After three days of travel Sakura didn't know where she was anymore, since Sasori had blindfolded her the day before "Almost there Pinky-chan, then I'm sure you'll be on your way home" Kisame grunted as he took to water-walking.
Not wanting to get the girl's hopes up, but it was definitely a possibility Pein would release her once his interrogation of her was over if not he was going to have to find a way to get her out of there himself, he'd promised Itachi after all.
"I sure hope so Hoshigaki cause I hate being carried around like a sack of freaking potatoes" Sakura scoffed irritable, not once had she been allowed to walk on her own two feet during the time they'd been travelling to who knows where and she was quite fed up with it.
Kisame snorted at that, reigning in the urge to laugh "Let me take over carrying the girl, we've got incoming" Sasori said suddenly drawing his attention to the fast approaching hunter-nin, they must have been following them for an unknown amount of time.
Sakura cringed as she was roughly thrown at the other rogue and tossed harshly onto the man's shoulder, her ribs ramming painfully into his pointy shoulder at the same time and knocking the wind right out of her "Oomph that hurt" the rosette winced.
Wishing she could heal the bruise that was no doubt forming from the sudden rough treatment "Shut up brat or do you want to die" the redhead snapped impatiently as Kisame with a still unconscious Danzo over his shoulder took out the Hunter Nin on their tail.
"Don't be rough with her Akasuna, you know Leader-sama doesn't want a single scratch or bruise on her" the shark like rogue reminded, eyeing her slightly pained grimace from her current position on Sasori's shoulder.
His brow twitched in irritation "We don't have time to stop and check if the stupid brat bruised when she was thrown right now, we have to get to the village" Sasori grumbled pissed off now and Sakura wisely kept silent, not making little jabs like she did at Kisame.
"Finally and soon this bullshit will all be over with" Kisame sighed as they reached the gates of the Hidden Rain Village, hopefully the brat had been blindfolded good otherwise if Pein found out she knew the way to where they were stationed he'd kill her for sure.
Unlike how she'd been for the past three days she was eerily silent now, and in a matter of seconds the four of them were soaked through from the never-ending rain as they trekked through the village after signing in since Pein was the leader of the village and gave them refuge.
Then they were walking through the halls of the Akatsuki base "Kisame, Sasori well done on your mission, where is Itachi" another unfamiliar voice echoed in her ears when they finally came to a stop inside of a huge building.
"Good news ends there Leader, Itachi was captured by his old village, it was an ambush, we got the old man and pinky though" the blue skinned rogue tossed down his quarry but Danzo didn't so much as stir from his unconsciousness.
Pein nodded as if he'd expected something like that to happen "Here's the brat are we dismissed" his redheaded subordinate carefully set his own quarry down on her feet, brown eyes narrowed and ready to stop her from trying to run.
But to his surprise she didn't move a muscle "Dismissed, go ahead and remove the blindfold girl, you may call me Leader for now" Pein ordered when the duo were gone, he was disappointed that one of his subordinates had been captured, but he supposed it was a fair trade to get Danzo.
And Sakura Haruno, who slowly lifted her hands and untied the cloth covering her eyes "Okay then Leader-san why did you want me kidnapped" Sakura took a deep breath, steeling her nerves as she did so and asked the first question.
"Respectful even to rogue's exactly how Kisame described you, I didn't believe it until you spoke to me just now, and as for the reason I had you captured, its because I want some questions answered, answer them and I'll let you go home" the orange haired man explained.
She did a double take at that, orange hair, it was weirder than pink hair if she did say so herself "Right I guess I can answer a few questions, but passwords into my village are off-limits and I'm not telling you anything about Naruto" the pink haired thirteen year old warned.
He let out a laugh at that "Heard a rumor will you confirm or deny it for me, that you and Itachi's younger brother were the ones to oust Danzo as a traitor as mere genin, just two days graduated genin in fact" Pein pressed launching into his first round of questioning the girl.
Who took another deep breath then nodded "It's true, we'd only been genin for two days, when we decided to break into his office and steal important documents for proof of his criminal nature" Sakura relented to the question and answered truthfully.
Just glad that he wasn't asking her to answer any questions that would potentially betray her village and country, she was to loyal and would rather die if that was the case "May I ask how, I'm sure Shimura is dying to know himself" the orange haired rogue questioned again.
Noting that the former elder was coming round after being unconscious for the last several days, though he went rigid at the sight of the orange haired rogue "You, but I had you killed a long time ago, you pathetic orphans didn't deserve being trained by Jiraiya" Danzo freaked out, fearful that the dead were coming back to life.
First Shisui, now him it was all to much to take "Fuinjutsu, that's how we did it Leader-san, we made tags that suppressed our chakra, scent and footsteps, set off a genjutsu and snuck into his office and made off with all the incriminating evidence needed to get him executed" the rosette cleared her throat.
Drawing not just Pein's attention but Danzo's as well "You little bitch, I'll kill you, once I get out of here…" the former elder promptly shut up at the feel of monstrous killing intent from someone he'd thought long dead.
"Continuing on, why did you feel the need you had to break into his office, by all means you were a genin fresh out of the academy, what prompted such anger from you towards him with no real reason to target him" Pein inquired.
