Two weeks and two days later with only a week left on the mission the bridge to the mainland was nearly complete "Ugh yawn could this could anymore boring" Naruto sighed itching to train like they had been during the first five days of their mission.
Not to say they still didn't train a little bit, but it wasn't as intense as those initial days "Quit complaining Dope I'm bored to" Sasuke grunted, hiding his boredom behind a stoic mask, Naruto sulked but sucked it up and stopped whining like he'd been asked.
It was just them there with Tazuna while Sakura got all the luck staying with Tsunami and Kakashi patrolled the town to ensure no thugs or bandits snuck in "Just a little while longer Naruto, Sasuke, then you can run off and eat lunch" Tazuna chuckled amused.
~Meanwhile~
"Could you go into the forest out back for me Sakura, and pick some seasoning herbs" Tsunami requested of the young girl who hopped to her feet, pushed her chair in politely and snagged the wicker basket she was holding out.
Strapped her sandals onto her feet and then waved "Be back in a little bit Tsunami-san" Sakura called heading out the back door, shutting it quietly behind her, then trekking the seven feet it took to enter the forest on the hunt for herbs that would be good to flavor food.
As intent on her task as she was Sakura missed the chakra converging on her until it was to late, narrowly dodging the kunai to the back and swinging around to face her attacker completely on edge when she saw who it was.
"Well it's been a long time hasn't it Sakura-san, four years if I'm not mistaken, the fact that you broke my mind control doesn't surprise me though" Itachi was stood before her in all his seventeen year old glory.
Just seeing him was enough to make her remember all he'd done until she remembered that it hadn't been Itachi's fault, it didn't mean she wasn't still scared of him though "You what are you doing here" the pinkette gripped the wicker basket tightly.
Edging backwards not that she thought she'd be able to get away "I'm here to confirm something won't you indulge me on another request Sakura-san" the Uchiha heir admitted with that smile he'd used the last time he'd asked her something.
Sakura grit her teeth 'So he thinks I'm still easily manipulated' she thought to herself "A trade of information for the request, I want two questions answered honestly by you" Sakura straightened wanting to confirm the truth for herself.
If he was surprised he didn't show it "Very well, is it true that Danzo Shimura was thrown in jail on several charges five weeks ago" Itachi nodded figuring it wouldn't hurt anything to answer a couple of questions she had.
Not surprised he'd heard Sakura nodded "Yes, for the first question, why the hell did you let him manipulate you into killing your clan, surely there was a better way right" the rosette fired off her first question by basically letting Itachi know she knew about his secret mission.
There it was a much more open expression now, it was all the answer she really needed to be honest "Figures, you've always been smarter than the average civilian child, and I'm sure there was but I saw no end to it other than the way I ended things" the ebony haired seventeen year old said.
Relieved that he hadn't lied to her she blew out a breath "Did you kill Shisui I want the truth" Sakura demanded for her next question, it was something that had been eating her alive since the day she and Sasuke had broke into Danzo's office and stole those files.
"Understand Sakura-san that the last thing Shisui wanted was to hurt you, no I didn't kill him, once Danzo stole one of his eyes he jumped off the cliff that overlooked the Naka river" Itachi revealed the truth at long last to the girl who'd adored his friend so much.
Proving to still care deeply about him all these years even after Shisui's death when tears flooded her eyes "Thank you Itachi-san, you should go before Kakashi-sensei senses your chakra" the pinkette dried her eyes not wanting to cry.
His lips quirked up into a small smile "Keep looking after Sasuke-otouto for me" then the Uchiha was gone in a flurry of black crows, having been a clone all along then she hurriedly finished the task she'd been given and body flickered back to the civilians house.
Handing over the herbs she'd picked to Tsunami who took them with a grateful smile and turned to get started on lunch for them, while Sakura worked on changing the seals that protected the house, it was something she did every few days so the enemy didn't know what to expect.
Improving them to and adding new elements into the mix until the others returned "Everything seems fine down in the town" Kakashi said the minute he sat down missing the red rimmed eyes of the lone kunoichi.
But her friend certainly didn't "Leave guarding Tazuna to me after lunch" the silver haired male explained once food was plated up and placed before them so they could eat and Sasuke was glad for that fact because now he'd have a chance to talk to Sakura and ask her what had happened.
Naruto was as equally as oblivious and the minute they were done eating Sakura disappeared with Sasuke on her heels "Kami what's up with them" the blonde huffed wishing the two weren't so secretive all the time.
