The next couple of days proved to be downright chaotic "Sakura have you seen my scalpel" Sasuke shouted on his way to the hospital, having misplaced his medical tool somehow in the one day he'd been off and he needed it because today he would be helping out in surgery.
"On your bedside table Sasuke, please try to be a little more organized, you're a Chunin now remember" Sakura yelled back, settled at the low living room table and furiously working on filling out the necessary paperwork to become an academy instructor still.
Because people were needy and wanted information on how she and Sasuke had infiltrated Danzo's office without being caught, Kakashi Hatake for example, though they became completely baffled at the simple answer of Fuinjutsu and left her alone afterwards.
Naruto had opted out of becoming an instructor, merely wanting to make the academy better with a better curriculum, off to the side on the couch, Shisui covered his mouth "Just as blunt and brutal as ever aren't you Sakura-chan" Shisui sniggered completely amused.
Falling silent as Sasuke stalked down the stairs and through the living room, still giving his cousin the cold shoulder then vanished out the door after sliding his feet into his sandals "Course she is Shisui, not to mention obsessive with packing properly for mission and such" Naruto grinned.
Earning a silent whack over the back of his head "Hey packing right can determine life or death Naruto so stuff it" the rosette huffed with no real heat behind her words, in fact she hadn't even looked up from that stack of paperwork she was working on to rebuff him.
"Are you really serious about becoming a part-time academy instructor Sakura-chan, what about your work at the hospital or being Baa-chan's new apprentice, that's just adding more work to your already heavy workload" the blonde frowned.
Concerned for the girl who was taking on a lot of duties for the sake of the village "If anyone can do it, it's Sakura-chan so don't worry so much Naruto-chan okay" the Uchiha sat on the couch assured gently knowing he was simply worried about Sakura which was endearing.
Sakura had always wanted to help Naruto and it seemed she'd found a way to do just that, his train of thought was interrupted by the plume of smoke that filled the expanse of the living room "For you Haruno-san" when the smoke was gone it unveiled an Anbu.
Holding out a scroll stamped with Mist's crest, Sakura quickly shoved her paperwork off to the side and took the scroll, then the Anbu was gone leaving her to stare down at the scroll in trepidation before slowly peeling the edges back to unroll it.
~To Haruno Sakura-san
Regardless of you pleading Zabuza Momochi's case we can't simply allow him to run amok, either you had him over peacefully or more drastic measures will be taken to acquire him and have him executed as he should be.
Sincerely Mist's Mizukage~
That was it, one tiny paragraph "Wow the Mizukage sounds like an asshole" Naruto scowled, reading over Sakura's shoulder to read what was written as well, even if he didn't truly trust the guy, everyone deserved a second chance to make things right, take Shisui for example.
He was suffering for one mistake and yet everyone was giving him another chance "It's a woman Naruto, anyway I figured that might be the case for our first correspondence letter, there are other ways I can convince her" Sakura pointed out rather bluntly and Naruto choked.
As she pulled out a letter scroll then began scribbling furiously on it, writing this long detailed letter before tying it with a fancy ribbon to send off later "How exactly are you going to convince the Mizukage Sakura-chan" Shisui questioned.
Curious of her methods "Make Zabuza take an oath, and use fuinjutsu to bind him to his word" the pinkette answered simply, fuinjutsu seemed to be her most favored answer actually and he really wanted to groan in frustration.
"What happens when you can't rely on fuinjutsu Sakura-chan" the blue eyed blonde Uzumaki questioned scribbling down a few more things on his outline for Sakura to look over, they needed at least ten things to be taken seriously on this at least that's what Baa-chan had told him.
Sakura finally decided to look up from her paperwork "Naruto-chan is right Sakura-chan, you can't always depend on sealing jutsu to get you through life" the raven haired male nodded in agreement with the preteen.
Her brows creased "I know that's why I'm thinking of other negotiation tactics, that's just one of many, such as a trial based period to ascertain the Mizukage he's serious about changing his ways, keeping bandits and such from attacking the Land of Waves, it's a good start" Sakura announced.
Both males in the room with her blinked before Shisui really did groan like he wanted to earlier "Sometimes your to much Sakura-chan" Shisui deadpanned, rubbing his eyes, feeling exhausted all over again with a raging headache.
Until Sakura threw something at him "Lavender oil, it's good for headaches" Naruto saw the confusion on Shisui's face as he lifted the vial Sakura had thrown at him to eye level to inspect it no doubt, though at the explanation Shisui was all to happy to use some.
Then wiggle into a laying position on the couch to relax for a bit while the two Chunin redoubled their efforts on their side projects "Come to think of it Sakura-chan you didn't explain how your going to work your schedule to do all those duties you now have and want to take on" the blonde piped in.
Five minutes later when he was taking a break to check over his outline, trying to keep it as realistic as possible otherwise Sakura would just scribble things out "Ittei-sama is very lenient Naruto, the hospital schedule will be easy to work around" the fuscia haired teen listed.
Knowing he was just concerned that she was taking on to much and she wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of all those duties, what he didn't realize was that now being officially recognized as the new Hokage's apprentice, that pressure was tripled and she had to keep up appearances.
Or she'd shame her Shishou, by involving herself with the academy it showed that she was working on helping to better the village in her own way, Shisui was silent this time, listening to the conversation going on around him with keen awareness.
Sitting up only when the door slammed open followed by a shout of pain all eyes turned to find a masked man, probably one of Danzo's root operatives, laid passed out in the foyer from the extreme shock he'd just experienced from the protective seals that covered the house.