This probably being the most important question he would ask "By now you probably know about Shisui Uchiha being alive, well when I was younger we were close, then two days before the graduation exams, I received a letter from him, that gave me suspicions" Sakura answered.
"Suspicions that gave me the desire to find the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre, the reason why they attempted a coup against the village was because of him, he poisoned everyone against the Uchiha just so he could swoop in and attempt his own coup" she glared furiously at Danzo.
Who was shocked into silence "That's not all he's done, he interfered with a treaty we had with Hidden Stone, the wars we had since then are because of him as well, let's not forget brain-washing children to be mindless killers and planning to kill Lord Third is just the tip of the iceberg for what he's done" she finished.
Reigning in her anger fast before she did something stupid that got her killed, right now she was safe, but she still had be to be extremely careful "Tell me child what else has he done to warrant such anger from you" the orange haired man inquired.
Looking amused for the time being because he hadn't thought someone else could hate Danzo just as much as he could but here she was in living flesh "Plotting against the village with Orochimaru is the worst offense and attempting to kill Naruto is absolutely unforgivable" the rosette stated flatly.
By that point Danzo was pale, looking worse for wear as he realized that he wasn't going to come out of this alive "Girl don't let him kill me please, I'm sorry I thought I was doing what was best for the village I can see that I'm wrong now" he tried one last time to plead for help.
But she turned her head away from him firmly and resolutely "Don't even think about it bastard, after everything you've done, you don't deserve an ounce of pity or sympathy, your getting your just desserts" the pinkette shook her head not wanting to look at him anymore.
The leader of the feared Akatsuki Organization snorted in disgust at Danzo's pathetic attempts of trying to save his life "Would you like the honor of witnessing his demise" Pein offered to the girl thinking she deserved it after all if not for her, he wouldn't be able to finally get his own revenge.
It looked like she was torn on the matter all of a sudden "I thought you said you would enjoy watching me die, are you pitying me you stupid girl" Danzo spat frustrated and angry that this was happening to him in the first place.
"Never in a million years would I pity you Danzo and as much as I want to see you die, I don't want to witness anymore deaths I merely wish to go home now" Sakura sighed allowing her exhaustion to shine through her tough facade.
Pein nodded and pulsed chakra into the ring on his finger, then Kisame was stood in his office again "Take the girl back to her village Kisame, she has served her purpose" the orange haired man ordered the massive shark like rogue.
Who shrugged "Up you go Pinky-chan, and put that damn blindfold back on" Kisame grumbled heaving the girl up under his arm again once she was wearing the blindfold again, then he saluted at his Leader and was gone in a rush of water, his signature for body-flickering.
Getting soaked was never fun as they trudged through the village and out the gates "Can you give me a hint Kisame, Tsunade-shishou is gonna ask and I want to be able to at least tell her something of consequence" the pinkette pouted up at him.
He snorted "The village that always cries that's all I'm telling you Pinky, also I want you to give my regards to Itachi-kun, I hope he finds peace now that he's back in his village and free of Akatsuki's clutches partially anyway" the blue haired rogue rolled his eyes.
And turned serious in the next moment "Don't worry Kisame, we'll find a way to remove that ring from his finger without having to cut it off, I promise" Sakura assured allowing the tension that she'd felt for the last several days to start draining out of her.
One hour later she felt them switch from water to land leaving behind that dreadful deluge "You can take it off now, the blindfold I mean your far enough away to not figure out where we are" Kisame promptly deposited her on her feet.
To which she ripped the blindfold off and allowed her vision to come into focus "Right seriously you don't have to take me all the way back to Leaf, I've got my own way and it'll take me straight home" the rosette turned to the rogue who actually seemed to be a good guy much like Zabuza.
She wondered what it was about rogues from Mist that turned them soft after being rogues for awhile, it was probably a mystery she'd never figure out though, Kisame lifted a brow at her confidence of being sent home immediately "Show me" he demanded.
With that she lifted the kunai covered in seals she'd received from Kakashi out of her kimono collar where it had been tucked "All I have to do is push chakra into the seals and I'll be teleported home" Sakura explained wanting to try it for curiosity sake.
He was obviously dubious "Go ahead then Pinky-chan that is if you think it will work" Kisame gestured for her to go ahead and do as she'd been instructed and then in the next moment she was gone, but just to keep up appearances he started in the direction of Leaf anyway.
~Meanwhile~
The moment she found solid ground beneath her feet again Sakura almost face-planted as her body couldn't keep up with how fast the Hiraishin seal actually was, there was a familiar chakra nearby to, really close actually.
And at the same time she looked up a sliding door slid open to reveal "SAKURA-CHAN" Kakashi shrilled so unlike himself as he slammed the door to his shower stall, when he heard no sounds of movement, he hesitantly peeked through a crack he made.
Only to find the girl passed out from shock probably, Kakashi sighed and hurriedly grabbed a towel "Momochi get Sakura on the couch while I get dressed" the silver haired Jonin ordered, marching through the living room in nothing but a towel.
Zabuza raised a nearly nonexistent brow "Thought the brat was on a mission" Zabuza grunted, not having left the Leaf Village yet because he was still recovering from that binding ritual, it had been hellish on the body to say the least.