Up in the guest bedroom that Sakura was using, once the room had been sealed and soundproofed "Want to tell me why it looks like you've been crying" the ebony haired preteen inquired forcefully worried that something was wrong and wanting to be able to fix it.
"A clone of your brother was here a couple hours ago to ask me for some information about Danzo seeing as we got him thrown in jail, I managed to get a couple questions answered as well" Sakura explained knowing better than to hide the truth.
Sasuke straightened and looked her over critically "Did he do anything to you Sakura, I swear to kami even if I know that he wasn't the one at fault, if he did anything to you at all I'll kill him" Sasuke grit his teeth angrily.
Sakura held up her hand though "No he didn't do anything to me, but he confirmed that Danzo was the one who manipulated him and he felt killing your clan was the only way to end things peacefully, he also told me that he wasn't the one who killed Shisui" the pinkette announced.
The truth had finally come out after four long years of not really knowing and Sasuke slumped to his knee's letting all the tension drain out of him while covering his face with his hands, shoulders trembling "If it wasn't Itachi, then who" the preteen Uchiha questioned.
Keeping is head bowed and face covered "Shisui committed suicide when Danzo stole one of his eyes, he felt it was the only way" Sakura joined him on the floor letting out the tears she'd held back earlier only in Sasuke's presence.
As they cried for all they'd lost in that single night, their innocence and people dear to their hearts "Think we should ask Inoichi-san for a therapy session when we get back" Sasuke roughly dried his cheeks half an hour later when no more tears would come out.
Sakura sniffled and blew her nose "Probably for the best….whoa Sasuke you've awakened the Sharingan" the rosette burst out in excitement, digging into her pouch for a compact mirror and shoving it into Sasuke's hands.
Who held it up so he could see his eyes had indeed changed to the bloody red of their dojutsu with only one tomoe "Guess all that emotional trauma was good for something" the ebony haired preteen snorted snapping the mirror shut and returning it to Sakura while he deactivated his dojutsu.
Pleased that he'd finally awakened his kekkeigenkai, the two of them sat there on the floor for a little while longer until they knew they couldn't put off going downstairs "Bout time thought you two were going to stay locked away for the rest of the day" Naruto huffed at them.
"Sorry Naruto, something came up that it was urgent we talk about" Sakura soothed kindly knowing better than to brush Naruto off or have another tantrum on their hands, the last time had been bad enough and right now no one needed that.
"Did something happen while you were picking herbs Sakura" Tsunami inquired worried that the girl had been in danger, seeing the bloodshot eyes and puffy bags, she knew the girl had been crying what about they didn't know.
"Kinda it wasn't bad though in fact we got some good news about something" Sasuke tried to smile managing a small one so the Jonin didn't get suspicious, Kakashi wasn't even there though so he had nothing to worry about.
Just as he thought that Kakashi and Tazuna appeared "How much longer do you guys have here" Inari asked when he plopped down at the table with the others eager to eat dinner then run off to his room again.
"Another week Inari by then the bridge should be finished hopefully" Tazuna sighed looking exhausted and probably ready to be finished with his bridge by this point, even if there was very little danger the work was still tiring.
This earned a chuckle from Kakashi who turned his attention on the genin "For the rest of the week I'll be guarding Tazuna so you three can do whatever you like, train, be lazy you've worked hard so you deserve a little break" Kakashi announced.
Lifting their spirits as dinner was plated up and set before them so they could eat and then take showers before going to bed and on Kakashi's suggestion the following morning, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto went out to train.
For the rest of the week, polishing their skills and improving upon certain things until the bridge was complete and it was time to finally go home after a month long mission "Listen you three do not mention how we actually accomplished this mission alright" the silver haired Jonin warned.
While they headed for the mainland after packing their belongings to return to their village "But lying isn't right Kakashi-sensei, I won't be a liar" the pinkette narrowed her eyes on the man that had been her temporary sensei for a month.
It was something she absolutely hated after all, the Jonin sighed "I know Sakura, however we could be considered traitors for buying off a rogue like we did, so it's better to just not mention it, that way it wouldn't be lying just keeping the truth to yourself while reporting that the mission went well" Kakashi explained.
Hoping she wouldn't argue "You know he's right Sakura, better to just keep what happened to ourselves" Sasuke agreed with Kakashi in the next moment and Sakura slumped her shoulders relenting and promising to keep her mouth shut so she didn't have to lie.