"Guess I'll give it to fuinjutsu this one time, those seals of yours are pretty clever Sakura-chan, Naruto-chan" the Uchiha chuckled rising from the couch and edging towards the unconscious shinobi, nudging him with a sandal-encased foot just to make sure he was really out.
And heaving the man onto his shoulder to take to T&I "Their making their move against me and Sasuke, revenge for their master" Sakura said looking grim, this was probably why the Third had been reluctant to announce their names for fear of them being attacked.
"Understood, I'll tell Morino that" Shisui nodded seriously, shunshining away to Torture & Interrogation HQ, informing the Anbu Commander of what Sakura had told him then disappearing like the wind back to the Haruno House.
Flopping down on the couch again now that his task was complete since no missions had been forthcoming since he'd been reinstated, Tsunade was most likely trying to allow him to get settled back in the village before saddling him with work, he could appreciate it but he was also bored.
"Here what do you think so far Sakura-chan" Naruto asked eight minutes later, shoving his academy curriculum outline towards Sakura to be reviewed, it was just a rough-draft sure, but right now he was just in the planning stages of his idea.
Emerald orbs flew across words and through pages quickly yet efficiently, ink brush and feathered pen at the ready to cross out anything that might be to unrealistic or to write down reasons why those idea's wouldn't work, with idea's for ones that might possibly work.
Then the stack was placed before him again "There you go Naruto, now I really must get this finished, I hate procrastinating after all" Sakura announced when she was done, snapping up her own pile of paperwork to continuing working on filling it out.
And finally finishing at exactly 1400 hours, two hours after a delicious lunch in which she prepared "Home, exhausted please tell me there's food left" the youngest Uchiha remaining stumbled into the house twenty minutes after that.
Done with work at the hospital for the day, Sakura pointed to the kitchen silently "Right" Sasuke blew out a breath of relief vanishing to the kitchen and found a plate with his name on it, no not literally but he knew it was his all the same as he reheated it then sat to eat.
While Sakura stood, grabbing up the letter scroll and dissolved into a scattering of cherry blossom petals as she body flickered to the messenger bird tower to send off the second letter to the Mizukage, then once she couldn't see the bird anymore set her sights on the academy.
"Hokage-sama told me you might be coming, she also said that Naruto might be with you, did he decide against wanting to be a part-time instructor" the principle greeted when she stepped into his office sporting a very determined expression, shoulders straight and head held high.
Sakura nodded to his question "He didn't think he'd be a very good instructor, I on the other hand wish to help kids improve so long as I'm allowed to have a flexible schedule, so what's the exam like" the rosette inquired seriously, curious as well because she'd never heard talk of this particular exam around the village.
"First pass the exam then we'll talk about your schedule and how many hours you want to put in, it's unlike the Chunin Exams I'll tell you that much, here's all the material you need to study for it" the principle snorted not falling for her pout, she was just gonna have to learn for herself.
Deflected from getting a straight answer Sakura simply gave up on finding out what the academy instructor's exam was like "May I ask when the exam will be" Sakura questioned, wanting to know so she knew how much time she had to prepare for it.
"A month and a half Haruno, normally it's two months, but your about two weeks late in handing all that paperwork in, hope you know how to cram" the principle chuckled amused but the thirteen year old didn't seem to worried, instead she bowed as best she could.
With her arms full of books and scrolls before vanishing in a swirl of cherry blossoms "Whoa what's with all that stuff" the ebony haired preteen gaped at the amount of books and scrolls she was carrying the moment she returned to the house.
"You see Sasuke since you've been so busy ignoring Shisui-ni, and by extension myself you didn't know that I decided to become a part-time academy instructor" the fuscia haired teen quipped with a giggle as she plopped down carefully, grabbing the first book from the pile.
Cracking it open to read and study, making notes as she went along "Did the principle tell you anything about what the exam is like or what's going to be on it or even when it was" the blue eyed blonde Uzumaki rattled off question after question.
Not exactly interested for his own sake but for hers "I have a month and a half and no he didn't tell me anything else, I suppose it's understandable, I wouldn't want anyone to try and figure out a way to cheat either" Sakura shrugged not to bothered by the lack of information.
Plus she absolutely loved studying for things, she loved challenging her intelligence to "Those kids at the academy won't know what hit them" the older Uchiha chuckled thoroughly amused by the antics of the teenagers or almost teenagers as the case still was for Naruto and Sasuke.
Who turned his head a scowl on his lips that was totally reminiscent of Fugaku's it was uncanny "Kids we're home, sorry to say this but for the next three weeks we'll be out on our sales trip, all the way to Kumogakure this time" Mebuki was the next person to throw open the door.
Announcing the news to the whole house "Shisui's in charge while we're gone so make sure you behave yourselves for him" Kizashi warned then the older Haruno's vanished up the stairs to get started on packing their wares and whatever else they needed for the trip to Kumogakure.
Leaving behind a shocked Shisui, while Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura seemed to be use to having the older Haruno's up and vanish on them for weeks at a time "Oi Sakura do you still have that other stack of paperwork to take the academy instructor exam" Sasuke demanded to know a second later.
Before seconds later the second stack that she'd received from Tsunade was place in front of him, to which he promptly began filling it all out "Don't tell me you want to be a part-time instructor to Teme" Naruto narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"If it's what he wants Naruto-chan then we can't stop Sasuke-chan from filling that paperwork out and turning it in to take the exam to" Shisui scolded lightly, unsure of how to really be in charge of three teenagers, who were all active shinobi, Chunin Rank to be precise.