Kakashi pointed not answering any question yet so Zabuza did as asked "Seriously Hatake, and how the hell did she get in your bathroom anyway" the rogue grumbled snatching the girl up and depositing her on a couch a couple minutes later.
Eight minutes later the Copy Ninja was back, carefully looking over Sakura "For your question she was supposed to be on a mission, if she's back that means she's completed it, how she ended up in my bathroom, I don't know probably a malfunction of the seal I gave her" Kakashi frowned.
It had been an awful long time since the Hiraishin seals had been used after all "I'm gonna go tell that Tsunade woman" Zabuza hopped up as if on fire, who knows what the brat went through on her mission if that was the face Kakashi was making.
Nine minutes later he was back with Tsunade in tow, who knelt at Sakura's side, hands glowing green "Light bruising of her ribcage, she's absolutely soaked through to the bone, no torture, her mind seems to be stable" Tsunade proclaimed as she checked her apprentice over thoroughly.
Finding nothing that indicated she'd went through any sort of trauma of any kind, "Get her some clothes Hatake, we need to get her out of these wet ones or she'll come down sick" the honey eyed blonde barked in the next second, not wanting to take that chance.
The man ran for his bedroom, grabbing a long shirt, plus several blankets and against his better judgement a pair of his shorts "Here Lady Tsunade" the silver haired Jonin thrust the clothing articles at the woman.
Who snatched them and her apprentice up from the couch, before vanishing into the spare bedroom that Zabuza was using "Just what kind of mission was she on that you would think she'd come back mentally unstable and tortured" the raven haired rogue demanded to know in the next moment.
But the Jonin was tight lipped about any sort of information "I'm leaving her here in your care Hatake, Momochi, I'll inform Shisui and Itachi, and when she wakes up I want to know immediately" Tsunade stalked through the living room five minutes later.
"Understood Hokage-sama, I promise Sakura-chan will get the rest that she needs now and you'll be the second or rather third probably to know when she wakes up" Kakashi nodded seriously and saluted the woman who was his leader now.
Then Tsunade was gone "Are you going to answer me Hatake, I'm just as worried about the brat to you know" Zabuza grumbled unhappy that something seemed to be going on that he had no idea about, and then he remembered her tiredness during the ritual was this why she'd been so exhausted.
Kakashi seemed to be contemplating "Very well, Sakura-chan successfully infiltrated Akatsuki Headquarters and met it's leader face to face on her own, we didn't know what to expect, so I gave her an old kunai that belonged to my former sensei" the Copy Ninja grimaced.
Shooting worried looks at the closed bedroom door "You sent her off on her own, Hoshigaki is in that organization, they could have killed her, raped her, tortured….is that why you expected her to be mentally unstable" the rogue trailed off growing pale.
"Fortunately for us Kisame Hoshigaki knew about Itachi-kun being a double agent and swore on his life that he would bring Sakura-chan back to us no matter what he had to do, which included betraying Akatsuki, all for Itachi-kun" Kakashi added.
That wasn't to say they weren't still worried about her, she was unconscious after all "Hoshigaki's always been weird I suppose" Zabuza rolled his eyes upwards in slight annoyance here he was worrying like an idiot when the brat would probably be fine.
During this time Tsunade had reached the Haruno House "Oh Hokage-sama what brings you here…..don't tell me something happened to Sakura on her mission" a blonde woman with green eyes, Sakura's mother was the one to answer the door and then suspected bad news.
"No she's fine, resting elsewhere, but I'm afraid those boys won't let her rest without pestering her so she's staying there until she's fully recovered, no injuries except a light bruise, but when she wakes up, she'll want her own clothes" Tsunade gave the official report.
And was allowed into the house to wait "Tsunade-sama if your here does that mean Sakura-san is back from her mission" Itachi noticed her immediately, having taken up residency in the Haruno house like his brother and Shisui had, even if they were sharing a room.
"Back from her mission already that was fast, must not have been as important as you all were making it out to be" Sasuke scowled, he'd been worried out of his freaking mind, yet Sakura had only been gone for not quite four days.
Tsunade raised a brow "I assure you brat, it was a very important mission and you should feel lucky that she even made it back" the honey eyed woman glowered at the little brat who'd been trying to make her life difficult the past few days by pestering her about Sakura's mission.
Sasuke took three steps back and ducked behind his older brother like a child would do not wholly unafraid to admit the older woman terrified him more than Sakura ever could "If Sakura-chan is back from her mission how come she hasn't come home yet" Naruto frowned.
"Currently resting where you four won't be allowed to pester her until she's fully caught up on sleep, I merely came to acquire clothing for her and maybe the materials for the instructors exam" Tsunade snorted harshly and Naruto sulked.
However there was an understanding gleam in his baby blue eyes "Not fair, I wanted to be the first person to see Sakura-chan when she got back and how did she get back so fast" Shisui pouted in a creepy way that she absolutely hated.
"Use of fuinjutsu that's all I'll reveal until Sakura wakes up, thank you Mebuki-san, blonde brat" the honey eyed blonde took a pack that held some of Sakura's clothes, and the books for the instructors exam then body flickered.
Suppressing her chakra to nonexistent levels as she returned to the Hatake Residence to drop off the pack and books "Any change" Tsunade questioned but both males shook their heads, so with that she returned to her office to get some paperwork done.