Just like that they left the little land of waves behind "Finally going home hallelujah" Naruto cheered excitedly, he couldn't wait to see his village again, or his teammates and all the rest of his friends, even Mebuki and Kizashi who'd he'd missed this entire time as well.
A full day later, bright and early in the morning the red gates of the Hidden Leaf Village came into view and as they were signing in a certain Aburame appeared in a swirl of kikaichu apparently having learned the body flicker while they'd been gone.
His face was thunderous as he marched forward "Sakura never do that again when a mission is dangerous, why because I have been worried out of my mind" Shino growled gripping her wrist and pulling her into a hug so unlike himself.
Then to further everyone's shock including Sakura's made his feelings known by tugging down his coat collar and locking lips with the girl "Mmph" the pinkette jolted in surprise, emerald orbs wide at the sudden kiss.
"Wow that's Shino for you" the Uchiha of Team Seven grinned rooting on his friends who would no doubt become a couple now that Shino had made the first move, the guards were watching with their jaws hanging agape.
While Naruto covered his eyes and Kakashi simply stared wondering how this had happened in the first place "Okay I think that's enough mentally scarring Naruto-kun, Shino" the silver haired Jonin clapped.
Breaking the duo apart "Nah I'm good but still why did you have to do that in front of the gates where anyone can see it" the blonde shuddered, Sakura blushing from head to toe, while Shino just looked smug.
"My kikaichu picked up on the scent bag I gave Sakura, I thought it was time to stop being so indecisive, why because I don't want anyone else liking Sakura like that" the Aburame Heir said in a serious tone of voice.
That had even the guards fighting down their laughter, seemed little mister bug user was possessive of his girl and Sakura's blush darkened "Um err well it's nice to know you like me Shino" Sakura fidgeted cheeks hot and heart pounding from her first kiss.
"Right…anyway we're pretty tired Shino just got back after a month long mission you know, so you two will have to talk later about that sort of thing" Sasuke cleared his throat stopping relationship talks right in their tracks.
Sakura blew out a shaky breath "Very well, if you feel up to it later I'll be waiting you know where" Shino stated simply, their secret place that only two other people knew about, one of whom was no longer with them due to unfortunate circumstances that he didn't know about.
"Don't worry about reporting in I'll do that, just go home you three and get some rest" Kakashi waved the trio of genin off, promising to barter and give them at least two weeks off from missions that didn't endanger them hopefully after all their hard work.
"Got it Kakashi-sensei" Naruto waved as the three of them disappeared down the streets of the Leaf Village to home eager to see the older Haruno's again, only when they got there, Mebuki and Kizashi were no where to be found.
Until Sakura found a note "Looks like their off on one of their trips to sell merchandise to neighboring towns in Fire Country, seems Hokage-sama assigned them a Jonin escort, left yesterday and won't be back for a couple of weeks at the very least" the rosette read off.
Naruto and Sasuke let out matching sighs "Oh well no point in complaining, for now lets just get some shut eye" the Uchiha rubbed his eyes feeling exhausted, he hoped they got a couple days off or he was going to scream in frustration.
"Yeah that mission was crazy" the blonde nodded in understanding as they shucked their sandals uncaring of being neat for the time being, took nice relaxing showers, dropped their packs in the middle of their bedroom floors and crawled into their sorely missed beds to sleep.
When they did wake up it was nearly noon "Food first, then go talk to Shino, Sasuke would you please go do that thing we talked about" Sakura reminded Sasuke about what he'd proposed during that last week of the mission.
He nodded "Understood, therapy session with Inoichi Yamanaka, Dope, it's how we've been coping with what happened" Sasuke explained realizing they could exactly leave Naruto out of the loop forever since he knew a little bit of what happened anyway.
Clearly receiving that little bit of information was enough to make the boy over the moon "Thanks Sasuke after this I think I'm going to go find Kiba and Hinata-chan" Naruto admitted sorely missing his teammates presences.
Don't get him wrong he had enjoyed being on a team with Sasuke and Sakura greatly but they weren't the teammates he was use to "Hey you think once your finished talking to Shino about your future with each other, you could teach me the body flicker Sakura" the Uchiha asked.
Remembering seeing Shino use the technique and now he was the only one on the team who didn't know how to use it "Course I can Sasuke and when we have some time for ourselves I'll teach you to, Naruto, start thinking about what you want to use as your signatures" the pinkette relented.
The Uzumaki boy was on cloud nine at that point "We are going to be totally badass on missions" the blonde sniggered bouncing in his seat to the other two's amusement before lunch was finished and they all ate before splitting up.