Sweet silence came after that as Naruto focused his attention on his outline rough-draft, the sounds of packing sounded above them and exactly two hours later Mebuki and Kizashi were on their way out the door, yelling goodbye over their shoulders to the kids and Shisui before they were gone.
"That's a lot of paperwork" the youngest Uchiha in existence groaned as he healed his aching wrist not even halfway through filling it all out, he'd probably have even less time to study than Sakura did, good thing he had a knack for cram studying then.
Sakura nodded sagely in agreement as she popped up from the floor closing the book she'd been reading for the last few hours and disappeared into the kitchen "I'm just going to get started on lunch" the pinkette called, pulling out a bunch of things to cook the afternoon meal.
Just as she really got going a knock on the door came "Don't worry Sakura-chan I've got it" the blue eyed goofy blonde leapt to his feet and hurried to answer the door, "She's in the kitchen" she heard him say followed by the shuffling of feet on carpet.
Who it was she didn't know because they were masking their chakra until they were stood in the kitchen with her "Surprise Sakura-san, I thought I'd come for a visit" Hayate coughed not as awkward as he use to be, she'd saved his life, he felt indebted but she'd asked for nothing.
"We thought we'd come for a visit you mean Hayate-kun, heard from a little birdie that your intending on becoming a part-time academy sensei, is it true Sakura-san" Yugao Uzuki was a very pretty woman, long purple hair and warm brown eyes it was easy to see how Hayate had fallen for her.
Sakura nodded her head in answer "It's true Yugao-san, I'm already getting heat for Tsunade-shishou taking me on as her apprentice and not being clan born like the rest of my classmates so I want to improve my standing in the village and help kids out at the same time" Sakura admitted.
Both adults frowned "You shouldn't have to prove anything Sakura-san, you're a chunin slow down a little and enjoy your rank" the mahogany haired man commented, leaning against a chair and watching as she padded about cooking the afternoon meal for the yahoo's in the living room.
"My apologies I'm interrupting your conversation aren't I why because you each wear frowns upon your faces" Shino decided at that moment to come and visit as well, having felt that two days was enough to not see his girlfriend after going a month of not seeing her.
Hayate cleared his throat "Not at all Shino-san" the purple haired woman waved her hand lightly, taking a seat at the kitchen table, her fiance doing the same, they actually hadn't come here to harp on the girl but she was pushing herself and it worried them.
Shino let a smile curl his lips as he watched Sakura prepare an elaborate meal for them "Barring that what sorts of things do you think you'll actually be teaching kids" Hayate could deny it all he wanted but he was truly curious about the girl who'd saved his life.
Even if she wanted for nothing from him he felt obligated "Well the first thing I thought about was how the civilian born and orphan academy students don't get their own ninja gear, I know it was a struggle for me, so I want to request funding to get them their own gear" the rosette mused.
"Teach them the basics of throwing isn't that right Sakura-chan, then leave the rest to Iruka-sensei and the other sensei of the academy" Naruto grinned as he shuffled into the kitchen knowing her thought process well because she'd run it by him several times to make sure it didn't sound stupid.
Yugao smiled at that, only Sakura would have come up with something to help out orphans and children of civilian descent who wanted to become shinobi "Good luck on your testing then Sakura-san" Yugao smiled boosting the young girl's confidence.
"She's not the only one, I decided to become an instructor to, raise the standing of the last remaining Uchiha in the public eye, so my family name will stop being dragged through the mud" Sasuke grunted as he plopped gracelessly in a chair at the table that was quickly filling up.
The last to join them was Shisui "Can I ask how she knows you two" and of course Shisui was curious as to how they a special jonin and a member of the anbu black ops knew a chunin girl that had no clan backing whatsoever it was certainly strange if he did say so himself.
"Kabuto Yakushi and a Hidden Sand Jonin, Baki if I remember killed me, if it weren't for Sakura-san and a Cloud Shinobi who was a medic, I would still be dead, Yugao wished to meet her so here we are" the mahogany haired man coughed out an explanation.
Fiancee nodding in agreement "Exactly Shisui-san, plus the real reason we can here was so that I could ask if you'd take part in our wedding, by being the flower girl" the purple haired woman asked nervously unsure of how the girl would take the request.
Not that she had to worry any "Just tell me the time, place, date and what color dress you want me to wear and I'll be there Yugao-san" the fuscia haired teen accepted the request half a second later, making the finishing touches on lunch.
Before piling plates high, pouring green tea and taking her place at the head of the table in her mom's usual spot, Shino right next to her "Have your parents gone off and left you again, why because I notice their not here nor do I sense them" the Aburame heir frowned.
"Sales trip to Kumogakure for three weeks Shino-kun, oh I nearly forgot, but I made a barrier formula for you" the pinkette stated, then remembered and dug the scroll with the formula on it out of her storage pouch to gift to Shino, along with another scroll that held his souvenir in it.
He raised a mahogany brow at it but accepted both scrolls to look over or unseal later when they weren't eating "Like I said Shisui lovey-dovey it's so bleh you know" the lone blonde at the table gagged seeing the way Sakura and Shino acted around one another.
"It's not a bad thing Naruto-san, I think it's absolutely adorable that Sakura-san has someone she wants to spend the rest of her life with" Yugao laughed softly at his antics, it was always a riot joining the kids and now was definitely no different.