It was hours later in the Hatake House that a soft groan came from the spare bedroom, Kakashi was on his feet in a flash throwing the door open with a bang, Sakura jumped "Oh Kakashi-sensei er um sorry" then ducked her head, cheeks bright red in embarrassment as she apologized.
"Never mind about that Sakura-chan it was an accident, the Hiraishin seal on the kunai is old so it probably malfunctioned a little from wear and tear, now tell me how do you feel, are you alright, did they do anything at all to hurt you" the silver haired Jonin rattled off question after question.
So fast that it made Sakura's head spin "Um I'm fine really and I feel alright as well and no they didn't do anything to hurt me, the Leader wanted me unharmed, though I did get a pointy shoulder in my ribs, when Hoshigaki threw me to his mission partner" the rosette scowled.
As she raised a glowing green hand to where she knew a bruise had formed and healed it "Can you remember where they took you brat, what the leader was like, abilities and such or how many other members there are" the rogue from Mist piped in interested himself.
"Tsunade-shishou should be here when I say all that, until then I'm not saying a word" Sakura shook her head, she still had to work out the hint Kisame had given her after all and she felt like she was about to pass out again.
Kakashi sent off Pakkun and it was only four minutes later that Tsunade appeared "Brat, brat please tell me your really alright and nothing happened" the honey eyed blonde grabbed up her apprentice in only the second hug they'd shared.
"I'm okay Shishou, no nothing happened, Hoshigaki gave me a hint, the village that always cries, I think it's the Hidden Rain Village, the leader has orange hair and purple ripple patterned eyes that I've never seen before, besides Itachi and Hoshigaki, there's Sasori Akasuna" the pinkette ticked off her fingers.
That was a lot more information than they thought they'd get "Sasori Akasuna is from Hidden Sand, he's a master puppet craftsman and good with poisons, did you get anything else Sakura-chan" Kakashi prodded lightly not wanting to overwhelm the girl.
Who'd literally just woken up "Danzo said something weird, he knew the guy, said he'd had him killed a long time ago and something about Jiraiya-sama taking him on as a student once upon a time" Sakura frowned not really sure how to explain the weird moment.
However that wasn't to say someone didn't understand as Tsunade went rigid "Hidden Rain Village, a long time ago, Jiraiya took on some orphan students, their names were Yahiko, Konan and Nagato, he told me they all died though from an accident" Tsunade creased her brow.
"I was only told to call him Leader, but the guy had freakish orange hair if that helps, I thought mine was bad that was weirder" the rosette touched a hand to her brightly colored locks of hair, a frustrated expression on her face causing Zabuza to snort.
Making her realize he was still there in Hidden Leaf "Anyway brat your stuck here with Hatake and Momochi to rest alright" the older woman pat her apprentice on the shoulder and stepped back, she had a lot of things to think about and mull over now.
Then she was gone in a puff of smoke "Brat, here, clothes and something to keep you occupied for the next couple of days" Zabuza held out a pack and Sakura finally seemed to realize that she was in clothes that were far to big on her.
"Er thanks Zabuza, for the clothes to Kakashi-sensei" Sakura spied the man's clan crest on the sleeve of the shirt she was wearing and taking the pack that was being held out to her, both males promptly vanished from the room she was in and the door shut behind Kakashi.
Glad that she was being given some alone time she carefully maneuvered herself from the bed she was on keeping her expression rather stoic as immediately the shorts she was wearing slipped from her hips to pool on the ground in a huge heap, clearly to big for her to wear.
Don't even get her started on the shirt which practically went to her knee's, and the sleeves were ginormous as she wiggled out of it, then gratefully donned her own clothing and folded up the clothes she'd been wearing a few moments before hand.
With the folded up clothes and pack hanging off her arm, she exited the bedroom she was in "Feel better Sakura-chan" Kakashi chuckled lightly taking the clothes she held out to him, she had probably felt uncomfortable in them as she nodded quietly.
Before climbing into a chair to sit and read for awhile, studying for her instructor's exam which was so like her it was unbelievable how dedicated to things she was "So brat how long is this achy crap from the ritual suppose to last" the raven haired rogue grumbled from his spot on the couch.
Viridian orbs flickered up and towards him "Just a few more days I think Zabuza-san, I'm sorry it was so hard on you" the pinkette apologized feeling guilty and his gaze softened for a moment before he snorted harshly and settled back on the couch.
"You know I thought it was just a rumor that you were studying for the academy instructor's exam, but I guess it wasn't a rumor huh, do you know how long you have left before the exam anyway" the silver haired nin frowned seeing how frantically she was studying and taking notes.
Again she looked up and nodded "About 2 weeks and 2 days, Sasuke's studying for it to, the academy is going to get a major curriculum overhaul soon and I want to prove that with these changes fresh out of the academy genin will produce better results" Sakura announced.
"Of course Sakura-chan, just remember not to push yourself to hard okay" Kakashi warned lightly getting comfortable in a chair himself and pulling out his infamous orange book, her eye twitched but she didn't dare say a word of complaint because this was Kakashi's home.
As far as she was concerned she didn't have a single right to tell him what he could and couldn't read while in his apartment "For kami sake Hatake don't you have any sense in your head to not read that porn in front of an innocent brat like the brat" Zabuza groaned.