Sakura on the hunt for her crush, Naruto on the search for his teammates and Sasuke all the way to T&I and around the building "May I help you with something Uchiha-san" the woman behind the desk asked not looking up because this was a usual occurrence.
"I'd like to set up a therapy session with Inoichi Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno and I, we've had some recent issues pop up that we'd like to talk out with him" Sasuke nodded requesting the therapy session as he'd gotten use to.
At that the receptionist did look up "Mm lets see, last known session was nearly eight months ago, Yamanaka-san is booked up all of today and tomorrow but he has two hours free for Thursday at noon will that be good enough" the woman flipped through the schedule book.
Finding the soonest possible date that the Uchiha would be content with "That's fine Ma'am thank you" the ebony haired preteen accepted the time and day, the information was written down on a little card and he stuffed it in his pocket.
On his way out he nearly rammed into Kakashi "What are you doing here at T&I" Kakashi frowned in concern, had something happened in the time frame that he'd left the trio of genin who'd been on the mission.
"Scheduled a therapy session for Sakura and I, just had some recent issues pop up that we'd like to talk out, so how did mission report go, did Lord Hokage cuss you out for allowing us to continue the mission" Sasuke explained before shifting into a teasing sort of mood.
Kakashi rolled his one visible eye "It went well, and no Hokage-sama didn't cuss me out, he did however give you, Naruto and Sakura, two weeks off, while Kiba and Hinata continue working with Shino and Shibi-sama" the silver haired Jonin announced.
Better than nothing Sasuke supposed as Kakashi waved and went to hurry into T&I HQ "Uh Kakashi there's something I'd like to ask you" the ebony haired preteen blurted so unlike his usual aloof self, this was important though.
The man swung around visible brow raised "Would you be at all amenable since I have the next two weeks off, training me on how to use the Sharingan, mine awakened, just haven't had a chance to practice or understand it yet" Sasuke straightened.
Asking seriously now to make the Jonin see he didn't want to be blown off on this "Very well but remember Sasuke you did ask, just know the training isn't going to be easy" Kakashi warned before finally heading in to T&I.
Leaving Sasuke alone to make the trek home, on the way he did stop and buy some groceries for the house remembering that the food stock had been low when Sakura had cooked and even went so far as to put the groceries away before sitting at the table and reading an informative book.
~Meanwhile~
Sakura had found where Shino was creeping about "You kissed me and confessed Shino does that mean you know that I like you" Sakura said the minute she spotted him he was alone and she thanked her lucky stars for that.
At her voice and question the bug user turned to face her "Did you dislike it Sakura and for awhile now, it was on our second day of being genin, why because it was when you said you loved us, I figured out that your feelings were genuine towards me then" Shino frowned.
Not really having thought she'd seek him out so soon it had only been a few hours after all, Sakura went red in the face though blushing madly as she remembered their kiss "No I didn't exactly dislike it Shino and oh" the pinkette fidgeted.
Becoming the shyest he'd ever seen her and damn if he didn't think it was cute "Then would you like to try being in a relationship with me, why it seems to be the only solution to our dilemma" the brunet pointed out carefully.
Feeling as if his heart was about to burst out of his chest, the hissing of his kikaichu were steadily rising in excitement when Sakura looked at him with those vibrant green eyes of hers, shining with emotion.
Until she shyly nodded "I'd like that Shino-kun but can I ask that we wait until my parents get back from their trip before going on a date" Sakura requested kindly ready to scream to the rooftops that her crush liked her back and that they were going to be in a relationship.
Having thought of multiple scenarios, her parents being gone not one of them "We have a deal then" Shino nodded stepping forward and Sakura blushed four shades of red when he tugged his coat collar down, leaned forward and connected their lips again.
Pulling away all to soon as it was much lighter than their first and he disappeared in a swirl of kikaichu beetles, speaking of beetles she needed to check on her panda ant colony and the giant goliath beetle of her first mission to make sure they were doing alright.
During that time Naruto had found his own teammates and were having a blast with them as Sakura body flickered home in a swirl of cherry blossoms "According to Kakashi we have two weeks off, you, me and the Dope" the raven haired preteen said.
The moment she stepped foot in the house, knowing her chakra like the back of his hand "Me and Shino are going to try for a relationship, anything else, what about the therapy session how soon" the fuscia haired preteen shucked her sandals and put them away nice and neat in a cubby.