Her fiance even threw in a little chuckle himself "Just wait until someone comes wanting to betroth you to their daughter Naruto-san, then you'll have to learn fast how to be lovey-dovey as you put it" Hayate pointed out with a sound that was between a laugh and a cough.
Watching the boy turn beet red "Come on you guys stop picking on me, first Sakura-chan now you" Naruto puffed out his cheeks which were flushed in embarrassment, not having expected anyone else would say what Sakura had told him three days ago in the Hokage's office.
"That reminds me Hyuga's been skulking around lately, the patriarch I think" Sasuke snapped his fingers remembering what he'd seen the other day, until the man had high-tailed it from the civilian section unaware that he'd been seen most likely.
Shisui, Sakura, Shino and Naruto straightened "You don't think he's got it in his head still do you Sakura-chan" Shisui frowned concerned that the Hyuga Clan Patriarch was still trying to figure out a way to get Sakura betrothed to Neji, despite what had been said yesterday.
At his question the girl shrugged, contemplative as she chewed on her fried asparagus, mouth closed as manners dictated "No idea Shisui-ni, it's a kind of wait and see sort of thing you know" Sakura frowned deeply, hoping that it wasn't the case.
"Is something going on that we should know about, all four of you tensed at the exact same time so something is up" Yugao narrowed her brown eyes, concerned that something they couldn't handle had happened and wanting to know so she could figure out something to help them.
"First day back Neji-san approached Sakura-chan, telling her Hiashi-sama wished to betroth them to one another, we thought the matter had been settled when he had a meeting with Sakura-chan's parents, Shibi-sama and herself and was told she was already in a contract" Shisui answered.
Definitely worrisome but for now they would put it out of their mind until something actually did happen, eventually lunch was devoured and everyone helped to clean up "It was good to see you after your month of absence" the onyx eyed brunet coughed.
Waving as he strapped his sandals onto his feet "Before I forget, the wedding is two months from now, at 1500 hundred hours on the Hokage Mountain, wear green" the purple haired woman scribbled down some information and gave it to Sakura.
Then the both of them were out the door, a few hours later Sasuke finished up the paperwork and disappeared in a flurry of crow feathers "Is there a reason Sasuke-chan chose crow feathers for his signature during body flicker" the older Uchiha had to ask.
"Because you and Itachi can summon crows, he never signed on with them you know, the cat summons of your clan" Sakura pointed out bluntly it had been Sasuke's biggest reasoning, wanting to commemorate the duo in his own way by having crow feathers as his signature.
Shisui chuckled "So your really going to become an academy instructor, why because I see you studying for it already" Shino commented eyeing the three stacks of books and the pile of scrolls situated on the table that she was reading from.
Furiously scribbling down notes as she went keeping to her studious nature as always "Mhm, Sasuke to apparently, by that time there should only be two months before the new Chunin Exams come around" Sakura smiled sweetly adoring the Aburame Heir.
Earning a hand squeeze and Shisui had to keep from squealing like a girl at the action, Naruto fake-gagged again only to scream as a kikaichu hissed in his ear "The heck are you screaming for Dope" Sasuke returned in that moment a mountain of books and scrolls in his arms.
Though he could have just used the ones Sakura was using the principle wouldn't even hear of it, then plopped down and started studying trying to catch up with her "One of Shino's Kikaichu hissed in my ear" Naruto sulked all this did was make Shino smirk.
Before he decided to focus his efforts on his outline again "Speaking of insects I think I found a way to prevent Saidai from escaping anymore, why because my Father caught a female goliath beetle the other day" the brunet heir announced in the next moment.
While Naruto and Shisui shuddered, Sasuke was rather indifferent to it though "Good maybe he'll stop haunting my steps whenever I go out" the rosette glared at the giant beetle perched on a wooden beam in the house since they couldn't keep him in a tank anymore.
Unless he wanted to be in it, Shisui covered his mouth to keep from laughing "Right I'll bring her by tomorrow, why because I have a mission with Father later" Shino stood abruptly tugging Sakura up after him until they exited the house, he was quick to peck her on the lips before body flickering.
Three days later and a new addition to the bug habitat, Saidai was as happy as could be with his mate that Sakura named Surimu for her slightly smaller size, it also kept the damn beetle in his tank for once and not attached to her shoulder like a freaking parrot.
"You know Sakura-chan since your on break right now, we could go out and search for a panda ant, I remember you wanted to breed a panda ant colony and I promised to help you with it" Shisui suddenly remembered his promise from way back when.
Viridian orbs went wide "To late Shisui, Sakura already has a colony of panda ants, they're taking up residency in the Aburame Compound forest" Sasuke sniggered unsympathetic of his cousin's plight, talking to him now only to make fun of him really for losing out to Shino of all people.
Once upon a time he'd thought Sakura would end up with Shisui, not now though, Shino was much better for Sakura "Yeah and she got an award for saving an entire species of nearly extinct wingless wasps" Naruto piped in having heard and seen the award himself.
"Unfortunately Naruto is right, Lord Third awarded it to me himself, then the colony started growing to big for their habitat so Shibi-sensei and Shino-kun helped me relocate them" Sakura explained further to Shisui's shock, before she settled down to study some more.
In that manner two more days went by, making it a whole week that they'd returned from their B Ranked mission to bring back Tsunade "Ugh sometimes I hate the expectations put on me by the whole entire damn hospital staff just because I'm an Uchiha" Sasuke groaned.