Realizing what the man was doing Sakura bit her lip and cleared her throat "I'm not as innocent as you think Zabuza-san but it's okay really this is his home after all" the rosette shrugged uncaring for the most part, all she really wanted to do was study to make up those three days she'd missed.
Zabuza rolled his eyes right he'd nearly forgotten the brat was weird like that "What do you mean your not as innocent as I think, don't tell me you've been raped somehow" the rogue from Mist snapped suddenly as his mind thought up all sorts of horrible things.
"No, but she has been through mental trauma, twice now if I recall" the silver haired Jonin commented, snapping his book shut and finding a normal one to read, he could be courteous, Sakura deserved to be worry free for once.
It was obvious that was news to Zabuza, who frowned the deepest they'd ever seen "Got caught in Itachi's Tsukuyomi accidentally to save idiot Sasuke from his mega stupid moment, also got caught up in the Uchiha Clan Massacre when I was eight" Sakura grimaced.
"Yes and both of them are still paying for that in the form of therapy sessions with Inoichi, come to think of it, do you want me to set one up for you Sakura-chan, it might help if you have anything that's bugging you" Kakashi nodded lips pressed into a thin line.
But to his surprise Sakura shook her head "No I'm okay for now, most of the trauma from those incidents are fading, still can't stand the smell of blood though" her lip curled in disgust, it was probably the most infuriating thing to her, to be unable to handle the smell of blood as a ninja.
Again Zabuza was surprised "You've been through a lot haven't you brat" the raven haired rogue creased his almost nonexistent brows together in mild concern, sue him the brat had done him two favors, he owed her, even if he wouldn't admit it.
Her gaze softened "I have but I'm still fighting for those that need me" the fuscia haired teen smiled brightly, it was almost blinding to him to have such a smile directed at him as the three of them lapsed into a comfortable silence filled only by the sound of pencil scratching on paper or pages of a book being flipped.
Until dinner time in which Kakashi actually cooked a halfway decent meal with her giving him some pointers on how to improve, then he courteously gave up his bed for her despite her insistence that she was perfectly fine with sleeping on the couch.
Two days later she was packing up her limited belongings and heading home "Thank you Kakashi-sensei" Sakura bowed, thanking the man for putting up with her shenanigans the last couple of days and Zabuza's who was leaving that day as well.
"Just take care of yourself okay Sakura-chan, you as well Zabuza, send letters every once in awhile so we're not unnecessarily worried" Kakashi pat the young girl on the head before turning his attention on the rogue who would be fighting for his country from the shadows.
He grunted and nodded "Fine I can do that, even come back to visit every few months or something, maybe next time I'll bring Haku" Zabuza growled earning a giggle from Sakura who turned on her heel and marched off to her home.
Needless to say when she did get home the first thing that happened was that she was snapped up in a hug by Shisui "Promise me Sakura-chan you'll never do anything that dangerous on your own again" Shisui sobbed unable to reign in his overwhelming emotions.
Practically crushing her with his tight grip, she was about to toss him on his back when Itachi came to the rescue "Shisui if you don't relax a little, Sakura-san won't be able to breath" Itachi warned seeing the struggle for air.
Shisui pulled back in horror "You don't have to worry Shisui-ni, I'm okay really, nothing happened beyond being tied up to a tree once or twice, also thanks Itachi-san" the pinkette deadpanned as she gained a little distance from the emotional Uchiha.
"Tied up to a tree, that sounds more like you were kidnapped rather than being on a mission" Sasuke rounded the corner hearing the commotion that was Shisui, who loved to be noisy sometimes early in the morning to piss him off.
Of course the youngest Uchiha didn't know that her mission had been to let herself get kidnapped and she wondered if she could even say "Can you tell us or not Sakura-chan" Naruto poked his head through the doorway that lead into the living room from the foyer.
It was an obvious debate whether she could or not "Well part of my mission was to allow myself to be captured, that's all I'll say until I get permission from Tsunade-shishou to say more" Sakura finally answered, and it was probably best if neither Naruto or Sasuke knew anyway.
As the lot of them traipsed into the living room "Their working their stall this morning, we haven't had breakfast" the oldest Uchiha in the house now explained her parents absence from the house, it was something she expected though so hadn't been to worried.
"Course you haven't" the rosette rolled her eyes lightly, cooking breakfast for a bunch of males was the last thing she wanted to do though, Sasuke and Itachi noticed her unhappy expression and slowly inched their way to the kitchen to get started on breakfast themselves.
"Either way we're glad to have you back Sakura-chan, those three have been an absolute nightmare since you've been gone" the goofy blonde Uzumaki glared at the three Uchiha's living in the house with them and plopped down at the low living room table.
That looked suspiciously new and she wondered what had happened "I get the feeling that I really don't want to know" the fuscia haired teen commented joining the knucklehead at the table as well and pulling out her studying materials, only two weeks left so it was crunch time literally.
Naruto shook his head indicating she didn't and they both lapsed into a comfortable silence until a crash sounded from the kitchen and a familiar yelp of pain from Sasuke "Otouto didn't I tell you to be careful" came the Uchiha heir's amused voice.