"Thursday at noon, for two hours, also I asked Kakashi to train me on my sharingan for the next two weeks, he'll probably teach me other things while he's at it most likely just to warn you" Sasuke added next.
His teammate nodding in acceptance "Good enough for me and good luck, anyway I'm going to kip upstairs real quick and check on my colony and Saidai" Sakura sped through the living room charging up the stairs.
Saidai was what she'd chosen to name that gigantic beetle they'd removed from that young couples home on their first mission when she'd kept him and Sasuke shook his head with a snort of amusement shoving his nose back in his book.
Until she came back downstairs looking all happy practically floating as she flitted about cleaning random objects "I was thinking we could sneak into the Uchiha Compound again to borrow some books from the library there" the Uchiha commented suddenly.
And Sakura jerked her head in his direction weighing the pro's and con's of the idea before relenting "One of these days your going to have to ask Hokage-sama for proper access so we don't have to keep sneaking in" the pinkette huffed with a roll of her eyes.
Making him shrug sheepishly in response, just then the door flew open with a great clatter "NARUTO UZUMAKI IS HOME BELIEVE IT" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs in his usual exuberant knucklehead way.
Causing them to laugh and exchange smiles at his hilarious antics "Welcome home then Naruto, so do either of you want to go out back and start practicing the body flicker" Sakura greeted glad that she was finally able to say it even after having the boy live with them for two months.
It was something she still hadn't quite gotten use to "Let's go then, no time like the present after all" Sasuke snapped his book shut and was on his feet half a second later with that the three of them traipsed out the back door to get some training under way.
Sakura in the lead as usual "So how do you even do the technique is it really hard Sakura-chan, also you mentioned to think about what we want as our signatures what did you mean by that" the blonde of the group questioned immediately.
When they were stood before her "Basically adding your own unique element to the technique, like how Sakura can use cherry blossom petals, we can do that to" the ebony haired preteen explained not leaving everything up to Sakura.
Who nodded "Exactly and no it's not that difficult, well not now anyway since you've been practicing chakra control for a month, what you want to do is make this hand sign, focus your chakra and intent on a certain place and let it take you there" the rosette instructed.
Demonstrating by popping around their backyard in a swirl of cherry blossoms "Can I ask how long you've been able to do that Sakura-chan" Naruto asked closing his eyes and making the hand sign necessary for the technique.
Remembering to focus his chakra and intent on the task "Since I was eight Naruto, one of Sasuke's clan-mates taught me" Sakura admitted thinking on Shisui fondly to keep his memory alive for the rest of her life.
Naruto frowned at that and found himself falling forward "Nice Naruto, now it's my turn" Sasuke smirked seeing the knucklehead execute the technique by falling flat on his face, though he didn't manage any better by falling into the rosebushes on accident.
To Sakura's amusement while Naruto let out obnoxious laughter "Ahaha Teme the look on your face" the blonde rolled on the ground laughing his head off at the moment and wishing he had a camera to take a picture.
Just as he thought that a flash went off and he caught Sakura hastily sealing her camera away "Sakura that wasn't cool in the least, delete that photo" the Uchiha whined in a decidedly unmanly way setting off the laughter of both of his friends.
"Nope sorry this one's going in the album for sure Sasuke" the pinkette snickered until the three of them managed to calm down and get back to practicing until they could properly execute the body flicker technique with very little incident on their parts.
With that they traipsed back into the house "You'll have to show us tomorrow how to add our own elements I think for me I want black crow feathers, what about you Naruto" Sasuke turned to the blonde to debate body flicker elements.
"Mm don't know, something ramen or seal related I guess, oooh how about this in case of emergencies I have storage seals as my signature and if the situation is really dangerous I can unseal them with a flare of my chakra to have a whole bunch of weapons come out" Naruto chattered excitedly.
As he thought of a totally awesome idea that probably next to no one had ever thought up "Then I would suggest you get started on drawing those seals Naruto and figure out what weapons you want to put in them" Sakura smiled.
Cooking up an early dinner because truly the three of them were still pretty exhausted and now that the day was winding down that tiredness was catching up with them, and once they were done eating the three of them crawled back into bed to get some more sleep.
On the following morning after breakfast Kakashi showed up to whisk Sasuke away "Could you go to the hospital and get a letter of recommendation for me, I want to be officially trained at the hospital as well" the Uchiha asked on his way out.
"Got it Sasuke, come on Naruto, then we'll go to the market for Sasuke's black crow feathers and find the type of weapon you want to use for your signature, then we'll come back here and draw out the storage seals" the rosette finished cleaning up the kitchen.