Returning to the house that day after his hellish shift at the hospital, it had dragged on for two extra hours because he'd been pulled into emergency surgery for a team who had come in poisoned, lucky him he was good with poisons.
Not so much antidotes, those were Sakura's forte but at least he was able to figure out all the plants used in the poison to correctly concoct an antidote for the poisoned shinobi "At least they didn't make you participate in surgeries as a trainee like Ittei-sama did to me" Sakura snorted.
Shisui promptly sat up "You mean that man was making you help out in surgeries during your training period that's a little fucked up Sakura-chan" Shisui scowled unhappy that the girl had been forced into doing difficult things at only the age of twelve.
"Eh it wasn't so bad and Ittei-sama often apologized by buying me lunch" she shrugged absorbed in her studying still as much as Sasuke was now that his shift at the hospital was over, they were going to have overhaul their schedules once they took the instructors exams.
Find a schedule that allowed them to do things like they still wanted "Though that's not to say Sakura-chan and Sasuke didn't come home exhausted of chakra sometimes" Naruto commented pushing over his outline to be reviewed for the million time.
"At least try to keep things realistic Naruto, limited chakra control exercises are okay but tree-walking at their age is pushing it, but the rest seems to be looking good" Sakura scolded, scratching that from the list and reading through the rest with a smile.
With that the next four days passed by quickly, Shisui tentatively taking on C to B Rank Missions that kept him in or very near the village "Just behave okay you three" Shisui sighed on his way out the door for another one of those missions that Tsunade insisted on assigning him.
They waved him off preoccupied by either studying or finishing up the new academy curriculum outline "Go on Shisui, we don't actually need you to babysit us you know just because those two asked you two" Sasuke scoffed offended that Shisui thought they couldn't behave.
It's not as if they were still little brats that needed looking after, after all, so he hurried off to complete his mission, clearing out a bandit hideout that had appeared out of nowhere during their absence from the Hidden Leaf Village, making an oral report to Tsunade.
Before going home, it was so strange thinking of anywhere else than the Compound as home, but there he was living in a civilians house with three teenagers "That was fast, kami Shisui-ni do you really have to allow yourself to get that injured" Sakura gaped in horror.
Looking over the extensive yet shallow wounds he was covered in, it was like he hadn't even noticed, she sighed when he shrugged and pressed glowing green hands over those injuries, healing him right up before making him take a blood replenishing pill.
Just as an Anbu poofed into her home, the seals not counting the unknown chakra as a threat which was good because they didn't want to tweak the seals again "For you Haruno-san, Lady Hokage received it about two days ago, forgot about it until today" he held out a scroll.
Familiar and stamped with Hidden Mist's crest, Sakura shook her head amused at her Shishou though they hadn't had any training sessions yet and took the scroll, abandoning her studying for the moment to unroll the scroll and read the contents within.
~To Haruno Sakura-san
Do you really think Zabuza Momochi would have anything to do with a binding contract of such a degree, let alone want to protect the country he abandoned, if you can't give me valid proof, then I'm afraid I'll have to send someone to bring him in, sooner rather than later.
Sincerely Mist's Mizukage~
Again it was a very short letter, a single paragraph to be precise and Sakura sat down scribbling a third letter to send off, tying it with a fancy ribbon to indicate it's receiver, before summoning Mibojin to summon Zabuza to her house for a past-due talk about how negotiations were going.
He didn't make her wait very long and soon Zabuza was sitting on her couch with a cup of sake in his hands "So the Mizukage refuses should have expected that from Yagura the old bastard" Zabuza snorted not to shocked that things were not going well and the girl was having trouble.
"Wrong, the Mizukage is a woman now Zabuza and she's just not convinced that you've changed your ways and truly just wish to live in peace in the Land of Waves, is there anything you can think of that would prove your serious about this" the rosette pressed.
Determined to help because he'd asked, Zabuza glared at the floor for several minutes, the silence stretching uncomfortably between them until his gaze rose to meet hers again "Kubikiribocho, I'll give up the right to be a member of the Seven Legendary Swordsmen" the rogue answered.
"By turning over your sword, which provides the valid proof Mizukage-sama needs to see your serious about turning over a new leaf" Sakura snapped her fingers understanding instantly what he was talking about and quickly untied the ribbon on the letter scroll.
Furiously scribbling down more things and taking an ink brush to draw a storage seal at the end of the long detailed letter, Zabuza handed over his Kubikiribocho reluctantly and it was promptly sealed into the storage seal, where the letter scroll was tied with that neat little ribbon again.
Zabuza forced himself to leave the house after that, looking lost without his sword "One must make sacrifices if they wish for successful negotiations, sorry Zabuza" the pinkette apologized no decision was easy to make after all and some were harder than others.
"Who was that I just saw leaving your house, why because he seemed suspicious" Shino appeared in a cluster of Kikaichu beetles, opposed to knocking since he was worried that some weird person was trying to take off with his girlfriend, even if Hiashi had stopped skulking around.
"That was Zabuza you should remember him from the meeting Shino-kun, we were talking about how negotiations with his old village were going, anyway want to come with me to send this letter off to the Mizukage" Sakura smiled bright scooping up the scroll as she stood.
Shino of course would never deny her any request she asked of him "Perhaps even go on a date afterwards, why because we haven't been on one in a long while" the Aburame heir added smoothly and Sakura nodded her head eagerly as they body flickered hand in hand.