"Shut up Ni-san like you could have done better without messing up" the third remaining Uchiha in existence and the youngest snapped back with a growl and Sakura rolled her eyes determined to ignore it for the time being because she was done acting as babysitter for Sasuke for awhile.
Eighteen minutes later, filled with more insults, crashes and other questionable noises to Itachi's amusement breakfast was finished when Sakura walked into the kitchen she looked suspiciously around for any sort of damage done to the room and found nothing out of place.
Wary as she was, she still sat at the table with the others to eat the morning meal, giving her thanks for the food and digging in with the manners that had been instilled in her by her mother, Itachi watched curious for a moment then focused on eating his own food.
Before the lot of them traipsed into the living room again "By the way Sakura-san, the seals you and Naruto-san put over the house are very clever if not painful" Itachi said suddenly and Sakura realized that the seventeen year old must have been subjected to them.
"Already tweaked the seals a little so don't worry Sakura-chan, even improved them some to, to provide better protection for Itachi" Naruto piped in with a grin, scratching down some new idea's to implement probably, like Kurenai had told her, something can always be improved.
"Those two also broke the table if you were wondering" Shisui commented and Sakura understood why they had a new low sitting table in place of the old one, of course Sasuke wouldn't have understood at first why Itachi was there in a place he called home now.
Sasuke, who crossed his arms over his chest and scowled "Shouldn't you be studying Sasuke, the exam is only two weeks away now" Sakura pointed out when she noticed none of the studying materials for the instructor exam was before him.
He spluttered for a second "Just didn't want to study until you got back, I didn't have the motivation" Sasuke grumbled, disappearing for a few minutes and coming back with his own study materials for the exam they would both be partaking in.
Quiet blanketed them until the door opened and shut "Oh Sakura-chan your home, did you rest well where ever Hokage-sama left you" Mebuki noticed that her daughter was in fact home where she belonged and looked better than she had before she'd left.
"Mhm it was nice and peaceful Mom, Dad the place I stayed for the most part anyway, I might have participated in a little bit of shenanigans only because a certain someone was trying to pick on me" the pinkette grinned widely in amusement.
And her Father let out a bark of laughter "That's my girl, show up anyone who tries to beat you down" Kizashi chuckled pulling his daughter into a hug, kami how he'd missed her and it had only been five days since the last time he'd seen her.
Then they sat to do their own thing until lunch and dinner, before finally bed time, Sakura happily fell into her bed that night having missed it for the last five nights, she even spent some time snuggling Mibojin and the two goliath beetles before falling asleep.
It was the following morning that they got unexpected visitors "Sakura, Sasuke, we have a C Rank in the village mission to get rid of some rather pesky critters from the hospital, a nurse tipped over an old box during cleaning and out fell a hoard of cockroaches" Shibi cleared his throat.
Shisui, Itachi and Naruto cringed, one less visibly than the other, while Sasuke stood and vanished up the steps to get some things needed for the extraction of cockroaches from the hospital and Sakura's eyes sparkled in excitement at that normal mission for once.
Four minutes later Team Nine was gone from the house on their way to the hospital "How do you propose we deal with this issue, why because it won't be easy capturing all of them" Shino questioned of his teammates, who were both Chunin now.
Leaving him behind for two and a half more months so long as he found a team to join anyway "Let's see, cockroaches can get into the smallest crevices, so perhaps first using your insect gathering jutsu, before placing a barrier to collect them" Sakura mused.
Coming up with a plan on the spot, it allowed for a lot of wiggle room and tweaking as they went along as well "Nice Sakura, you know I'm kind of glad for a normal mission after how the last several have been" Sasuke commented with a slight scowl on his face.
Behind them Shibi coughed silently agreeing with Sasuke how he was relieved that the mission was so benign "Indeed" the Aburame Patriarch nodded as they reached the hospital and entered through the doors only to find the lobby crowded with nurses.
Female nurses to be precise, Sakura rolled her eyes at their cowardice towards bugs "Oh I wasn't aware that you would be the ones slated for the removal of the cockroaches" Ittei caught them on their way to the room that the infestation and hoard had been found initially.
"Yep probably for the best, though I do have to wonder how we manage to keep getting bug or insect related missions all the time" the rosette who would someday be his Assistant quipped with a smile and he was glad to see her in high spirits for once, like how she'd been at first.
"Well good luck from what I heard the roaches have scattered to all parts of the hospital and I hope you capture them all" the purple haired man grimaced, disgusted at the infestation himself, but getting ready to scold the medics for neglecting their duties.
As Team Nine continued on their way "Scattered to all parts of the hospital, great this is going to take forever" the Uchiha of the team complained, though there was anticipation in his gaze, indicating he didn't mind all that much that the mission would be challenging.
A couple minutes later they were stood in the room "There should still be some here in the room, so place these tags and prepare to raise a barrier then capture the pesky little insects" the brunet heir instructed as he placed his hand on the floor.
It felt utterly disgusting but a mission was a mission as the tags were placed and his teammates readied themselves to raise a barrier without him for once "Ninja Art: Insect Gathering Jutsu" Shino murmured spreading his chakra out on the floor like a web.
