakura fought for Tsunade.
Jiraiya had to agree with his gaki of an apprentice "Maybe that's why Homura and Koharu sent her with me and you brat, and the Uchiha boy" Jiraiya mused suddenly, the girl was strong and had the sense to avoid most of the damaging blows Kabuto could deal her.
As he healed himself expertly and leaped into the fray again "Kami what the hell is she trying to prove wielding such a weapon" Shizune couldn't really believe her eyes, then she saw it the glint of wire strewn about the field.
Her eyes widened "Brat's smart I'll give her that much" Tsunade laughed, finally realizing what made that girl so different than any princess they'd had in the past, while most stayed on their pedestals, this one came off it and joined the masses to understand her country.
That's why she had such fire and it burned brightly within her "Interesting idea" Tobirama commented under his breath from nearby as Kabuto found himself entrapped in wires, even Orochimaru was stunned.
"But how all you were doing was swinging that thing around erratically" Kabuto snapped furious he'd been outsmarted by this girl of all people, unable to truly move and any time he tried the wire's tightened.
Sakura held is life in her clutches "It might have seemed that way and that Kabuto was your mistake..ah ah wouldn't do that, see there's exploding tags all around us" Sakura warned catching sight of moment out of the corner of her eye.
Orochimaru froze as he realized that his retainer was in a very precarious position as the wires tightened to the point of cutting into his flesh, his blood drip, drip, dripping to the ground and Sakura gave a vicious smile in response.
Wary at the cause of that expression Orochimaru lunged just as Sakura made a hand sign to set off the exploding tags and after syncing her chakra up to her clone was gone, only to reappear beside Jiraiya in the next moment as the explosion nearly swept them all off their feet.
She was grabbed round the waist by Tobirama and while Naruto was gripped by Jiraiya where they all body flickered to a safe distance avoiding the rest of the blast, when the smoke receded Kabuto was a bloody mess and Orochimaru looked crispy and charred.
And furious, his gold eyes narrowed on her a dangerous glint in their depths and Sakura raised her head high, glaring right back "How did you escape the blast" the Snake Sannin demanded to know in the next moment.
Tobirama smirked "Something that not even you could manage Orochimaru if I were you I'd retreat lest be bested by a little girl again" the former Second Hokage warned still holding Sakura under his arm, not that he didn't trust her but he was best to keeping her safe.
Glaring murderously now Orochimaru turned to his retainer and then in a poof of smoke was gone "He's not going to last long, Kabuto I mean, there was clear homemade poison on the wires of my Nuibari" the rosette commented.
Kabuto would have trouble with that complex poison of hers, that was if they even managed to make it back to where ever their base was "Your very scary Sakura-chan" the blonde on her team gaped, glad that everything was calming down now.
She shot him a fond smile and wiggled indicating she wanted to be set down, on her feet now Sakura headed over to her teammate and checked him over thoroughly "Well between you and Tsunade, we weren't even needed" Jiraiya sulked suddenly.
Causing said females to laugh "Maybe not but it's the thought of backup that counts" the honey eyed woman shook her head in amusement as they started their trek back to the town to pack up and begin their walk back to Leaf.
Seeing as how she'd lost the bet she'd made that pink haired brat "Are we really going back to Leaf" the raven haired woman asked realizing what this meant, Tsunade had lost the bet, now they had no choice but to accept and go back to the village.
Tsunade nodded silently "How did everything go, are any of you injured what about you Sakura" one of the last Uchiha's was right there the moment they entered the hotel room, looking his teammates over with worry in his gaze.
"Just fine Sasuke, I don't think Orochimaru will come after us for a good long while" the pinkette smiled easily, wondering inwardly how the man would manage without Kabuto and his expert healing skills.
A little wary of that carefree smile Sasuke decided he didn't want to know what Sakura meant by that "Doing great, Granny and Sakura-chan did all the work" Naruto admitted with a shudder, more terrified of his female teammate than he ever had been before.