Immediately the letter to Mist's Leader was sent off and they hurried from the messenger bird tower to their favorite restaurant in the Hidden Leaf Village "Tomato and cucumber salad, pickled plum rice-balls, regular curry, two sticks of dango and green tea please" the rosette requested.
"Wild grass and winter melon salad for me, tempura sushi, curry, two sticks of dango and green tea for me as well and if you could have it boxed up that would be great, why because we're going to eat out" Shino pulled out his wallet.
Making a split second decision to have their orders boxed up to take elsewhere, Sakura was certainly curious but she wouldn't ruin any surprise he had in store for her, though she did help pay for their meal because she believed in equality between them.
Then once they had their orders, he took her by the hand and body flickered them clear across the village to his clan's compound "Oh wow the colony has really grown since the last time I saw it over a month ago" Sakura whispered in awe.
Seeing the many ant hills that her panda ant colony had built "Some have even ventured off outside the village if I recall and to other parts of the forest in the compound" the brunet heir informed as they settled on a thick, wide branch that comfortably sat the both of them.
"Interesting, maybe someday we can relocate part of the colony to another country, watch them breed and expand there as well" the fuscia haired teen commented in a speculative tone, it was a thought for later as they dug into their cooling food.
Watching the colony work long and hard to survive in their mostly new surroundings "Kumogakure seems like a likely choice for that, I'll talk to Father, start planning things for the move if you'd like, why because we don't like to procrastinate either" Shino offered.
Enjoying how her eyes lit up "That would be great Shino-kun and it shouldn't be to hard to get Raikage-sama to agree to it, since he actually seems to like me" Sakura giggled, he'd even defended her against Shisui that's how she knew really.
Soon enough nothing remained of their ordered meal "Well I suppose I'll see you soon for missions and the like again, why because there are only three days left of your break" the Aburame Heir stood on the branch with practiced ease.
Helping her onto her feet in the next moment as he held out his hand for her to take "Yeah this has been a great date Shino-kun, but just so you know I get to plan the next one" the pinkette quipped, reaching up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips before body flickering to his frustration.
Back to home where she found a disgruntled Naruto, a scowling Sasuke and and noticeably absent Shisui "Do I even want to know" Sakura sighed wishing boys matured like girls sometimes, because this was absolutely ridiculous when Sasuke scowled further and remained silent.
"It was Shisui's fault I'll tell you that much, accidentally wise though, they decided to roughhouse with one another and Shisui accidentally knocked into Mrs. Haruno's favorite vase that you gave her for her birthday as Sasuke so helpfully explained" Naruto piped in with an explanation.
Sakura's happy mood plummeted "And so he decided to run off and hide because he thought I'd be angry" the rosette sighed spying the pieces of shattered glass from the vase, so forgoing her studying for the time being, picked up every little piece of broken glass carefully.
Then set to repairing the vase she'd given her mother with chakra of course, another chakra control exercise, if one weren't careful with the amount of chakra used, it would repel the pieces and not be adhesive, or explode even as she'd learned upon experimentation with the exercise.
Sasuke immediately took notice of what she was doing and openly gaped "Hold up are you seriously fixing the vase with chakra" Sasuke questioned confused because he thought it would be impossible to ever repair or find another vase that was the broken ones replica.
"Mhm, it's a chakra control exercise I found that's not used anymore, it requires delicate control, maybe that's another thing I'll teach older students at the academy, how to fine-tune their chakra control, basic medicinal knowledge, genjutsu even" Sakura nodded.
Just then Shisui decided to return to the house carrying a vase that looked exactly like the one she was repairing and nearly dropped it upon seeing what she was doing much like Sasuke had, gaped openly because he'd never seen what she was doing either apparently.
Proving that the exercise had been lost and forgotten through the ages "Should have known" Shisui sighed, wondering what he was supposed to do with the bloody vase he'd bought now that it was a useless gesture so he could apologize to a not so angry Sakura.
She merely smiled and finished up with the repairs, before cracking open her books again to continue studying, letting a comfortable silence wash over them as they worked at their respective side-projects to be acknowledged for good deeds in the village someday.
And three days later Naruto and Sakura's two week break was over, Sakura who accompanied Naruto to the Hokage Tower to turn in his outline for a better academy curriculum to Tsunade, who'd demanded he have it on her desk in two weeks.
"I see you were hard at work blonde brat" Tsunade snorted, reviewing the outline with curious honey eyes, because she hadn't thought it would be over seven pages, each idea coming with a detailed explanation as to why the idea or change needed to be implemented.
~Eleven Things to Implement and Change~
Number 1, I propose a month long period for students who struggle with clone jutsu or any other academy level jutsu's.
First off, not all academy students are gonna be able to perform the basic clone jutsu necessary to pass the graduation exam to become genin, some take several or multiple tries to even manage a passing grade to become a full-fledged shinobi.
Number 2, Extra Training for those that don't have shinobi or clan backgrounds.
Civilian born children don't have the same training as clan children do, so their gonna struggle with subjects like jutsu's or genjutsu in later years, even throwing weapons, they don't have the basic training and are often scorned for being civilian descent.
Number 3, Funds for civilian born or orphan children.
Why, those children again aren't like clan children, whose parents are able to supply them with ninja gear, weapons and the like for their physical classes during the academy, with funds, weapons and the like can be bought for them until they become genin.
Number 4, New Classes at the Academy.
Providing a few new classes that are optional for academy students to take will interest them to want to learn more, fuinjutsu for one, it's a dying art, not many understand, yet it can be taught even to freshman academy students, basics of healing and elemental ninjutsu to.