Calling all insects to him, "Four Point Amethyst Sealing Barrier Jutsu" Sasuke finished the hand signs, sealing them in while Sakura shot forward with her insect net and scooped a bunch of cockroaches up before dumping them into a glass tank she always carried for missions like this.
"Got them all, hopefully" Sakura worried her lip knowing that some insects were finicky when it came to Shino's insect gathering jutsu, so the barrier was taken down and he tried the jutsu again, a few scurried forth and they were easily captured before they moved on to other parts of the hospital.
Nine minutes later Sasuke wanted to throw something "Just how many freaking cockroaches are there" the Uchiha was getting frustrated it was easy to see, of course who wouldn't be frustrated, Sakura's glass tank was completely full and they hadn't even scoured half of the hospital yet.
"Relax Sasuke, Sakura have that taken off with a clone to dump outside the village, tell her to return quickly" Shibi instructed his lone female student, who did as told without question still, making a clone and sending it off with her glass tank.
This only took a couple minutes before the four of them were on the move again on the hunt for cockroaches "Okay that's the initial, I say we go back to our starting point and repeat just to make sure we haven't missed a single one" the pinkette was still nonsensical though.
Even if she had a point "Good idea, we don't want to leave any behind" the Aburame Patriarch nodded in agreement with Sakura, as her clone returned with the tank, so the lot of them went back to their starting point to search some more.
Just as expected there were still quite a few cockroaches as they went about, that had been stubborn towards Shino's jutsu and after a couple more rounds concluded that all the roaches had been captured and tossed outside the village courtesy of a Sakura clone.
"Well that's over, why because there are no more" the brunet heir commented simply watching as Sakura filled out the report for them and they each added their own little comments, followed by seeking out Ittei to inform them that the mission was complete to get his signature.
Before Shibi took the mission scroll with their reports and left them to their own devices "See you at home son" was all Shibi said vanishing in a swirl of kikaichu, his students stared at one another then burst out laughing at his abrupt disappearance.
"Perhaps that was Father's subtle way of telling us to spend some time together as a team, why because you've both been so busy with B Rank Missions lately" Shino shook his head lightly in amusement just grateful that the three of them were still doing missions together.
Obviously the idea appealed to his teammates just as much as it appealed to him "Maybe later we can even see if we can get the rest of the rookies together at Yakiniku Q to just sit and chat like we haven't been able to for a long time" Sasuke suggested.
When they started down the streets in a random direction completely in sync of one another "Not a bad idea Sasuke, if I can summon Katsuyu, would you write the invitations, perhaps even for Neji-san, Tenten-san and Lee-san as well" Sakura smiled wide excited for what the night would hopefully bring.
Hanging out with her former classmates turned rookies was a great way to unwind and catch up with them, Sasuke seemed to like the idea to as he immediately started writing invitations for their get together at Yakiniku Q at 7 o'clock for that day.
Then Sakura flashed through a set of hand signs, concentrating ridiculously hard on which of her summons she wanted to summon and slammed her hand on the ground "Sakura-sama what can I do for you" thankfully Katsuyu appeared when the smoke dissipated.
Sakura looked extremely excited that she'd managed to summon the slug, given it was still a miniature version of Katsuyu but she'd done it three times now "Yes Katsuyu-sama, if you would send these out to all of my former classmates and fellow rookies please" the rosette requested.
Giving the slug the highest form of respect and honor as she dissolved into a bunch of even smaller versions of herself and disappeared in multiple poofs of smokes "Crap I think that's cooler than your spider summons no offense Sakura" the ebony haired preteen gaped in awe.
Just a tiny bit envious that she got all the luck with cool summons, maybe though now that his older brother was back, Itachi would consider teaching him the crow summons if he asked super seriously, otherwise he was going to have to find other options than blasted cats.
"Quite, why because with slug summons I bet you could learn to even heal people without touching them, proving why your best suited to becoming Hokage-sama's apprentice" the Aburame heir praised and Sakura felt her cheeks grow warm.
Right as a derisive snort came from behind them "Yeah right the only thing that freak is best suited to being is nothing and that's all she'll ever be, why don't you give other people a chance to shine in the spotlight for once freak" then came the most degrading voice ever.
None of them even recognized it as they swung around "Listen here you…..what are you doing Sakura, why are you stopping me" Sasuke scowled when Sakura prevented him from charging forward and punching that bastard right in the face like he deserved.
"Because I'm Tsunade-shishou's apprentice, I must not make a scene or people will think more poorly of me than they already do, besides nothing you or anyone else says will get him to see reason" Sakura explained firmly calming the situation down with a stern glance.
As the older Chunin probably stormed off, peeved that he hadn't been able to get under her skin probably "Instances like that will keep happening won't they Sakura" Shino frowned not liking that so many people seemed to dislike Sakura, was it because she was civilian born.
Probably and it kind of irritated him a little that they were judging her based on her clan-less background, he was so irritated that it affected the kikaichu hosting within his body until they were hissing angrily voicing his current mood.
Sasuke and Sakura shared a look before Sakura leaned forward and pecked the easily depressed Shino on the cheek successfully distracting him from his anger "Anyway so long as I don't let them, they can't get under my skin" the pinkette smiled brightly.
In the next second the many little Katsuyu's returned "Team Gai said they couldn't make it Sakura-sama they send their apologies as their being sent off on a week and a half mission to Sand to take care of bandits that keep attacking and injuring civilians" one Katsuyu said.