Putting on a determined expression as she and Naruto left the house "You know I thought Sasuke was kidding about that" the blonde admitted as they weaved through the crowd on a straight path to the hospital.
"Anyone would really to be honest, ah I'd like a letter of recommendation for a friend of mine who's interested in being trained by a medic" Sakura requested as they stopped before the desk, thankfully it wasn't the same receptionist as last time so hopefully this will be a little easier.
The woman looked up, glanced to Naruto, who shook his head then started rifling around in the desk "Here you are, no guarantee he'll be accepted though" the woman said handing over the letter and Sakura gently stuffed it in her pouch.
Before she and Naruto left the hospital "Why did that lady say that, was she talking about Sasuke" Naruto frowned wondering why people seemed to dislike Sasuke besides stupid insipid fan-girls that was as they headed for the market.
Sakura pressed her lips together "Yeah I think so, even after all this time people still have an issue with Uchiha's" the pinkette gnashed her teeth together grinding them in frustration, she really itched to punch people for it but she didn't want to get in trouble.
Naruto shuddered "Oh look the store Sakura-chan" the blonde said to distract his friend from her very violent thoughts, he grabbed three packs of blank tags and Sakura found the authentic black crow feathers before they searched around the shop for interesting weapons.
"What about these Naruto and if you asked nicely Sasuke might even teach you the shuriken shadow clone jutsu" Sakura called him over twenty minutes later to look at a pack of dark orange colored shuriken.
That instantly peaked his interest "I'll take them" Naruto nodded seriously grabbing the pack and a new whetstone so that he wasn't relying on Sakura and Sasuke all the time to sharpen his weapons, and with their objectives in hand, bought the items then headed back home.
Where they both got started on drawing out the storage seal on the tags until their hands ached, afterwards all the shuriken was sealed within before they headed out back until Naruto could successfully use the tags in conjunction with the body flicker technique.
By the time Sasuke got back from training with Kakashi on his sharingan, Naruto was exhausted "Did you get the letter of recommendation for me like I asked" Sasuke held out his hand and the paper was put in it.
Now all that was left was to find Shibi and get it signed as he plopped down in a chair to tired to do that right now "Should I get started on lunch" Sakura mused both boys nodded eagerly starving after working their chakra extensively as they had.
So she popped up and headed for the fridge just as a knock came on the front door, Sasuke and Naruto groaned in frustration as Sakura abandoned her task of cooking them food to answer the door and when she came back there was a masked man following her.
"Hokage-sama summoned Sasuke and I, apparently the uh Raikage is here for a treaty" the rosette grimaced, guess lunch was going to have to wait until after the meeting for whatever the Hokage wanted them for.
Naruto plonked his head on the table with a resounding crack and Sasuke winced "We'll be back in a bit then Naruto" the Uchiha patted Naruto on the back, knowing the boy was frustrated over being excluded from the meeting.
"Yeah, yeah better hurry before the old man gets angry" the blonde waved them off sounding sad, still starving and now alone as his two best friends left him to have a meeting with the Hokage about the Raikage of all people.
Eight minutes later Sasuke and Sakura were stood before their leaders desk, a large dark skinned man standing off to the side and two Cloud Jonin by the wall in the back of the office "Good of you to come Sasuke, Sakura" Hiruzen nodded.
Relieved the two hadn't ignored his summons "I'm well aware that Mr. & Mrs. Haruno are out right now but we've had a malfunction at our major guest hotel and I'd like to put Raikage-san and his guards in your more than capable hands" the Hokage clasped his hands together.
Speaking calmly knowing he could trust these two genin maybe he should consider them for an early promotion to Chunin without taking the exams, it would be wasted on them anyway "Okay we have a couple of pull out couches but no spare bedrooms" Sakura tapped her lip.
Glancing surreptitiously at the Raikage who sensed her gaze and sneered but nodded in acceptance "Right I nearly forgot that Naruto-kun is living with you" Hiruzen sighed, perhaps he was making a mistake the house would be cramped and the kids might just go insane.
"Yeah, it's been a total joy though" Sasuke snorted and Sakura smacked him upside the head, a cough sounded behind them followed by the Raikage clearing his throat getting the meeting back on track as the two genin brats relented to the request to have him and his men stay with them.
With that they were dismissed "Civilian section aren't you a shinobi what self respecting ninja lives in the civilian section" the onyx eyed blonde asked rudely of the young girl when he realized where they were being led to.