Which give students options to choose from when they become genin, becoming medic-ninja, the Leaf Village needs more of those that aren't incompetent like most at the hospital, or sealing jutsu masters/mistresses.
Number 5, Tutoring.
It should be available to those that have trouble with learning, small doses or even in study groups, after hours when the academy lets out, it would improve academics among the students who struggle and entice them to not skip as much.
Number 6, Advanced Classes for Older Students.
Genjutsu is an often underrated skill, though many have the talent for it, if the subject was expanded upon, academy students about to graduate might find interest and even talent for the illusion jutsu.
Fine-tuning chakra control is another, so many students have below average chakra control it's unreal, it could be disastrous for a mission if a jutsu went wrong, thanks to under-average chakra control.
Expanding chakra reserves, this one is for the civilian born students, who are way behind their classmates from shinobi clans, and need to catch up before the big day known as academy graduation exams.
Number 7, Weekend Survival Training.
If not for the principle when we were nine, none of us would have even had any basic survival training at all, so kudos to that man for the one time he was actually smart enough to send us on a field trip to Tanzaku Town.
The Weekend idea is something I came up with, take a small groups at a time, and have a camp out in the forest or something to that effect, teach them how to catch fish or other animals, start a fire, things like that and as they get older it can become more challenging
Number 8, World History.
Needs to be expanded upon and not just limited to our own country, with other countries forging treaties with us, we need to be kept up to date who are our allies and who are our enemies, that means knowing cultural background of our allies and enemies.
Number 9, Background checks for Academy Sensei.
One of the biggest things that got me was how an academy sensei was able to forgo any sort of suspicion and trick an academy student into stealing the scroll of sealing so he could steal it and run off with it, six month checks or even yearly checks would have put a stop to his scheming.
Number 10, Stricter Rules for kunoichi in training.
Many of my female classmates were obsessed over Uchiha Sasuke, it prevented them from focusing on their training to become kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf Village, a class on proper conduct should be held at least once a week.
Number 11, Math.
Lastly math, it should be started at a more basic level, not so extremely advanced where most six years can't even understand the subject and get more challenging as academy students go from year to year.
~End~
Tsunade set the sheaf of papers on her desk "Just how much was you blonde brat and how much was you Sakura" the honey eyed blonde questioned still just as curious as before when she'd started reading through the outline.
"Numbers 2, 3, 5, and 9 Tsunade-shishou, the rest was Naruto I swear, he's right about most of it to the academy curriculum needs an overhaul or the village is going to start producing less and less competent shinobi or even less shinobi" Sakura admitted.
Her blonde knuckleheaded friend nodding "Yeah, yeah, Iruka-sensei's great and all, but most of us felt under-prepared when we did finally graduate and become genin" Naruto explained carefully hoping that none of the idea's were unrealistic.
The newly dubbed Hokage sat back in her chair "Once Sakura and Uchiha take the instructor's exam I'll start negotiations to implement those idea's and changes with the Village Elders and the principle and sensei's of the academy" Tsunade announced.
"Now off with you Sakura, blonde brat, Sakura has work to do at the hospital, later on show up for our first training session since I'll have ninety percent of today's paperwork completed which means I get to slack off a little" the woman grinned.
Ushering the two Chunin from her office, where they headed in opposite directions "Good your here Haruno-san, we were just about to start the reviewing of medical staff and employee's" Ittei greeted the moment she walked through the lobby doors.
Which were immediately locked it was closed for the day to get the overhaul of the hospital started and hopefully out of the way, upon entering the meeting room where all staff and employee's were currently amassed.
Hanako the receptionist began glaring at her, Shizune started scribbling down on her clipboard "As you know Tsunade-sama is now Hokage, which means the hospital is going to start experiencing some changes" Shizune cleared her throat.
Interrupting the glaring session "Those with high chakra control off to the right, above standard in the middle, and below average to the left, right those with high chakra will continue healing patients tomorrow, the rest will undergo training seen by myself and Ittei-san" Shizune continued.
Clicking her pen and writing down more notes "Everyone will also participate in a class for proper bedside manners to calm upset patient downs and show them we're professionals, those that don't show up will consider themselves fired" the woman narrowed her ebony eyes.
"And those that fail to complete the training to improve chakra control and healing efficiency will also consider themselves sacked from the hospital" Shizune stared hard at the ones who'd moved off to the left, far to many below average chakra control medics it made her uncomfortable.
They gulped at that and nodded in understanding "Lastly there will be new rules and regulations implemented, I'm leaving that up to Sakura Haruno, who is going to take over as Assistant to Head Medic on Tsunade-sama's command" Shizune finished.
While Sakura openly gaped, still getting glared at until Shizune approached Hanako "You have been consistently glaring at Sakura for the entirety of this meeting, I have heard more than enough foul rumors about you as well, so pack your things, your fired indefinitely" Shizune stated firmly.
With that Hanako the receptionist was no more "Now we will clean this hospital from top to bottom, all tools and medical scrubs, check on our herb supply, organize important documents and patient records, except you Sakura-san" Shizune clapped.
Sending the medics scrambling from the meeting room "I think I set myself up for an eternity of hell by asking Tsunade-shishou to take me on as an apprentice" Sakura sighed as she flopped gracelessly into a chair and started cranking off new rules and regulations to implement.