"What did she do" Hashirama questioned in confusion as belongings were packed away in bags and they made sure to tidy up the room before sitting on the best to rest for a little while longer after a hell of a week.
His granddaughter snorted "Strung his subordinate up like he was a piece of meat and then blew him and Orochimaru up, not excluding having poison on that weapons wire of course" Tsunade offered with a smirk.
Proud of her newest apprentice, Sasuke edged away from Sakura at that "Your scary, well scarier than ever" Sasuke shuddered, while Naruto nodded his head in agreement, what was even more disconcerting was the decidedly wicked smile forming on the girl's lips.
"That's not all Tsunade-sama, in the midst of all those exploding tags was a delayed genjutsu tag, uniquely crafted of course that will only activate when he's near a large number of chakra signatures which will then affect his entire base, slowly driving them mad" Sakura added.
"Care to explain how you came up with that sort of plan in a short amount of time" Hashirama scratched his head extremely confused at this point by the young girl in their midst, who was very vindictive when crossed.
Unfortunately for him Sakura shook her head "Had those already thought up, just threw a bunch of idea's together split second and I had a plan ready to go with probably seven back up plans" the rosette mused unsure herself.
Which meant that she'd probably have to come up with some more idea's "Are you sure you're an actual princess" the Toad Sage grunted in frustration of all the gaki that he gets stuck with it had to be three brats that came with baggage attached thank you very much.
Sakura nodded quietly in answer, searching through her pack to make sure she had everything "So are we ready to go home then" Shizune asked once the kids had searched about the room for any odds and ends that might be missing from their packs.
Before situating the bags on their shoulders again and lining up in a row ready to move out "Right then let's go" Tobirama ordered relieved to finally being going home to Leaf himself after a month of being gone.
~Three days later~
After a short trip the giant gates of their village came into view and Sakura quickened her pace, determination urging her forward to make sure nothing else had befell the village while they'd been gone after that second attack from Itachi and Kisame.
To her relief it was in mint condition, minus the construction work still going on "Okay I have work to do, take a few weeks off brats, here blonde brat the necklace I promised, Sakura consider yourself my apprentice now shoo" Tsunade took charge dismissing the lot of them.
Naruto blinked as all the adults vanished on them "Come on I want to check up on Kuri" he sighed feeling exhausted after such a long mission, at the mention of their horse companion, both Sasuke and Sakura perked up before the three of them hurried down the streets to their house.
It was locked just like they expected and Sakura disappeared to the house next door to visit her parents and brother for a few minutes, let them know the mission went well and they were back, collected the keys from Kyogo and returned to unlock the door.
Where they crowded into the foyer breathing in the stale air of their house with disgusted looks "Good at least she's doing well" Sasuke breathed a sigh once they headed out the backdoor and found Kuri snoozing in her stall.
Though at their approach Kuri woke and began whinnying in excitement, stamping the ground with her hoof and tossing her head back clearly happy to see them "Ah sorry girl, next time we're taking you I promise" Sakura apologized patting the horse on the neck.
Digging into the feed bag for a sweet chestnut and found none "Yeah cause walking all over sucks" the knucklehead blonde grimaced making a mental note to remind himself to buy sweet chestnuts for Kuri.
"We'll get you some tomorrow, here's a couple of sugar cubes instead" the ebony haired preteen offered for the excited horse, who gobbled the cubes of sugar and nipped Sasuke's fingers gently in thanks when she was done.
Sakura smiled at that "We're going in now" the rosette patted Kuri one last time and got pats from Naruto and Sasuke before they headed back in to open every window in the house and air it out, while making a few clones each to clean up the rooms of dust, including their kitchen to make dinner.
Before they eventually headed to bed, exhausted from their long mission, they climbed the stairs wearily after closing all the windows and setting up their usual traps, entered their rooms and crawled into their beds to get some shut eye.