Sakura ground her teeth and took deep breaths to cool her temper "My parents are civilians that's why Sir" the rosette explained once she'd reigned in her anger with astounding control to Sasuke's awe because he really thought she'd been about to tear into the guy.
"Why is an Uchiha living with you then, why not in the Uchiha Compound" the blonde persisted and Darui was shooting him looks that said shut up at that point when the girl clenched her hands into white knuckled fists.
And the Uchiha took three steps away from her on reflex "Because my entire clan is dead, barring me and one other, her parents took me in" the raven haired preteen admitted carefully eyeballing his teammate warily.
Until she managed to calm down again by then they'd reached the house "Home already, what did old man Ho…." the blonde that lived them rounded the corner that led to the foyer when he heard the door opening then shutting only to trail off eyeing the huge guy in the doorway.
Followed by two more unfamiliar people to him and he immediately shied away from them, Sakura was ready to kill something seeing Naruto's reaction to strangers in their home "Just take off your shoes, make yourselves comfy, lunch will be ready soon" Sakura announced.
Nudging Naruto forward by the shoulders making him follow her into the kitchen "Their staying here for I don't know how long, the big one is the Raikage" Sasuke explained joining the knucklehead at the table.
As Sakura finally got started on a belated lunch "Oh okay no helping it I guess" Naruto nodded in understanding while watching Sakura cook it was always something to see after all, she made it look like some kind of art form.
Forty minutes later it was done, plated up with heaping helpings for the guys and Sakura called the Raikage and his escorts into the kitchen "Earlier we didn't introduced ourselves, I'm Darui" the younger dark skinned male said introducing himself.
"Well you already know our first names, but I'm Sakura Haruno, like Hokage-sama said my parents are currently out doing their merchant business like they so often do" the pinkette held out her hand and Darui shook it.
Pleased that at least one of the Cloud Jonin were polite as they sat around the table to eat with them "And I'm Cee" the rude onyx eyed blonde scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest when the girl held out her hand for him to shake.
He was going to refuse until he got a subtle warning glance from the Raikage "Naruto Uzumaki here, I wasn't called into the meeting cause Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme are totally badass you know" the goofy blonde kid flashed them a whiskered grin as he stated his full name.
"Ay, but I demand respect Raikage-sama will do" the Raikage said and didn't shake her hand and she seemed to understand that he wouldn't as she didn't hold out her hand in the first place, good at least the little brat was smart.
"Sasuke Uchiha but you already knew that" the ebony haired snorted and got kicked lightly in the shin, introductions complete they dug into the delicious meal, all chatter dying down as they ate before all the food had been devoured by obviously hungry males.
She was just rising from her chair, giving a pointed glare at the two boys to clean up when a crash sounded from upstairs "Is that Saidai, did he get out again" Naruto frowned skin crawling at the thought of having to try and catch that stupid goliath beetle again.
"Yep Saidai is out" Sasuke sighed as the beetle himself buzzed around the kitchen at high speeds to the shock of the Raikage and his two men while Sakura leaped from her chair, snagged a bug net from a cabinet and chased after it.
Cursing and profanity filled the air as Sasuke slunk after his teammate with an extra bug net to help catch her loose gigantic creature "I think he might be lonely" Sakura said a half an hour later when she finally managed to wrangle Saidai back into his huge bug habitat.
"Just how do you figure that Sakura-san" Darui grimaced not sure what to think anymore after that earlier display what kind of kid was this girl, keeping bugs as pets was absolutely creepy and he was more than a little freaked out from it.
"It's his instincts, when goliath beetles reach the adult stage, their supposed to find a mate and repeat the process, but we think he was born in a house so therefore he's been in captivity since the moment he reached the adult stage" Sasuke said with the patience of a saint.
Having heard the lecture only about a thousand times courtesy of his sensei and Shino, plus a hundred times from Sakura herself when she'd decided to keep the damn beetle "Why not release it into the wild then" Cee snorted thinking it was a simple solution to the problem.
"Only thing is he might not know how to survive on his own since he's been in a bug habitat for two months now" Naruto announced flipping through a book as he settled at the low table in the living room as they moved from the kitchen to be more comfortable.
The Raikage curled his lip wondering what he'd gotten himself into by agreeing to this horseshit of an idea by his Feudal Lord "Then find him a mate and stop talking about it" Ay sneered tired of the conversation about a stupid insect of all things.