By the time her usual shift at the hospital was over, she still had way to many things to think about as she traipsed off to training with Tsunade, their first session together to be precise "Take you heard the news" Tsunade laughed seeing her exhausted expression.
"So long as you don't push me into that position way to soon for my liking I guess I'm fine with it, now what are you going to teach me first Tsunade-shishou" the young girl perked up in excitement, tiredness fading away like it had never been there.
Tsunade smirked "First your going to learn how to summon Katsuyu, while keeping your spider summons as Jiraiya so helpfully informed you can have more than one summons, it just takes time and effort to learn how to effectively summon both at the same time" the honey eyed woman declared.
Producing her summons scroll and laying it out for her new apprentice, Sakura knelt, biting her thumb as she did so, then wrote her name and printed her finger prints in an empty slot before flashing through a set of hand signs.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu" Sakura pressed her hand to the ground thinking of which summons she wanted to bring out, only to be disappointed as Mibojin appeared before her in a puff of smoke and patchwork of seals.
He blinked all eight of his eyes at her "Sakura-sama what do you have need of me for….are you terminating our contract" Mibojin noticed the scroll beside him and immediately thought the worst, for why else would Sakura summon him.
"Of course not Mibojin-sama, there's a way to summon more than one creature at a time, so I'm trying to practice that, only you came out" the rosette laughed sheepishly, scooping the large spider into her arms and cuddling him.
Relieved Mibojin returned to wherever he was summoned from allowing Sakura to keep practicing, only she kept summoning a variety of younger spiders until in a fit of frustration and concentrating truly hard finally summoned a miniature version of Katsuyu.
"I was beginning to think I would have to end your practice session so we could move onto evasion training as any good medic, you must know how to avoid being caught or the whole team will be dead, also start gathering chakra here" Tsunade tapped her apprentice's forehead.
Sakura nodded seriously as Katsuyu vanished in a plume of smoke, she was going to have to keep practicing even when they couldn't train "Understood Tsunade-shishou" and so began the awfullest training session she'd ever been through.
And by the time she was allowed to go home she looked like a human pincushion "Have bratty Uchiha heal you, eat and go to bed" the blonde woman laughed watching the girl trudge off, clothes surprisingly in tact, though covered in a multitude of superficial wounds and bruises.
Upon entering the house Sasuke let out a shrill girly sounding scream at her appearance "Sakura oh kami are you alright what happened you weren't attacked were you" he was in full panic mode because he'd never seen her so beaten up before.
She blinked heavy lidded eyes at him "You sound like a girl Sasuke-chan can you heal me please" then she burst into hysterical giggles, brain to tired to make her function as she normally did, Sasuke immediately went silent.
"Holy crap Sakura-chan that training session with Baa-chan must have crazy" Naruto whistled seeing the damage, while struggling vainly to keep his laughter held in at her loopy expression, seems she was exhausted and her brain was practically already asleep.
Guess that meant giving her the letter scroll with the latest correspondence from the Mizukage later, probably tomorrow actually "Yep, yep, Tsunade-shishou's even crazier than Shibi-sensei" Sakura forced herself to focus a little.
When Sasuke was finished healing her wounds, he set a plate of food before her so she could eat "Make sure you take a shower Sakura-chan" Shisui called as she trudged up the steps, soon they could hear the water running before it shut off five minutes later, eventually they went to bed to.
~Hidden Rain Village~
"You'll never guess the kind of rumor I've heard floating around recently Itachi" the leader of the infamous organization Akatsuchi taunted at the end of their recent meeting about how to go about acquiring the Jinchuuriki of each village or land.
Cold black eyes trained on him in the next moment "Leader-sama if I may inquire as to what the rumor is" Itachi requested, thinking it was going to be something ridiculous such as Naruto Uzumaki doing something outrageous to that effect.
Absorbed in that thought as he was despite his stoic and cold expression, Itachi missed the smirk on Pein's face "The rumor regards a certain someone who was thought to be deceased until two weeks ago, when he was brought back to the village, Shisui Uchiha" Pein raised an orange brow.
"No way impossible besides his little brother Itachi-kun killed off the rest of his clan, didn't you Itachi-kun" Kisame burst out frowning deeply, this could be problematic, what if Itachi tried to sneak into the village again to end the life of his suddenly alive clan-mate.
Pein held up his hand "That's only one of the many rumors I've heard, the Leaf Village has a new Hokage, Tsunade Senju, and apparently your little brother had a hand in throwing one of the village elders in a cell to await execute, along with the girl you encountered" the man continued.
Itachi's expression betraying nothing to him at all "Leader just get to the fucking point of this conversation already" Hidan the immortal religious zealot of the organization growled irritated that this meeting was taking so long.
"My point is that I want Danzo with his head on a pike, Itachi your in charge of the mission, take whoever you need, also that girl Sakura Haruno, Sasori will help you capture her the next time she goes off on an outside the village mission" Pein finished dismissing his organization.
Kisame was the only one to see the flicker of emotion in usually blank obsidian irises "It's dangerous Itachi-kun and you know it" the blue haired shark like nin hissed at the younger male that was his Akatsuki partner.
"Orders are orders Kisame" Itachi sighed, staring up at the crescent moon and hoping the rumor about Shisui being alive was just that a rumor, not to mention how he was going to get Danzo out of a jail cell and all the way to Hidden Rain.
Lastly how could he ever even think to kidnap Sakura, he'd only said all that to keep up appearances that one time when he'd propositioned her to come with him, he sighed again, lost on what to do and needing Shisui's advice more than ever in that moment.