Followed by the others with confirmation from Kiba, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji "Well that just leaves Dope, I'll send a clone to inform him of our get-together at the barbecue restaurant" the Uchiha released the breath he was holding and quickly sent off a clone.
Who came back with confirmation that Naruto would be there at exactly 7 o'clock "Might as well go make the reservation, why because no one will be happy sitting at separate booths" the brunet heir pointed out and so they made their way in the direction of the restaurant.
Making a huge reservation for a booth that would all nine of them hopefully if they squeezed together a little, when they did reach the Yakiniku Q, then the three of them spent the rest of the time until the get together goofing off in the Aburame Compound forest.
Upon arriving at Yakiniku Q they found a couple of their former classmates already waiting for them "Sakura, Shino, Sasuke, it's been awhile, it's to bad more of us didn't get promoted to Chunin the first time around due to that troublesome invasion" Shikamaru greeted.
Lazy as they remembered him being as nearly his entire upper half was slumped over the table where the grill would go once the rest of them got there "Thanks for inviting me it's been way to long since we've gotten together like this" Ino rolled her eyes at her teammate.
"Yeah I agree, so much has happened that it's unreal and hard to keep up sometimes" Sakura nodded, plopping down gracefully next to Ino, chattering away like no tomorrow already to the disturbance of Sasuke, Shino and Shikamaru.
Seconds later Naruto and Hinata stepped into the restaurant together, spotted the others and made their way over to the large booth "Th..This is a nice i..idea Sakura-chan, thank you f..for suggesting w..we get together" Hinata bowed, stuttering but not as bad as she use to.
Thanks to wonderful friendships with two strong girls, her confidence had grown in leaps and bounds "Definitely, so how did your mission go earlier something about catching cockroaches that got loose in the hospital right" Naruto flopped down carelessly.
Nearly falling into Hinata's lap, the girl blushed badly and let out a tiny little squeak of embarrassment at the close proximity of her crush "Ugh it was an absolute nightmare, we had to go around the hospital like four times just to make sure we got them all" Sasuke groaned.
Wishing he hadn't been reminded but of course the knucklehead had to be curious "That's not to say it's been the strangest mission we've been on, why because all of our team missions have been bug-related" Shino reminded while Sakura and Sasuke grimaced.
Shikamaru snorted while Ino laughed clearly amused and Hinata merely smiled "Hope we're not to late to the party, Yahoo" Kiba bounced into the restaurant, Akamaru perched atop his head like usual and plopped down in the booth with the others, who all shook their heads.
"Am I seriously the last one to get here, hold on those guys Neji, Tenten and Lee aren't here" Choji was the last to join them and immediately notice the absence of Team Gai, he'd thought all the rookies that had participated in the Chunin Exams had been invited after all.
Sakura was the one to answer "Unfortunately, when I sent out the invitations they were packing to go off on a week and a half mission, but it's good the rest of you were able to come, I needed to hang out with my friends for a bit of normalcy for once" the rosette answered kindly.
It sucked but there was little any of them could do "By the way since when could you use slug summons, I thought you had spider summons, unless you terminated our contract with them" the Nara heir questioned suddenly.
"I'm Hokage-sama's apprentice so she wanted me to learn how to use Katsuyu-sama her personal summons, and nope I still have Mibojin-sama and his clan, it just requires extreme concentration, time and effort but you can have more than one summons at a time" the pinkette grinned.
Shocking those at the booth who didn't know "Wow that means you can effectively summon two summons now" the Inuzuka heir whistled in awe, of course Sakura had always been talented, so having two summons and learning how to summon each one individually wouldn't be to hard for her.
"Not quite, it still requires a lot of concentration on her part and thinking clearly on which summon she wants to summon out here" the Aburame on Sakura's team explained carefully and Kiba realized that if it was that hard then Sakura really was talented.
Even if she was struggling, she'd managed to summon the slug "Guess Hokage-sama chose right huh, though it must be hard, knowing you have all those duties piled on your shoulders now that she's your Mistress" the blonde heiress next to her frowned.
Worried that her friend was pushing herself "I..I heard th..that y..you and Sasuke a..are intending on becoming p..part time academy sensei i..is that true Sakura-chan" the blue haired heiress asked suddenly which prompted another round of chatter and questions.
Until Sasuke raised his hand "Whatever you've heard Hinata is true, we still have two weeks before the test and neither of know what's on the exam at all" the Uchiha grimaced, but with their smarts they were sure to pass it anyway.
"Oh look our order is here, let's get to grilling our meat" the Akimichi heir was the first to notice the approach of their waiter, carting a tray filled with various meats, sauces, powders and their drink of choice on it that was passed around followed by the smell of cooking meat.
Ribs, steaks, wings, boneless thighs and legs, some smothered in hot sauce or the like was cooked "This is going to be a night to remember" the blonde knucklehead cheered laughing like crazy in moderation of course because he didn't want to get them kicked out.
And it was a night to remember as they had fun, laughed, joked around with one another, shared tales of missions gone wrong or hilarious screw ups, ate until they couldn't eat anymore, and took a group picture to commemorate the day before heading home to go to sleep.