After that the genin settled down to read or sharpen their weapons in Sasuke's case before it was dinner time at long last like before Sakura cooked and just as she was getting ready to turn off the stove a hideous banging erupted on the front door.
She jerked and her open palm hit the still hot burner, Sakura flinched on reflex while Sasuke jumped up "Hold still Sakura" the Uchiha hissed gripping her wrist and ignoring the knocking "Dope get me the aloe vera from her medical pouch" he urged.
While Naruto ran for the hills, less than a minute and a half later he was back with the aloe vera "Got it, here Sasuke" the blonde held the bottle out as Sasuke dragged Sakura into the kitchen him following with the aloe vera, and made her open her hand and run it under cool water for the time being.
"You know Sasuke I can handle a burn myself" the pinkette rolled her eyes over his sudden fussing of her injury but held her hand under the spray of water at his insistence while he went to deal with the culprit banging on the door.
During the time he was gone dealing with their rude knocker she turned off the tap and raised a glowing green hand to her burn injury, healing it to the best of her abilities and using the aloe vera since she couldn't heal it all the way just yet before wrapping some bandages around her hand.
To Cee's confusion "Who was it Sasuke-san" the younger dark skinned male asked when Sasuke returned sporting a very irritated look in his eyes and a scowl worthy of Fugaku Uchiha himself on his lips, whoever it had been had pissed him off to epic proportions.
"Ami Himekari, old school-mate that didn't pass the exams on the first round came to tell Sakura that if she ever endangered me on a mission again that she'd mop the floor with you" the boy scoffed as if that could ever happen, Sakura was in a league all her own after all.
Before he focused his attention on the girl herself and found the injury dealt with "She healed it while you were otherwise busy" the onyx eyed blonde informed still a little shocked at how quickly the injury had been dealt with.
Sasuke slumped into a chair with a long suffering sigh "Go to bed brats it looks like you could use some early shut eye" the Raikage ordered sending the genin scrambling for their personal bathrooms to shower and go to bed like he'd ordered.
Later on that night, much later near two in the morning, a yell sounded through the house that had everyone instantly awake and on edge "Sasuke, Sakura-chan some lunatic just tried to kill me but I impaled him with my body flicker storage seal idea" Naruto announced.
When the Raikage and his two escorts flew up the stairs to make sure the genin that were hosting them were alright "Excellent work Naruto" Sasuke smirked clapping the boy on the back for having such an awesome idea in the first place.
"Body flicker storage seal idea" Ay asked in confusion as he stepped into the goofy boys room to find a man in a mask impaled with a lot of orange shuriken much more than the boy should have been able to use in just a few minutes.
Naruto and Sasuke nodded "He came up with the idea to use tags with the storage seal on them for his signature during the body flicker technique, to which he sealed three pouches full of shuriken in them, Ninja Art: Red Legged Spider Summoning Jutsu" Sakura explained.
Flying through a set of hand signs and summoning the leader of her summons "I see you have an intruder Sakura-sama, no matter do you wish for me to bite him" Mibojin noted and then wondered at what his summoner planned.
Sakura crinkled her nose in though "Might be good for information, tie him up in your web, Sasuke go to T&I and get someone above Chunin rank to come and take him so that we can go back to bed, I'm not going to see Inoichi-san dead tired tomorrow" the pinkette instructed.
In the next moment Sasuke was gone and Naruto watched with some interest as Mibojin worked to tie up his attacker, "Is that how you got Mizuki-sensei when I had that moment of stupidity" the blonde asked curiously.
"Mizuki who's that" Cee questioned with a frown still wondering what the hell was going on in the Leaf Village and why a genin was being attacked like this in the dead of night, had the boy done something unlikely because he seemed way to naive.
"Yes Naruto that's how I got Mizuki-sensei, and he was one of our academy sensei's but the day of graduation he turned traitor, but doofball here was gullible and fell for his if you steal this forbidden scroll and learn a jutsu from it you can be a ninja crap" Sakura scowled.
Eye twitching madly in remembrance of that god awful day, Ay's brows went high into his hairline at that "Sounds like you three have been through quite a few ordeals" Darui commented just as Sasuke returned.
"Trust me you have no idea what we've been through" Sasuke groaned as the man he'd brought who was Jonin level roughly yanked out Naruto's shuriken and threw the man over his shoulder, then in a plume of smoke was gone.
Naruto sighed and collected his discarded weapons, sealing them back in the tags before the lot of them crawled back into bed or onto the pullout couches that had been made extra comfortable for the Cloud Shinobi to get some more sleep.